Ivana Trump spent her final days in the company of her family and out of the public spotlight, but was about to leave on her first overseas holiday in years when she was found unconscious and unresponsive in her New York home.

The model turned businesswoman, best known for her 15-year marriage to former US president Donald Trump, was last photographed on the streets of Manhattan's Upper East Side on June 22. She was being assisted by an aide on her way to a hair appointment.

Ivana, 73, had been maintaining a careful, low-key lifestyle since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. In those final photos, she and her aide were both wearing face masks.

According to her best friend, Nikki Haskell, Ivana was "totally locked down" throughout the pandemic and "wouldn't go anywhere". Tragically, she died one day before flying out for her first holiday since Covid began, to Saint-Tropez in France.

"She was leaving for Saint-Tropez tomorrow. This was going to be her first trip away since the pandemic," a distraught Haskell told The New York Post.

"We were contemplating taking a trip around the world this January. Take two months off and take a trip around the world. I just can't believe it.

"She was really looking forward to going to Europe."

Haskell said her friend had taken Covid seriously and limited her movements.

"She only walked from her house to a restaurant next door, maybe one or two restaurants around the corner. That's it," she said.

The restaurant next door to Ivana's home is called Altese Ristorante. She last visited it on Wednesday afternoon, less than 24 hours before her death.

Speaking to The US Sun, the restaurant's owner Paola Alavian said Ivana appeared to be in good spirits, though she did seem "tired" and only ordered a very small amount of food.

"As always she asked me how I was going," Alavian said through tears.

"She was always supporting us. And we just shared an extremely normal conversation, the kind I had almost every day I saw her.

"Her health seemed normal. She looked maybe a little tired, but she otherwise seemed okay."

Alavian said he was "a little bit in shock".

"She was just an excellent human. She was a really, really good person ... she was a mother to everybody here."

A source close to Ivana's daughter, Ivanka Trump, told The Post her last days were spent with family. Ivanka is reportedly "in shock" over her mother's death.

"They were super close," the source said, adding that Ivana's health had "been in decline over the past few years".

'She will be dearly missed'

Ivana was found unconscious at the bottom of a set of stairs in her apartment shortly after midday on Thursday, local time.

An official cause of death has yet to be determined. America's ABC News reports authorities are investigating "whether she fell and, if so, whether the fall contributed to her death".

"Our mother was an incredible woman: a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend," a statement from the Trump family said.

"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 10 grandchildren."

Donald Trump posted his own statement on social media calling Ivana "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," he said.

And Ivanka posted a tribute on Instagram, saying she was "heartbroken".

"Mum was brilliant, charming, passionate and wickedly funny. She modelled strength, tenacity and determination in her every action. She lived life to the fullest," she wrote.

"I will miss her forever and will keep her memory alive in our hearts always."

Ivana's many friends have also paid tribute to her.

Political operative Roger Stone, who knew her for five decades, said Ivana was "a gracious lady, a great mother and an incredible hostess".

Designer Dennis Basso said she was "like family" and her death was "absolutely devastating".

A life full of energy

Ivana did not come from riches, having been born under communist rule in Czechoslovakia.

By the time Donald met her, however, Ivana had moved to Canada and was working as a successful model. She was also a talented skier.

The pair were married between 1977 and 1992. During that time, spurning the usual life of a New York City socialite, Ivana took on major roles in her husband's business empire, serving as executive vice president of the Trump Organisation and CEO of the Trump Castle casino in New Jersey. She was also heavily involved in the design of Trump Tower in New York City, particularly its interior design.

It has been reported that she worked tens of hours of overtime each week.

When Ivana and Donald eventually divorced amid a media furore over his affair with another model, Marla Maples, she received a settlement of about US$14 million ($22.9m), along with a mansion in Connecticut and an apartment in New Jersey's Trump Plaza.

But she didn't sit idle. Ivana used the money to launch a series of business ventures, and by the time she died her net worth had swelled to approximately US$100m ($163m), according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Post-divorce, she founded multiple companies, which produced fashion lines, jewellery and various beauty products. In the mid-nineties she started the fragrance and fashion company House of Ivana.

Ivana also made money on the global speaking circuit and as an author, writing multiple self-help books, an autobiography, and at one point starting a lifestyle magazine.

And she even made an iconic cameo in the world of acting, appearing in the 1996 film The First Wives Club.

It was Ivanka who once remarked that her mother had "more energy in her pinky than most people have in their entire body".