A lawsuit filed by Melania Trump depicts her heightened profile as a “unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to make millions of dollars in business, once again raising questions about the relationship between President Trump’s official role and his family’s business interests.

Mrs. Trump’s suit, filed on Monday in a New York State court, accuses The Daily Mail, a British tabloid, of libel for reporting last year on claims that a modeling agency she worked for in the 1990s was also an escort service.

The new complaint does not refer explicitly to the White House or Mr. Trump, or even her status as a candidate’s wife when the article was published and now as first lady. Instead, it refers to opportunities she had “to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories, each of which could have garnered multimillion dollar business relationships for a multiyear term during which plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world.”

Because of the Daily Mail article, it says, “plaintiff’s brand has lost significant value,” greatly reducing those opportunities. It claims $150 million in damages.