Ivana Trump Found Dead on Stairs — She Looked 'Tired' Yet 'Her Health Seemed Normal', Restaurant Owner Claimed

Ivana Trump, the former US President Donald Trump's ex-wife, is dead! Ivana, 73, was a beloved mother, renowned businesswoman, former model, book author, and health enthusiast.

The former president shared the devastating news on his social media platform and remembered Ivana as an exceptional woman whose life was an inspiration to many.

Many others who crossed paths with her in her lifetime remember her as a wonderful person who lived a wholesome life and beat all odds to achieve her life goals.

EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT HER FINAL MOMENTS

Ivana passed on at her New York residence after suffering from a cardiac arrest. TMZ reports that a female member of Ivana's staff arrived at the home and found Ivana on the right side of the second-floor staircase upon unlocking the door. She was not breathing.

TMZ also discovered that the New York Police Department had received a call just after 12:30 p.m. with the saddening news that Ivana had suffered a cardiac arrest. The information raises questions about her state of health in the days leading to her sudden demise.

Hours before she died, Ivana had visited her favorite restaurant, Altesi Ristorante, a short distance from her Upper East Side apartment. A frequent patron of the establishment, Ivana spoke to the owner, Paola Alavian, as she always did whenever she visited.

However, Alavian says that despite Ivana being in good spirits, she appeared slightly exhausted when she stopped by for a meal. He revealed, amid tears:

"Her health seemed normal, she looked maybe a little bit tired, but she otherwise seemed OK."

The restaurant owner could not recall what Ivana ordered but remembers it being a "very, very small amount of food."

According to Alavian, Ivana, the mother of Trump's three older children, including Ivanka, Donald Trump Jr., and Eric Trump, was a mother figure to those around her, and her demise shocked many who knew her.

Ivanka, Ivana's daughter, is devastated by her beloved mother's death. She paid her respects on Twitter, reminiscing about the beautiful life that Ivana had lived, never forgoing a chance to dance and laugh.

She holds nothing but beautiful memories of her mother and remembers her intellect and sense of humor. "I will miss her forever and will keep her memory alive in our hearts always." She wrote.

Her three children also released a joint statement and had all good things to say about their beloved mother. After praising her for being a caring friend and mother, they stated how much her children and ten grandbabies would miss her.

FROM AN IMMIGRANT TO A WORLD-FAMOUS SOCIALITE

The hard-driving businesswoman was born Ivana Marie Zelnickova in the Czech Republic to an electrical engineer father and a telephone operator mother and grew up in Zlin.

Growing up, she took up several hobbies, including skiing at only four. She later joined the junior national ski team, which provided extensive travel opportunities and gave young Ivana an idea of the world outside her hometown.

Once she'd discovered the vast world and opportunities that awaited her outside of Czech, she no longer wanted to stay there, as her mother would later recall. She attended college in Prague, the capital of Czech, and later tied the knot with Austrian instructor Alfred Winklmayr.

While the marriage was anything but ideal — she would later term it a "Cold War marriage" — she did secure herself an Austrian passport. She later disclosed that she and Alfred never consummated their marriage.

After attaining her passport, she relocated to Canada, settling in Montreal, where she worked as a ski instructor by the day and studied English by night. Later she began modeling for the 1976 Winter Olympics.

That same year, she worked at a reception in New York City alongside other models, unaware her life was about to change. There, she met her future husband, Donald Trump. At the time, Trump was not the business mogul he is today and was only then starting his real estate career.

They walked down the aisle the following year, and the two quickly became fixtures in New York City's glamorous social scenes. As Trump began focusing more on high-profile projects in New York, Ivana became involved in some decision-making, including getting a 60-foot waterfall installed in Trump Tower's atrium.

Throughout the '80s, Ivana and Trump became the ideal couple, decorating segments in gossip magazines and gracing Broadway openings and red carpet events together. They adorned the see-and-be-seen scenes for over a decade.

Unfortunately, as the 80s closed off, their marriage also fell apart, and in 1990, they got involved in one of the most acrimonious divorce proceedings of the era.

After the divorce, Ivana did not sit and mop. She collected the broken pieces of her heart and focused on reinventing herself. She proceeded to make commendable real estate investments in the US and overseas.

She also instituted a designer fashion line, the Ivana Haute Couture cosmetics company, and wrote several books. She also appeared in the comedy romance film "The First Wives Club," where she delivered her famous one-liner:

"Ladies, you have to be strong and independent, and remember, don't get mad, get everything."

Years after her divorce, she met and married her third husband, Riccardo Mazzucchelli. However, the marriage failed two years later, and the two divorced in 1997. Even so, she maintained a talking relationship with Trump, who hosted her fourth wedding to Rossano Rubicondi in 2008 at Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

Ivana continued her business ventures until her final moments. Many remember her for her drive and as the immigrant woman who, against all odds, achieved the American Dream.

Ivana has also maintained her fashionable look up to her last breath. In her final photos, taken a few months before her demise, she looked glamorous in a leopard-skin print overcoat, black frock pants, and a luxury bag.

She completed the look with gold earrings and red nail polish as she flashed the peace sign to the paparazzi. She died just as she'd lived — in style!