Years before marrying President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump was a world famous model and socialite.
Meaning she’s never been a stranger to the camera.
Now, fresh off the success of her best selling memoir, the first lady has capitalized on her fame even more, inking a massive Hollywood movie deal.
According to a New York Post report, Melania Trump will walk away with at least $28 million as part of her $40 million agreement with Amazon to license a documentary film about her life.
Melania Trump Strikes $40 Million Amazon Deal for Documentary, Set to Earn $28 Million – https://t.co/yWASwFwQdC pic.twitter.com/DCwwjoacDO
— M10News (@M10News1) February 14, 2025
A Wall Street Journal report also indicated that Melania Trump is due to receive over 70% of the deal’s proceeds and has also been shopping sponsorship deals for the film.
As part of the film negotiations, reports say that the first lady has reportedly been negotaiating with top CEOs who attended her husband’s inauguration on Jan. 20 that they would need to pay at least $10 million in exchange for being acknowledged at the end of the film’s credits.
The CEOs who agree to pay for the sponsorship would get an invite to the documentary’s premier, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The first lady’s blockbuster movie rights deal came together shortly after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos traveled to Mar-a-Lago in December to dine with her husband.
According to the Wall Street Journal report, the first lady was keen on persuading Bezos, the Amazon founder and Washington Post owner who historically has had a tough relationship with the president, to buy the rights to the documentary.
Weeks earlier, Bezos had blocked his newspaper’s traditionally Democrat-leaning editorial board from publishing an endorsement of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
He later pledged $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund shortly thereafter.
Reports say that as part of her pitch to Amazona, Melania Trump reportedly enlisted the aid of Brett Ratner, the Hollywood director and producer known for hits including the “Rush Hour” trilogy as well as his involvement with blockbusters such as “Red Dragon” and “X-Men: The Last Stand.”
At the Mar-a-Lago dinner on Dec. 18, which included the Trumps as well as Bezos and his fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, the first lady “regaled” her guests with details about the documentary film, the Journal reported.
About two weeks later, Amazon announced that it would stream the film on its Prime Video service.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the $40 million sum was the most that Amazon had ever spent on a documentary — an amount that was three time more than the nearest competing bids.
“We licensed the upcoming Melania Trump documentary film and series for one reason and one reason only — because we think customers are going to love it,” an Amazon spokesman told the Wall Street Journal.
Filming began in December 2024, with an anticipated release in the second half of 2025.
“Prime Video will be sharing more details on the project as filming progresses and release plans are finalized.
“We are excited to share this truly unique story with our millions of customers around the world.”
Melania Trump kept a relatively low profile during her husband’s presidential campaign, but has generated a lot of publicity as of late.
Her new memoir “Melania” was released last October and become a bestseller, becoming the number-one bestselling book on Amazon through preorders.
She has also spearheaded the re-opening of public tours of The White House.