Washington: In July, Indian-American lawyer Usha Chilukuri Vance burst into the national spotlight after her husband J D Vance was named by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as his running mate.
With the Trump-Vance victory Wednesday, Usha, 38, is set to become America’s Second Lady — the first Indian-American in that role.
Usha was standing with Vance, 39, the Ohio Senator, when Trump made the acceptance speech with enough votes polled for him to re-enter the White House.
Vance told the Megyn Kelly Show podcast in 2020: “If I maybe get a little bit too cocky or a little too proud, I just remind myself that she is way more accomplished than I am. People don’t realise just how brilliant she is.”
Daughter of Indian immigrants – her parents’ ancestral village is Vadluru in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh – Usha grew up in a San Diego suburb. A bright student and a bookworm, Usha showed leadership qualities, her friends told media.
A Gates Scholar, her career spans Cambridge and Yale, and then clerking for various members of the Supreme Court. Her last job was that of a civil litigation attorney at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP.
Usha and Vance met at Yale Law School while studying and later married in 2014 in Kentucky. The ceremony was blessed by a Hindu priest at a different event, according to a New York Times profile.
The Vances have three children: sons Ewan and Vivek, and a daughter named Mirabel.
After Vance was chosen as Trump’s running mate, Usha’s Hindu roots soon became talk of the town. Vance has said on several occasions that his wife is not a Christian but was “very supportive” of deepening his faith.
Asked about the challenges of an interfaith marriage, Usha said, “There are a lot of things that we just agree on, I think, especially when it comes to family life, how to raise our kids. And so I think the answer really is, we just talk a lot.”
The New York Post quoted Usha’s joint interview from June with her husband where she said she is “reluctant to gain greater public exposure” but also added that the couple is open to “see what happens with our life.”
Life came full circle when Trump – speaking at Palm Beach, Florida accepting the result – pointed towards the couple and said: “I want to be the first one to congratulate, now I can say Vice President-elect JD Vance. And his remarkable and beautiful wife, Usha Vance.”
PTI