Who Was The Mystery Woman Behind Barron Trump At The 2026 SOTU? We Found Out

Each of Donald Trump's kids sat in front of their partners at the 2026 State of the Union, so when we saw a mystery woman behind Barron Trump, we immediately started looking into who she was. However, it turns out she's not that mysterious at all: The woman is Sierra Burns, whom Melania Trump connected with through her Foster Youth to Independence initiative. 

Karoline Leavitt first announced that Burns would be a guest of FLOTUS on in an interview with Fox News, though she didn't initially name names. "The first lady will have two great children with her as part of her Fostering the Future initiative," the press secretary shared (via CNN). The White House's website later confirmed that one of those guests would be Sierra Burns, and it's possible Leavitt had misspoken because Burns is a 24-year-old Furman University Master's student pursuing her degree in Advocacy and Social Policy. Either way, the former foster child has been a beneficiary of Melania's programs, and in a post to X, the first lady's team shared a pic of and blurb about her, noting, "She is a dedicated advocate for children in foster care after having experienced the foster-care system firsthand." The post also noted that Sierra had previously "testified in support of extending foster care in South Carolina."

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In a video posted to the White House's Instagram page, Burns gushed about how grateful she was to have been included in the 2026 SOTU, noting, "I'm, like ... awestruck. It's the State of the Union — like, that's an ultimate honor." Burns also went on to say, "To be here is a dream. I don't think I could have ever imagined this for myself. And yet, here I am, so I'm thrilled, and thank you for having me."

While we initially noticed Sierra Burns because of where she was sitting (because, again, all of Donald Trump's kids were flanked by their romantic partners), it bears mentioning that the members of the first family weren't the only famous faces she was seated with. Also included in the box were second lady Usha Vance, who announced her pregnancy roughly a month before the SOTU, and even Erika Kirk, who teared up as the president addressed Charlie Kirk's death in a not-at-all triggering way by shouting, "Last year Charlie was violently murdered" — yes, really (via Fox 32 Chicago).

Other than the Trumps and Erika, Burns was also seated with Melania Trump's other guest, Everest Nevraumont. Like Burns, Nevraumont was included in the White House's video thanking the president and FLOTUS for being included in the evening's proceedings, gushing, "I'm so excited to be in Washington, D.C., the Capitol, to attend the State of the Union with the president and the first lady." It's likely Nevraumont had been who Karoline Leavitt had in mind when she announced that Melania's guests would be children, as she is 11 years old. 

Being invited to the SOTU is a big deal, as is being included in the first family's box and seated right behind the president's kids. Time will tell if Burns grows closer to the family, but in the meantime, it's certainly been a once-in-a-lifetime experience.