Marla Ann Maples (born October 27, 1963) is an American singer, television personality, model, actress and presenter. She was the second wife of

U.S. president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. They married two months after the birth of their daughter, Tiffany, in 1993. Donald and Marla separated in 1997 and divorced in 1999.

Early life and education

Maples was born on October 27, 1963, in Cohutta, Georgia. Her mother, Ann Locklear Maples, was a homemaker and model, and her father, Stanley Edward Maples, a real estate developer, county commissioner, singer, and songwriter. She has one half-sister from her father's previous marriage. Maples attended Northwest Whitfield High School in Tunnel Hill, Georgia, where she played basketball, served as class secretary and was crowned the 1980–1981 homecoming queen during her senior year (she returned for the 1991 homecoming to crown the school's new queen). After graduating from high school in 1981, Maples competed in beauty contests and pageants. In 1983, she won the Miss Resaca Beach Poster Girl Contest, in 1984 she was the runner-up to Miss Georgia USA, and in 1985 she won the Miss Hawaiian Tropic. She entered the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

in 1981 but left college before graduating.

Career

Film, television, and theater

In 1991, Maples appeared as a celebrity guest at WWF

WrestleMania VII WrestleMania VII was a 1991 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the seventh annual WrestleMania and took place on March 24, 1991, at the Los Angeles Memorial Sport ...

, serving as special guest timekeeper in the main event match between

Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...

and defending WWF Champion Sgt. Slaughter. In that year, Maples also made a special appearance in the hit television series '' Designing Women'' as herself. In August 1992, Maples joined the cast of the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

winning Broadway musical ''

The Will Rogers Follies ''The Will Rogers Follies'' is a Musical theatre, musical with a book by Peter Stone (writer), Peter Stone, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Cy Coleman. It focuses on the life and career of humorist and performer Will Rogers, ...

'' as " Ziegfeld's Favorite", a role originated by Cady Huffman when the show opened in May 1991. In 1994, Maples appeared alongside then-husband

in a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

in the episode "

For Sale by Owner For sale by owner (FSBO) is the process of selling real estate without the representation of a broker or agent. This is where the homeowner sells directly to a new homeowner. Homeowners may still employ the services of marketing, online listin ...

" of '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' and the television series '' Something Wilder'' in 1994. Maples co-hosted the 1996 and 1997 Miss Universe Pageant and the 1997 Miss USA Pageant, both of which were owned by her then-husband. Maples appeared in the films ''

Maximum Overdrive ''Maximum Overdrive'' is a 1986 American horror film written and directed by Stephen King, in his only directorial effort. The film stars Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington, John Short, Yeardley Smith and Christopher Murney. The scr ...

'' (1986), ''

Executive Decision ''Executive Decision'' is a 1996 American action thriller film directed by Stuart Baird (in his directorial debut) and written by Jim Thomas and John Thomas, who also produced the film with Joel Silver. It stars Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal, ...

'' (1996), '' For Richer or Poorer'' (1997), ''

Happiness Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...

'' (1998), '' Richie Rich's Christmas Wish'' (1998), ''

Black and White Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

'' (1999), '' Two of Hearts'' (1999), ''Loving Annabelle'' (2006), ''A Christmas Too Many'' (2007), and '' A Nanny for Christmas'' (2010). In 2011, she returned to New York for '' Love, Loss and What I Wore'', an off-Broadway production. In 2013, Maples was featured on '' Oprah: Where Are They Now?'' Since then, she appeared in ''Switching Lanes'', directed by Thomas Mikal Ford. On March 8, 2016, Maples was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on season 22 of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'' alongside her ''Switching Lanes'' co-star, Kim Fields. She was partnered with professional dancer Tony Dovolani. Maples and Dovolani were eliminated on Week4 of competition and finished in 10th place. Maples also joined the women of ABC's morning talk show, '' The View'', as a guest co-host on March 11, 2016. Maples is a keynote speaker with the London Speakers Bureau, focusing on inspiring women, wellness, spirituality, and motivation. Maples was featured in the Summer of Peace Summit 2018 with the opportunity to discuss topics of peace and finding common ground. Maples spoke at the 2018 Global Summit on Science, Spirituality, and Environment in India; the event brought together speakers from around the world to discuss the integration of science and spirituality, as well as self-transformation and world-transformation. Maples was a guest speaker on the ''Journeys of Faith'' podcast with

Paula Faris Paula Faris (born October 26, 1975) is an American journalist and television correspondent, formerly of ABC News. She is known for her tenure as co-anchor of '' Good Morning America Weekend'' from 2014 to 2018 and as co-host of '' The View'' from ...

in 2018.

Radio and music

Maples hosted her own talk radio show, ''Awakening with Marla'', on Contact Talk Radio. Her guests included naturopathic doctors, authors, and astrologers. Maples' album ''The Endless'', released in August 2013, is a musical journey of spiritual awakening and transformational energy, featuring thought leaders such as the

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

, Michael Beckwith, and

Deepak Chopra Deepak Chopra (; ; born October 22, 1946) is an Indian-American author, New Age, new age guru, and alternative medicine advocate. A prominent figure in the New Age movement, his books and videos have made him one of the best-known and wealthi ...

. In December 2012, Maples won a " Hollywood Music in Media Award" for best New Age/Ambient song, for "House of Love", from that album.

Other

In 1990, Maples starred in an advertising campaign for No Excuses jeans. In 1993, she designed a line of maternity clothes, sold in several major department stores. In January 2000, a memoir by Maples, ''All That Glitters Is Not Gold'', was announced by the ReganBooks division of

HarperCollins Publishers HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the " Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster. HarperCollins is ...

. In February 2002, a spokeswoman for the publishing company said, "The author and publisher by mutual consent have agreed not to publish the book." Maples makes personalized videos through the website Cameo.

Philanthropy

Maples is committed to supporting charities and non-profit organizations and is a long-time vocal advocate of Kids Creating Peace, an organization uniting Israeli and Palestinian children. Maples is involved with AWARENYC.org as an advisory board member. AWARE (Assisting Women through Action, Resources & Education) is a grassroots organization dedicated to promoting awareness and generating funds in order to make meaningful improvements in the lives of women and girls in the New York City community and worldwide. Maples also supports and is on the Steering Committee for The Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine.

Personal life

Relationships

Maples' relationship with

was initiated while he was married to his first wife,

Ivana Ivana is a feminine given name of Slavic origin that is also popular in southern Ireland, France, French-speaking Canada, the Mediterranean and Latin America. It is the feminine form of the name Ivan, which are both the Slavic cognates of the n ...

, whom Trump divorced in 1990. Maples met him in 1984 and had a highly publicized relationship later with at least one breakup. One ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' headline reported that Maples said Trump gave her the " best sex I've ever had." Maples and Trump had one child, daughter Tiffany Trump, born on October 13, 1993. According to Maples, the 1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting, on December 7, caused Trump to reevaluate his life and propose to her. The couple married on December 20, 1993, at New York's Plaza Hotel, in a ceremony reportedly attended by 1,000 guests including

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American talk show host, comedian, and actress. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series ''Star Search'' in 1984. After a series of television ...

and O.J. Simpson. In 1996, Trump fired his bodyguard Spencer Wagner four months after a police officer found Maples and the bodyguard together under a lifeguard stand on a deserted beach at 4:00a.m. Both Maples and Trump denied that she was having an affair, despite reports in the ''

National Enquirer The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years. The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays Source (journalism), sources for tips (chec ...

'' and other tabloids; the bodyguard himself told conflicting stories about the incident. Maples and Trump separated in May 1997 and divorced on June 8, 1999. Under the terms of their

prenuptial agreement A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement (commonly referred to as a prenup), is a written contract entered into by a couple before marriage or a civil union that enables them to select and control many of the legal ...

and divorce settlement, Maples is bound by a confidentiality agreement regarding their marriage.

Health and wellness

Maples is an advocate of health and wellness. Maples describes herself as a "mostly-

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

" who avoids dairy, eats organic, and chooses to be gluten free. She also joined Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Children's Health Defense.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maples, Marla 1963 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Georgia (U.S. state) American film actresses American socialites American conspiracy theorists People from Dalton, Georgia University of Georgia alumni Trump family American television actresses Beauty pageant hosts American beauty pageant winners People from Whitfield County, Georgia