Inside Usha Vance's Life Before She Met JD

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Usha Chilukuri Vance appears ideally suited for life as a political spouse. JD Vance's wife seems happy to sit back and bask in his glory as his star rises, but she was forced to step out of her comfort zone when JD threw his hat into the vice-presidential ring.

Much like Melania Trump — although likely for very different reasons — Usha wasn't photographed at her husband's side during the never-ending toadying and politicking accompanying VP stumping. She definitely wasn't wildly waving her arms around while screaming the virtues of Donald Trump to MAGA crowds across 'Merica. However, she wasn't tucked away at home; in fact, she was following the one role JD asked Usha to take in his campaign: chief cheerleader. Still, it has to be said that Usha appeared less interested in cheering and more interested in reading: "The IIiad" no less. But then, let's face it, nothing makes time fly than diving into a good old Ancient Greek poem about the Trojan War by everybody's favorite author, Homer.

However, Usha is a talented multi-tasker, enjoying some 8th-century literature while carefully listening to JD's speeches — and, really, carefully listening. "The way that he talks about things and the conclusions he comes to really shaped the way that I think about things," Usha told NBC News in October 2024. Usha's life has clearly changed drastically since becoming the second lady. But what was it like previously? We're taking a peek inside Usha's life before she met JD.

Despite her high-profile position as second lady, JD Vance's wife Usha Chilukuri Vance shuns the limelight and rarely speaks about her years pre-JD. Still, she occasionally opens up and reveals details about her old life. One such time was when she made her nail-biting stage debut at the Republican National Convention in July 2024.

Usha spoke about how drastically different their childhoods were. JD's story of overcoming adversity is obviously already well known, thanks to his Amazon best-selling book "Hillbilly Elegy," which was later made into a movie by Ron Howard that proved to be as divisive as the film's subject. After JD's parents Donald Bowman and Beverly Aikins divorced, his mom's struggle with substance abuse led to a heroin addiction, while his father was pretty much absent from his oldest son's life. "Violence and chaos were an ever-present part of the world that I grew up in," JD told NPR in 2016.

In comparison, Usha's life was comfortable, loving, and stable. "I grew up in San Diego in a middle-class community with two loving parents, both immigrants from India," she told the cheering RNC crowd. Usha's mom Lakshmi Chilukuri and her dad Radhakrishna "Krish" Chilukuri moved to the United States in the 1980s. They are faithful to their Hindu religion and are famed for their scholarly achievements and success. "Most of our family is academically strong, and education has been a top priority," Usha's aunt Shanthamma Chilukuri told Reuters in July 2024.

Usha Chilukuri Vance was a hard-working, high-achieving, and super-smart student — so smart that she graduated from Mount Carmel High School a year early. According to Elections Daily, Usha was involved in lots of extracurricular activities, including participating in a Mexican ballet folklórico group and volunteering at local public schools.

Usha's love of reading was already developed by school time. In a New York Times profile, childhood friends described Usha as a "bookworm," ambitious, and a natural ringleader. "By age five or six, she had assumed a leadership role," Vikram Rao, a family friend, told the Times. "She decided which board games we were going to play and what the rules were going to be. She was never mean or unkind, but she was the boss." Usha's drive to succeed was clear for all to see. "It's not enough to know the answers," she told the San Diego Union-Tribune when it congratulated her on winning a trivia tournament (via The Washington Post). "You have to do it fast."

Meanwhile, the father of Usha's old school friend posted an adorable pic of her in 11th grade. "My daughter Amanda graduated from Mt. Carmel in 2002. She pulled out her yearbook, and this is Usha Chilukuri in 11th grade. Usha graduated in 2003 and is now married to JD Vance. She was in the marching band and National Honors Society," he captioned the pic.

With Usha Chilukuri Vance's smarts and drive, it was a given that she would graduate high school and continue her education at a prestigious college. So, it's little surprise that she landed at Yale — Forbes's choice of fourth best Ivy League establishment (behind Princeton, Harvard, and MIT) and The Wall Street Journal's second (behind Princeton). No matter the college's position, though, having Yale listed on your résumé is enough to set you up for life, opening doors and placing you on a glittering path to the future.

Vance's dedication to success didn't slow down once she reached college. She had her eye on the prize and intended to win it bigly (or big league, depending on your linguistic take). One thing's certain: Vance certainly wasn't a party-on sorority sister type. Yale is celebrated for its "work hard, play hard" culture, but Vance appeared to be more focused on the former than the latter. Her fellow students remember Vance as hardworking and kind, always willing to help others struggling with their studies.

"She was an excellent student, like, top of our law school class," a former classmate who wished to stay anonymous told the BBC in March 2025. "And sometimes when students are like that, they also, you know, want to maintain an edge over other students. But she was someone who would always share her outlines [class notes]. They were, like, perfectly organized, you know, colour-coded, the works."

Usha Chilukuri Vance was a dedicated student and bookworm. However, she was also sexually objectified as a bona fide babe. In the mid-aughts, Usha was listed as one of Yale's "Most Beautiful People" in the February 2006 edition of the student tabloid "Rumpus" via Yale Daily News.

The piece's title alone is enough to make any "woke" brigade member cringe. "Usha Chilukuri, most beautiful TAJ-MA-HOTTIE." And it really doesn't get any better. "In a world where the 'hot girl from SoCal' has become a cliché, there are those who redefine the stereotype. Enter Usha Chilukuri, a Morse junior with a smile as bright as the San Diego sun and a look that would make even a eunuch go all tight in the crutch ... or the shriveled remains thereof," the first paragraph reads. To balance Usha's scholarly skills equally with her "TAJ-MA-HOTTIE" side, the photographer had her pose in a sleeveless dress with her arms leaning on parallel bookshelves.

The article lists Usha's many talents, which they deem as "diverse as she is attractive." It also states that she was once mistaken for a Mexican and accidentally deported — an utterly bizarre and highly questionable claim if ever we've read one. It expresses surprise that Usha is still single and describes her ideal man as one who "has a lot to say for himself." It concludes: "Who wouldn't jump at the chance for a fling with this smashing senorita?" Well, the lucky Señor JD Vance, for one.

Usha Chilukuri Vance absolutely aced it at Yale because, of course, she did. According to the college's May 2007 edition of the "Yale Bulletin and Calendar," she was the editor-in-chief of the student publication "Our Education" and was welcomed into the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa during her senior year. Vance wasn't focused solely on her studies, though. She also volunteered at local schools and served as a Girl Scouts troop leader.

Vance graduated summa cum laude from Yale's Morse College, Class of 2007, under her maiden name of Chilukuri, with a bachelor's in history. However, she was far from done with schooling and do-gooding. Vance headed to China to teach academic English and American studies at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

Next up? Vance hopped across the pond to attend the prestigious University of Cambridge. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Vance was awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which only the crème de la crème score (1.2 percent of applicants, in case you were wondering). Vance enrolled in the university's Clare College for the 2009-10 academic year, graduating with a Master of Philosophy degree in early modern history. The Telegraph spoke to some of Vance's fellow students in January 2025. They remember her as being the antithesis of MAGA. One described her as "scholarly, Left-leaning, cosmopolitan, committed to improving the world."