Everything We Know About JD Vance's Sister Lindsay

JD Vance is loud and proud about his difficult upbringing and he can't tell that campaign trail story without mentioning his sister, Lindsay Ratliff. Despite JD being a vice presidential nominee and including his sister in his 2016 memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy," Ratliff has nonetheless remained slightly removed from the public eye, even if her brother has White House aspirations. 

Ratliff is the older sibling by five years and is technically JD's half-sister who was a child of their mother's first husband. Ratliff and JD's mother struggled with drug addiction, with the two becoming forever bonded through trauma after an instance when their mom Beverly Vance, while driving them around, threatened to murder them (via People). Because of their mother's struggles, the two were primarily raised by their grandparents, James and Bonnie Vance, who they affectionately refer to as "Papaw" and "Mamaw."

While we may know their shared history, when Ratliff has gone on the record by herself, she has remained relentlessly proud and supportive of her younger brother. In a 2017 NBC interview, Ratliff said, "I would die for that kid. And I know he would too." Ratliff also spoke about reading JD's memoir, as she re-lived their childhood. "I just laid in bed at night pulling apart and reading it and I would just cry. I just felt so sorry for those kids ... I should have been able to do more." Ratliff said she didn't see JD as much after she left to marry her husband and start a family of her own, having three children.

When JD Vance got into hot water over calling women in the Democratic party "childless cat ladies" (which especially angered Swifties), Lindsay Ratliff was quick to step up to the microphone and defend her brother, despite reports that she was allegedly told not to speak to the media. "JD was raised by some of the strongest women I know and went on to marry an incredibly strong woman in Usha," the proud sister told CNN. Speaking to the Dayton Daily News, Ratliff said, "The kid has never done wrong in my eyes. JD has a part of my soul that nobody will ever have and I'll protect him until the day I die. Whenever things were falling apart, my first thought was always him."

As Vance's memoir went on to become a New York Times bestseller and an A-list movie adaptation directed by Ron Howard and starring Amy Adams and Glenn Close, Ratliff still felt a weight of guilt from being the older sister and not stepping up when faced with abuse from their mother. "I don't think I'll ever be able to say there will be a good reason to not have stepped up," she said in the 2017 NBC interview. For his part, Vance is quick to alleviate any blame for their turbulent childhood together, saying, "We've talked a lot about that. I just don't think Lindsay should feel guilty at all about it. She had found her way out and I was looking for my way out."