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Ivanka Trump turns 36: 20 years makes quite a difference

Ivanka Trump, adviser and daughter of President Trump, speaks during a news conference at the Capitol on Oct. 25. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Ivanka Trump, adviser and daughter of President Trump, speaks during a news conference at the Capitol on Oct. 25. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Ivanka Trump may not know how birthdays work, but she’s celebrating one today. Donald Trump’s elder daughter turns 36 on a not especially celebratory day in the West Wing. (Indictments have that effect.)

These days, the businesswoman is her father’s right-hand woman as he navigates his interesting first year in the White House. And she — along with Jared Kushner and their three kids — are immersed in all things politics in D.C. But at heart, she’s a New York City girl, born and bred. And what a difference 20 years have made in the life of Ivanka. Like the rest of the world, we’re obsessed with throwbacks and thought it would be fun to see what she was doing 20 years ago, when she was sweet 16.

For starters, Ivanka (whose real name is Ivana, like mom’s) was trying to break into the modeling biz — and she certainly had some success on the heels of her father’s turning himself into a NYC celebrity. Here she is getting primped backstage at New York Fashion Week in April 1997.

Ivanka Trump sits backstage in the hairstylist’s chair before Marc Bouwer’s fall fashion show. (Photo: Mitchell Gerber/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)
Ivanka Trump sits backstage in the hairstylist’s chair before Marc Bouwer’s fall fashion show. (Photo: Mitchell Gerber/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

This photo, snapped in November 1997, is maybe our favorite though because … that phone. We also like imagining who she was talking to. Chauffeur?

Ivanka Trump backstage on cellphone at the Jill Stuart Fashion Show at Chelsea Piers in NYC. (Photo: Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
Ivanka Trump backstage on cellphone at the Jill Stuart Fashion Show at Chelsea Piers in NYC. (Photo: Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

Let’s just say that her runway style isn’t similar to her personal style. Here, in July 1997, she seemed to be channeling her mom, Ivana, on the catwalk.

Ivanka Trump during the Mugler fashion show. (Photo: Pierre Vauthey/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)
Ivanka Trump during the Mugler fashion show. (Photo: Pierre Vauthey/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)

See what we mean? Here she is with her mama and her mama’s “boy toy,” Roffredo Gaetani di Laurenzana dell’Aquila d’Aragona Lovatelli, in October 1997. Ivana, who has always stood out for her fashion sense, and the Donald parted ways in 1992.

Ivana Trump, Roffredo Gaetani, and Ivanka Trump (Photo: Arnaldo Magnani/Getty Images)
Ivana Trump, Roffredo Gaetani, and Ivanka Trump (Photo: Arnaldo Magnani/Getty Images)

It was so long ago that Ivanka had a different stepmother, Marla Maples, back then. The women, pictured in mesh at a charity event in September 1997, seemed to get along. They keep their distance nowadays.

Marla Maples and Ivanka Trump in uniform during the Shooting Gallery’s Third Annual Celebrity basketball game at Hunter College. (Photo: Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
Marla Maples and Ivanka Trump in uniform during the Shooting Gallery’s Third Annual Celebrity basketball game at Hunter College. (Photo: Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

And, yes, Ivanka was a daddy’s girl even then. Here are father and daughter at a polo match in 1997.

Donald Trump stands with his daughter Ivanka as they attend the Mercedes-Benz Polo Match in Bridgehampton, N.Y. (Photo: Rose Hartman/Getty Images)
Donald Trump stands with his daughter Ivanka as they attend the Mercedes-Benz Polo Match in Bridgehampton, N.Y. (Photo: Rose Hartman/Getty Images)

Again, what a difference 20 years makes. What do you think she’ll be up to at 56? Take a guess in the comments below.

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