Wikipedia

Usha Vance

Usha Chilukuri Vance (née Chilukuri; born January 6, 1986) is an American lawyer.[1] She is the wife of JD Vance, Ohio's junior United States Senator[2] and Donald Trump's running mate in the 2024 presidential election.

Usha Vance
Born
Usha Chilukuri

(1986-01-06) January 6, 1986 (age 38)
San Diego County, California, U.S.
EducationYale University (BA, JD)
Clare College, Cambridge (MPhil)
Political partyDemocratic (as late as 2014)
Republican (as early as 2022)
Spouse
​
(m. 2014)​
Children3

After graduating from Yale Law School, Vance was a law clerk for multiple federal judges, including Chief Justice John Roberts, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, and Judge Amul Thapar.[3]

Early life and education

Usha Chilukuri was born in a suburb of San Diego, California,[1] to Telugu-speaking Indian immigrants.[4][5] Her father is a mechanical engineer from IIT Madras and a lecturer at San Diego State University,[6][7] and her mother is a molecular biologist and provost at the University of California, San Diego.[8] Usha's family belongs to the Telugu Brahmin community and migrated from Andhra Pradesh, India, in the 1980s.[9] She was raised in San Diego's upper-middle-class Rancho Peñasquitos suburb.[10][11]

In 2003 she graduated from Mt. Carmel High School, where she performed in the marching band.[1][12][7] She has one sister, Shreya.[11] Childhood friends described her as a "leader" and a "bookworm".[13] She attended Yale University, graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in history, with membership in Phi Beta Kappa. She then attended Clare College, Cambridge, in England, as a Gates Cambridge Scholar, receiving a Master of Philosophy in early modern history in 2010.[14]

In 2013, Vance obtained her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, where she was the Executive Development Editor of the Yale Law Journal and Managing Editor of the Yale Journal of Law & Technology.[15][16][17] During her time at Yale, she also taught American history as a Yale-China Teaching Fellow at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China,[16] and participated in the Supreme Court Advocacy Clinic, the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic, and the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project.[18]

Career

Vance served as a law clerk for to Amul Thapar of the District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky from 2013 to 2014, Brett Kavanaugh on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2014 to 2015, and Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts from 2017 to 2018.[19][20] She was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in May 2019 and worked for the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, handling civil litigation and appeals in cases involving higher education, local government, entertainment and technology, until July 2024, when she resigned "to focus on caring for our family".[21] Among her clients were the Regents of the University of California and a division of The Walt Disney Company.[22]

Vance has served on the board of the Gates Cambridge Alumni Association and as secretary of the board of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.[23]

At the Republican National Convention in July 2024, Vance delivered the introductory address for her husband.[24][25]

Personal life and background

While at Yale Law School, Chilukuri met her future husband, JD Vance, a relationship encouraged by their professor Amy Chua.[26] Chua has called their relationship "extremely unlikely, almost opposites of personality".[27] Vance called Chilukuri his "Yale spirit guide" because she was a critical source of support and encouragement in his academic and professional life.[27] In 2013, Chilukuri and Vance collaborated to organize a discussion group at Yale focused on "social decline in white America".[2]

Chilukuri and Vance married in 2014 in Kentucky, in an interfaith marriage ceremony,[28][13] Her husband's friend Jamil Jivani read from the Bible[29] and a Hindu pandit blessed the couple.[2] They have three children.[30][31] She is a practicing Hindu, and her husband a Christian[28][32] who was raised Evangelical but converted to Catholicism in 2019.[33]

According to public records, in 2014 Chilukuri voted in Democratic primaries, but in 2022, she voted in the Republican primary in which her husband was a candidate.[13][27] She clerked for conservative judges, such as Roberts and Kavanaugh, but has also practiced at a California law firm with a progressive work culture.[34] According to The New York Times, her political views seem to have changed over the years, as in 2021, she made a political contribution to the U.S. Senate campaign of a national conservative, Blake Masters.[2]

Reading has been a passion for Chilukuri. In her childhood, she often visited India and was introduced to Indian literature by reading books by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore and novelist R. K. Narayan's Malgudi Days, among others.[9] The "read" books on her Goodreads account include novels by Zadie Smith, Jonathan Safran Foer, and Vladimir Nabokov, as well as nonfiction by Nina Burleigh and Nicholas Kristof.[2] In 2016, she gave her husband's book, Hillbilly Elegy, a 5-star rating.[2] Her husband has said, "People don’t realize just how brilliant she is", noting that she can digest a 1,000-page book in only a few hours.[1]

Family background

Usha Chilukuri's parents are from the Telugu Brahmin community of the West Godavari and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh, India.[9][35][36] Most of the family is academically strong, and education has been their top priority.[4] Her paternal ancestry can be traced to Chilukuri Buchipapayya Sastri (c. 18th century), who lived in Saipuram in Vuyyuru Mandal of Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh.[37][35][9] Later, one branch of the family migrated to Vadluru near Tanuku in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.[38] Usha's mother, Lakshmi, hails from Pamarru in Krishna district.[35][37]

Her great-aunt, Chilukuri Santhamma, living in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, is considered India's oldest active professor at the age of 96 years age as of 2024, and has authored a book based on the ancient Hindu sacred text, Bhagavad Gita.[39][4] Usha's paternal grandfather, Chilukuri Rama Sastri, taught physics at IIT Madras, and the institute now runs a student award in his memory.[4] Her paternal aunt lives in Chennai.[37]

Portrayal in media

In Hillbilly Elegy (2020), a film about the life of her husband, she was portrayed by actress Freida Pinto.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Who is Usha Vance, lawyer and wife of Trump's VP pick?". BBC. July 17, 2024. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2024. Mrs Vance - née Chilukuri, the child of Indian immigrants - was born and raised in the suburbs of San Diego, California
  2. ^ a b c d e f Bernstein, Joseph; Rosman, Katherine (November 1, 2022). "From Yale to Newsmax, Usha Vance Has Helped J.D. Vance Chart His Path". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  3. ^ Sarnoff, Leah; Faulders, Katherine (July 15, 2024). "Who is Usha Vance? JD Vance's wife leaves law firm after Trump VP announcement". ABC News. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Rishika Sadam; Krishna N. Das (July 18, 2024). "Indian family of Usha Vance, wife of Trump's VP pick, known for academic prowess". Reuters. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  5. ^ "Who is Usha Vance, JD Vance's wife who influenced who he is today?". CBS. July 16, 2024. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024. The daughter of Indian immigrants to the U.S. who were also professors, she was born in San Diego
  6. ^ Gopal, B. Madhu (July 18, 2024). "Usha Chilukuri, Potential Second Lady of U.S., has a close Vizag connection". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on July 19, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Usha Vance, wife of vice presidential nominee JD Vance, has roots in San Diego". San Diego Union Tribune. July 21, 2024. Archived from the original on August 3, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2024. Usha Chilukuri Vance graduated Mt. Carmel High School in 2004. Her parents hold prominent positions in San Diego's academic world.
  8. ^ "Lakshmi Chilukuri". Society for College and University Planning. Archived from the original on August 3, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d Akula, Amaraiah (July 20, 2024). "Usha Vance: Telugu population in US enthused about Second Lady in waiting". The Federal. Archived from the original on July 20, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2024. Her parents, Telugu Brahmins from Saipuram near Pamarru in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, migrated from India in the 1980s
  10. ^ Bhatia, Shireen. "Ohio Senator JD Vance reveals Hindu wife's support for his Christian faith". Christian Today. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Indian Americans Become a Political Force, Just as Usha Vance's Profile Rises". New York Times. July 20, 2024. Archived from the original on August 3, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  12. ^ Smith, David (July 17, 2024). "Who is Usha Vance, the Indian American lawyer married to JD Vance?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on August 3, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c Bernstein, Joseph (July 15, 2024). "Who Is Usha Vance, the Wife of J.D. Vance?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  14. ^ "Gates Cambridge Scholars 2009" (PDF). Gates Cambridge. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  15. ^ "Volume 122 Masthead". The Yale Law Journal. October 2012. Archived from the original on May 29, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Sarnoff, Leah; Faulders, Katherine. "Who is Usha Vance? JD Vance's wife leaves law firm after Trump VP announcement". abcnews.go.com. ABC News. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  17. ^ "Meet Usha Chilukur Vance: Trump VP pick's Indian-origin wife, litigator, Yale graduate". m.economictimes.com. The Economic Times. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  18. ^ Gibson, Kelsie. "Who Is J.D. Vance's Wife? All About Usha Chilukuri Vance". People. Archived from the original on August 2, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  19. ^ Jamison, Peter; Reinhard, Beth; Natanson, Hannah; Markus, Nicole (July 27, 2024). "Usha Vance told friends Trump appalled her. Now she's working to elect him". Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 27, 2024.
  20. ^ Mehrotra, Kriti (November 24, 2020). "Where Are J.D Vance's Wife and Children Now?". The Cinemaholic. Archived from the original on July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  21. ^ Monnay, Tatyana (July 15, 2024). "JD Vance's Lawyer Wife Will Leave Her Role at Prominent Firm". Bloomberg Law. Archived from the original on July 28, 2024. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  22. ^ Smith, David (July 17, 2024). "Who is Usha Vance, the Indian American lawyer married to JD Vance?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 3, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  23. ^ Sen, Sumanti (May 5, 2022). "Who is Usha Chilukuri? Ohio's GOP Senate primary winner JD Vance's wife once clerked for Brett Kavanaugh". MEA WorldWide. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  24. ^ Coster, Helen. "Usha Vance, wife of Trump's VP pick, takes stage at Republican convention". Reuters. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  25. ^ BeMiller, Haley; Pfannenstiel, Brianne. "Usha Vance steps into the Republican spotlight to wide praise - and a few racist sneers". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  26. ^ Lazarus, Lily Mae. "The Second Ladies (and Gentleman) of the RNC". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  27. ^ a b c "Who is Usha Vance? JD Vance's wife is a lawyer and daughter of immigrants". NBC News. July 16, 2024. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  28. ^ a b Bhatia, Shireen (July 16, 2024). "Ohio Senator JD Vance reveals Hindu wife's support for his Christian faith". Christian Today. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  29. ^ Tasker, John Paul. "This Conservative MP is 'best friends' with Trump running mate J.D. Vance". CBC. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  30. ^ "Meet JD Vance's Indian American Wife Usha Chilukuri". India West. May 4, 2022. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  31. ^ "J.D. Vance's 3 Kids: All About Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel". Peoplemag. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  32. ^ "JD Vance and his wife discuss the potential of being picked for Trump's VP". Fox News. June 26, 2024. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  33. ^ "What has JD Vance said about his faith?". Deseret News. July 16, 2024. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  34. ^ Saric, Ivana (July 16, 2024). "Who is Usha Vance, wife of Trump VP pick J.D. Vance". Axios. Archived from the original on August 3, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  35. ^ a b c అమెరికా ఉపాధ్యక్ష అభ్యర్థి వాన్స్‌ సతీమణి ఉష చిలుకూరి - ఈమె ఫ్యామిలీ గురించి తెలుసా?. ETV Bharat (in Telugu). July 18, 2024. Archived from the original on July 20, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  36. ^ "ట్రంప్ గెలిస్తే తెలుగమ్మాయే మిసెస్ వైస్ ప్రెసిడెంట్". Eenadu (in Telugu). July 17, 2024. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024.
  37. ^ a b c ఉష కృష్ణా జిల్లా ఆడపడుచు. Eenadu (in Telugu). July 18, 2024. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024.
  38. ^ Usha Chilukuri పూర్వీకుల గ్రామం వడ్లూరు ఎక్కడుంది. 'బీబీసీ తెలుగు' పర్యటనలో ఏం తెలిసింది? (in Telugu). BBC News. July 20, 2024. Archived from the original on July 20, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2024 – via YouTube.
  39. ^ Sudhir, S. N. V. (July 18, 2024). "This 96-year-old professor from Andhra Pradesh has an extra reason to celebrate if Donald Trump wins". Deccan Herald. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
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