Ivana Trump, President Donald Trump's first wife, dies at age 73

NEW YORK CITY -- Ivana Trump, the first wife of former President Donald Trump whose high profile marriage was only eclipsed by a scandalous divorce, died Thursday afternoon at her Manhattan apartment.

She was 73.

Police responded to a call of a person in cardiac arrest at 10 East 64th Street on the Upper East Side at 12:40 p.m., and police sources said Ivana Trump was found unconscious and unresponsive at the bottom of a set of stairs.

The police are investigating whether she fell and, if so, whether the fall contributed in any way to her death, the sources said.

The New York City Medical Examiner's Office will investigate to determine the cause and manner of death.

The Trump family released a statement confirming her death.

"It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Ivana Trump," it read. "Our mother was an incredible woman -- a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend. Ivana Trump was a survivor. She fled from communism and embraced this country. She taught her children about grit and toughness, compassion and determination. She will be dearly missed by her mother, her three children and ten grandchildren."

Ivana Trump married Donald Trump in 1977, and though at times she appeared to be overshadowed by her celebrity husband, she was very much one half of the 1980s power couple, serving by his side in the Trump Organization as vice president for interior design.

She also managed the Plaza Hotel, one of the family's top properties.

"I am very saddened to inform all of those that loved her, of which there are many, that Ivana Trump has passed away at her home in New York City," Donald Trump posted on Truth Social. "She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life. Her pride and joy were her three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. She was so proud of them, as we were all so proud of her. Rest In Peace, Ivana!"

Their troubled marriage and divorce became the subject of worldwide public interest, as Donald Trump's affair with Marla Maples became public, and their split was finalized in 1992.

Her divorce made her heroine for spurned wives everywhere, garnering her a cameo in the 1996 film "The First Wives Club," where she told the characters, "Don't get mad, get everything."

Ivana Trump married four times, once before Donald and two times after.

Following the divorce, she developed her own lines of clothing, jewelry, and beauty products.

She was the author of several books, the latest called "Raising Trump," and also wrote an advice column.

Before the release of "Raising Trump," she spoke with ABC News and said she still spoke to her former husband about once every two weeks and that she had a "direct number" to the White House.

"I (don't) really want to call him there, because Melania is there," she said at the time, referring to first lady Melania Trump. "And I don't want to cause any kind of jealousy or something like that, because I'm basically first Trump wife. OK? I'm first lady."

The book documented her journey from growing up under Communist rule in the former Czechoslovakia to marrying a future U.S. president and raising their three children together.