A lot has been written about the upbringing of Senator JD Vance (R-OH)—most famously, by himself in his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy. The book rocketed Vance, now officially Donald Trump’s VP nominee, to national prominence. But less has been written about his spouse, and America’s potential next Second Lady, Usha Vance. Here’s what we know about her:
She has a Supreme resume
Usha Vance, née Usha Chilukuri, met her husband when they were students at Yale Law School. After graduation, both embarked on classic Ivy League career paths: JD Vance worked in venture capital, while Usha Vance would clerk for then-circuit judge Brett Kavanaugh in 2014, before holding the same job with Chief Justice John Roberts in 2017, writing draft rulings and researching cases at a time when Roberts would issue a majority opinion on the Muslim travel ban, according to Reuters.
She was once a registered Democrat
Despite her CV, Vance wasn’t always ensconced in the conservative scene. According to NBC News, Usha Vance had voted in a Democratic primary as recently as 2014, though she would eventually vote in Ohio’s Republican primary in 2022—presumably, for her husband’s Senate campaign. Her only recorded political donation, however, was to Arizona Republican senate candidate (and Peter Thiel acolyte) Blake Masters in 2021.
She worked at a law firm with a “radically progressive” culture
Until earlier this week—when her husband was officially nominated as VP—Vance worked at a civil litigator at the DC and California-based firm Munger Tolles & Olson, which was highlighted by The American Lawyer in 2019 for its “radically progressive” work culture, citing its on-site daycare and 18 weeks’ worth of fully paid leave for caregivers after the birth of a child. There, she represented clients like Disney and the University of California. She is a member of the DC bar.
She comes from a line of academics
While railing against the perceived excesses of higher education is now a cause celebre for Republicans, the potential next Second Lady has quite a few family members in academia. Her mother, Lakshmi, is a provost at the University of California, San Diego, while her father, Krish, teaches aerospace engineering at San Diego State University. Not to be outdone, her 96-year-old great aunt Shanthamma still teaches physics in India.
She was raised Hindu
The daughter of Indian immigrants, Usha Vance was raised in a Hindu-practicing household, and married her husband in an interfaith ceremony in 2014. “Even though, I was raised Christian. I’d never been baptized, so I was baptized the first time in 2018. Usha was not raised Christian [and] is actually not a Christian. But I remember when I started to reengage with my own faith, Usha was very supportive,” JD Vance told Fox and Friends in June.
She splits her time between Cincinnati and Alexandria
Shortly after the runaway success of Hillbilly Elegy, the Vances bought a $1.4 million Gothic home on Cincinnati’s William Howard Taft Road—named after a fellow Ohioan turned Yale grad, who would be elected president. After JD Vance was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022, the couple purchased a $1.6 million home in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood. Despite the couple’s conservative bona fides, both of the Vance family homes are in traditionally liberal enclaves. In 2023, a fellow Alexandrian welcomed them to the neighborhood by covering their yard in rainbow yarn.
