The Complete Transformation Of Donald Trump's Ex-Wife Marla Maples

As the second of Donald Trump's three wives, Marla Maples has had plenty of attention on her over the years. The model, actress, and philanthropist has spent a lot of time in the public eye, and her looks have always been a focus for the press and the public. While Maples is now in her 60s and soon to be a grandparent, she still looks a lot like she did in her youth. Even so, she has had quite a transformation over the years.

From a tomboy-turned-beauty queen from the south to a famous model and actor to the mother-of-the-bride at a high-profile wedding, Maples has gone through many different chapters in her life. It's clear, though, that prioritizing her loved ones, motherhood, and spirituality has kept her feeling youthful and looking spectacular through it all. Maples has led quite a life, so let's take a trip down memory lane with the famous beauty.

Marla Maples was a beauty queen in her youth. Back in 1984, she was just 21 years old when she took home the first runner-up trophy at the Miss Georgia USA pageant. In 2019, Maples gave an Instagram shoutout to her mom for helping her make it in the world of beauty pageants. She captioned a photo of her and her mom at the Miss Georgia USA pageant, "I was much more comfortable on the basketball court in Converse high tops but mom surely knew how to help me bring on the glamour." 

While Maples claimed that competing in beauty pageants was anything but second nature to her, she managed to succeed. Just a year later, she won the crown at the Miss Hawaiian Tropic International beauty pageant. It's no surprise that Maples succeeded on the pageant circuit — she looked like the quintessential '80s beauty queen with tanned skin and big, feathered blonde locks. 

In 1985, the year after Marla Maples was crowned Miss Hawaiian Tropic, she met Donald Trump while they were both at a celebrity tennis match. Donald was still married to his first wife, Ivana Trump, and the pair had three children together. Donald and Maples were reportedly friends first before beginning an affair that would last until Donald and Ivana split in 1990. 

Maples' affair with Donald became highly publicized, and this shot her into the public eye more than ever before. Her classic blonde bombshell look got plenty of attention when she became a famous mistress. Yet, her appearance may have given the public the wrong idea and portrayed a stereotype that didn't truly fit her. Her agent Chuck Jones told Vanity Fair, "The media has portrayed Marla as a disorganized shapely bimbo, and that is not what she is." 

After Donald and Ivana Trump divorced, he moved on with his relationship with Marla Maples, though the pair was reportedly on-again, off-again. In 1993, Maples and Donald welcomed their daughter Tiffany Trump to the world. Just two months after Tiffany was born, her parents tied the knot at the Plaza Hotel. 

Maples looked like the picture of elegance at the high-end wedding. She wore a simple, off-the-shoulder, long-sleeved silk Carolina Herrera wedding gown. She paired it with a voluminous veil and a Harry Winston tiara that is said to have cost $2 million, per The Knot. And, this was after Donald had proposed to Maples with an engagement ring that cost a whopping $250,000. The wedding happened despite the fact that Donald had previously said he never wanted to get married again, and they had 1,000 guests in attendance, despite the fact that Maples said she wanted a small wedding.

When the media circus around Donald Trump's divorce from Ivana Trump and subsequent marriage to Marla Maples died down, Maples was able to launch her acting career. The couple was only ultimately married for three years before calling it quits. Maples later told People that the life she had while married to Donald may have been luxurious, but it never felt like the right fit for her. "Putting on gowns and going out hosting events and having Harry Winston put jewelry on my hands was always uncomfortable for me — that was me playing a role. I felt that's what the job called for," she explained, adding, "To me it's never about how much money you have. It's about how are you connecting with each other, supporting each other?"

The couple's divorce was finalized in 1999 after they were separated for two years. Due to a prenuptial agreement on which Donald is said to have insisted, Maples reportedly received less than $2 million in their divorce. After their split, Maples decided that she wanted to keep Tiffany Trump out of the spotlight, so she moved with her young daughter to California.

It's clear that Marla Maples went on to put a lot of her focus on raising her mini-me daughter, all while proving how glamorous life can be without Donald Trump. Maples told People that Donald "is a good provider with education and such, but as far as time, it was just me. Her father wasn't able to be there with day-to-day skills as a parent. He loves his kids. There's no doubt. But everything was a bit of a negotiation."

Despite continuing to pursue a career in modeling and acting, keeping Tiffany Trump out of the public eye and giving her a normal childhood was an obvious priority for Maples at this stage of her life. In 2016, Maples told People, "She was with me through every bit of my journey throughout the last 22 years. I never hid anything from her." She added that Tiffany, "watched me have to go through so much in the media and how I handled it." According to Maples, watching her struggle with public opinion and attention prepared Tiffany for life in the public eye. "It gave her the strength and courage to be able to walk into the world now with so many eyes on her," she said, noting, "She's really strong. She has a bit of a thicker skin than me. She doesn't let the haters get to her like I did."

In 2016, Maples shifted her focus to a new challenge: "Dancing with the Stars." For folks who hadn't seen Maples since her relationship with Donald Trump and the related tabloid drama in the '90s, it was hard to believe that two decades had passed in the interim. Maples was 52 when she joined the cast of the hit competition show, but she didn't look very different than she did in the public eye many years prior — except, of course, her utterly '90s hair got a makeover for the new decade.

When asked why she chose to take on "Dancing with the Stars," Maples told The Hollywood Reporter that she was ready for a new chapter in her life. "I had been approached several times throughout the years," she explained, adding, "There were always conversations. But this year I felt ready. I recently moved back to New York to try and jump-start my career." 

Just shy of three decades after Marla Maples tied the knot with Donald Trump, she took on a different role at a Trump family wedding: mother of the bride. In 2022, Tiffany Trump tied the knot with Michael Boulos. Maples posed with her 29-year-old daughter wearing a lavender Elie Saab dress to coordinate with Tiffany's wedding gown by the same designer. Maples noted the importance the designer had for the special occasion in an interview with People. "It's a Lebanese American wedding, so we were so happy to have Elie Saab create the magic," she explained, referencing Boulos' Lebanese heritage. A source noted, "Marla and Tiffany have talked about this day for a very long time," adding, "She is so proud of her daughter and feels she chose the right man."

The "mother of the bride" title clearly had Maples excited, so we can only imagine how happy she is to be taking on the role of grandma next. In October 2024, Donald accidentally spoiled Tiffany's pregnancy news at a campaign event. And, it's safe to assume that Maples is eager to take on this next chapter alongside her lookalike daughter.