Usha Chilukuri Vance (born Usha Bala Chilukuri; January 6, 1986) is an American lawyer. She is the wife of JD Vance, Ohio’s junior United States Senator and Donald Trump‘s running mate in the 2024 United States presidential election. As Donald Trump was elected in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Vance will assume office in the role of Second Lady of the United States in January 2025, the first Indian American to hold the position.
Who is Usha Vance?
Usha Vance is an Indian immigrant originally named Usha Chilukuri. Usha Vance grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. She earned a BA in History from Yale University and an MA degree in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge. Usha Vance has had an extremely successful career in law and includes clerkships with Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh before the appointment to the Court. He earned his undergraduate degree in History from Yale University and an MPhil from the University of Cambridge.
She clerked for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit under Judge Brett Kavanaugh and the Supreme Court of the United States under Chief Justice John Roberts. These positions placed her at the forefront of the country’s most elite legal minds and institutions early in her career.
Meeting JD Vance at Yale, Family Life
They first met at Yale Law School. JD and Usha Vance started as friends studying law at Yale, before a romantic relationship developed with each passing year. The next thing they knew, 2014 had rolled on-their graduation year-in, and they got hitched. The couple, along with Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel, manages its hectic legal and political lives on a sturdy ground of family.
Usha Vance: A Role Behind the Scenes
Although Usha has remained out of the public eye, her presence has always been felt behind the scenes in her husband’s political career. She was one of the influential people who helped JD Vance find the right words for his experiences regarding the social issues facing rural America—experiences that later were the bedrock of his best-selling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, adapted into a 2020 film by Ron Howard.
Conclusion
Usha Vance stands as a remarkable figure in her own right, with her achievements, heritage, and dedication to family life making her a compelling person of interest. As JD Vance’s career continues, Usha’s influence will likely remain a quiet but steady force in his life, shaping their shared values and the legacy they build together. With her Yale education, legal expertise, and cultural heritage, Usha Vance is a unique individual whose role alongside JD Vance offers a modern portrait of partnership and shared values in American public life.
Information at a Glance
- Usha Chilukuri Vance was born to Indian parents who immigrated to the US from Andhra Pradesh in 1986 and raised her in a suburb of San Diego, California.
- She obtained her degree in History at Yale University, before returning to Britain for her Master of Philosophy as a Gates Scholar from the University of Cambridge.
- She also served as an editor for the Yale Journal of Law & Technology and for The Yale Law Journal as a Managing Editor and an Executive Development Editor, respectively.
- Usha met JD Vance at Yale Law School and married him in 2014 in a Hindu ritual. They have three children together. Usha has been a supportive partner for JD Vance throughout his political career, often appearing alongside him during his Ohio Senate campaign. She has also contributed to JD Vance’s famous memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, which illuminates the struggles of rural America, and was adapted into a movie by Ron Howard.
- She is a corporate litigator at a firm in San Francisco. She also spent time clerking for both US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh.