Famous people who died in 2023: Donald Trump's older sister and critic, Maryanne Barry

Maryanne Trump Barry, the older sister of former US president Donald Trump, died at age 86 in November 2023. She had a pioneering career as a female judge and lawyer but also made waves with her scathing criticism of her brother.

Born on April 5, 1937, to Fred Trump and Mary Anne MacLeod, Maryanne was Donald Trump’s eldest sister. She was around nine years older than the former president.

After Maryanne’s death, only two of the five Trump siblings remain. Fred Trump Jr died from a heart attack at age 42. Robert Trump, Donald’s youngest brother, died in 2020 at the age of 71 after having a stroke and a fall. Besides the Republican leader who aims to take the White House again in 2024, Elizabeth Trump Grau is the only other surviving sibling.

Photo: Robert Trump and Fred Trump

Maryanne earned her law degree in 1974. Soon after, she became one of the two women lawyers in the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Over the years, she ascended in rank to become the First Assistant United States Attorney from 1981 to 1983.

Maryanne secured a seat on the federal bench in New Jersey, thanks to the help of Mr. Trump’s fixer, the lawyer Roy M Cohn, who had influence during the Reagan years, according to the New York Times and Mary L. Trump, Fred’s daughter and Trump’s niece, who wrote a tell-all book about the family.

The New York Times reports that she earned herself a reputation as a “tough judge with a strong command of her courtroom.” After Ronald Reagan had appointed her, she earned a promotion from Bill Clinton.

Maryanne married John J. Barry, who the New York Times described as a “politically connected” New Jersey lawyer in a 2015 article. He was also among Donald Trump’s lawyers at the time.

“I knew better, even as a child, than to even attempt to compete with Donald,” she told New York magazine for a 'Power Siblings' edition in 2002. “I wouldn’t have been able to win.”

Despite her public comments, she kept quiet during his presidential campaign in 2016, although Donald Trump told the New York Times that she was supportive. “She called me to say she’s very proud,” Mr. Trump said. “She said, ‘Just be yourself.’ Of course, I don’t know if that’s good advice, but she said, ‘Just be yourself and you do well, really well,’” he told the New York Times after the debate where Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly asked him about his remarks on women.

Although she didn’t publicly contradict her little brother’s comments that she was proud of him, behind the scenes, it seems she was not such a fan…

In 15 hours of recordings in which she conversed with Mary L. Trump, who published the tell-all book, Maryanne could be heard sharply criticizing President Trump. “All he wants to do is appeal to his base. He has no principles,” she said.

In the conversations reported by Mary, she continued slamming his “tweeting and lying.” “You know, the change of stories. The lack of preparation. The lying,” she said exasperated, also emphasizing that he did not read books and had someone take his college entrance exam in his place, according to the book.

"It's the phoniness of it all. It's the phoniness and this cruelty. Donald is cruel,” she said. In the recordings, the esteemed judge also criticized the Trump government’s family separation policy at the border and his bankruptcies. “You can’t trust him,” she said.

In Oct. 2018, the New York Times published an investigative report alleging that Maryanne and her siblings had committed tax fraud surrounding Fred Trump’s real estate business. Local authorities began investigating, in 2019, and days later, she announced her retirement from the bench, effectively ending the investigation because retired judges are not subject to judicial court rules.

While anonymous sources told the New York Times that she died at her home overlooking Central Park on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, no one could specify a cause. Two of the sources said the police were called to her home on Monday morning. ABC reports that there were no signs of trauma or foul play.

Hours after his sister died, Trump had yet to publicly acknowledge the loss of his older sister. However, he was active on social media, posting about his snowballing legal challenges instead. Those against him would end up in a “mental institution by the time my next term as President is successfully completed," Trump wrote in the wake of his sister's death. "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"