--- title: Who Is Usha Vance, J.D. Vance’s Wife? description: If the Trump-Vance ticket were to win, Usha would make history as the first Indian American and first Hindu-practicing person to serve as Second Lady. canonical: https://time.com/6999385/usha-vance-jd-wife-indian-american-yale-law-hindu/ author: Nik Popli article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-07-17T03:35:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-01-19T17:31:41.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Who Is Usha Vance, J.D. Vance’s Wife? og:description: If the Trump-Vance ticket were to win, Usha would make history as the first Indian American and first Hindu-practicing person to serve as Second Lady. og:url: https://time.com/6999385/usha-vance-jd-wife-indian-american-yale-law-hindu/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6d70d6dc30cc2741/698a58d7929fad78c9bfcbfc/JD-Vance-Usha-Vance.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4554 og:image:height: 2562 og:image:alt: 2024 Republican National Convention: Day 1 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Who Is Usha Vance, J.D. Vance’s Wife? twitter:description: If the Trump-Vance ticket were to win, Usha would make history as the first Indian American and first Hindu-practicing person to serve as Second Lady. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6d70d6dc30cc2741/698a58d7929fad78c9bfcbfc/JD-Vance-Usha-Vance.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Who Is Usha Vance, J.D. Vance’s Wife? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d02122a7-8a95-4323-857a-ef2bd64d6e6f&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=d02122a7-8a95-4323-857a-ef2bd64d6e6f&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: J.D. Vance Tells RNC He’ll Be a Vice President ‘Who Never Forgets Where He Came From’ [Watch (HLS stream): J.D. Vance Tells RNC He’ll Be a Vice President ‘Who Never Forgets Where He Came From’](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2eqGGG0w.m3u8) (5:33)  _Published 2024-07-18. Ohio Senator J.D. Vance introduced himself to a national audience at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday after being chosen as Donald Trump’s running mate._  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Jan 19, 2026 5:31 PM UTCPublished: Jul 17, 2024 3:35 AM UTC  Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and his wife Usha look on as he is nominated for the office of Vice President as Trump’s 2024 running mate on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis., on July 15, 2024. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and his wife Usha look on as he is nominated for the office of Vice President as Trump’s 2024 running mate on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis., on July 15, 2024. Anna Moneymaker—Getty Images  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Jan 19, 2026 5:31 PM UTCPublished: Jul 17, 2024 3:35 AM UTC As [Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance](https://time.com/6998809/jd-vance-vice-president-trump-nominee/) was getting ready to make his debut as former President [Donald Trump](https://time.com/6972021/donald-trump-2024-election-interview/)’s new vice presidential pick on the first day of the Republican National Convention, he stopped for a second to soak in the moment with his wife, Usha Vance. > [](https://twitter.com/dougmillsnyt/status/1812963628678537362) The couple, who met at Yale Law School, shared a kiss backstage and then strode onto the floor together, greeted by a wave of cheers and “J.D.” chants reverberating through the arena as he was nominated by voice vote to be Trump’s running mate. The moment culminated a [dramatic evolution](https://time.com/6998873/why-trump-chose-j-d-vance-for-vice-president/) for the first-term Senator and [former Trump critic](https://time.com/6078483/j-d-vance-interview-trump/) who has quickly ascended to become a pivotal figure in the MAGA movement. But it also marked a significant new chapter for Usha Vance, as she was thrust into the national spotlight alongside her husband. Notably, if the Trump-Vance ticket were to win in November, Usha Vance would make history as the first Indian American and first practicing Hindu to serve as Second Lady. When she took the stage on the third night of the convention to introduce her husband, she remarked on their cultural differences: “That J.D. and I could meet at all, let alone fall in love and marry is a testament to this great country,” she said. “It is also a testament to J.D., and it tells you something about who he is… He wanted to know everything about me, where I came from, what my life had been like. Although he’s a meat and potatoes kind of guy, he adapted to my vegetarian diet and learned to cook food for my mother—Indian food. Before I knew it, he’d become an integral part of my family.” J.D. Vance has spoken highly of his wife in interviews, describing her as exceptionally intelligent and more accomplished than himself. Here’s what to know about Usha Vance. ## She has degrees from Yale and Cambridge Usha Chilukuri Vance, 38, was raised in a San Diego suburb by Indian immigrant parents. Her mother is a biologist and serves as the provost of Sixth College at the University of California, San Diego, while Usha’s father is an engineer. Usha received an undergraduate degree from Yale University and later completed a Master of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, after having received the Gates Cambridge Scholarship. Following her time at Cambridge, she returned to Yale for law school, where she met J.D. Vance and served in editorial positions at the Yale Law Journal and the Yale Journal of Law & Technology. In his 2016 memoir, _Hillbilly Elegy_, Vance recounted how they initially connected through a class writing assignment in which they were paired as partners, leading him to develop a deep affection for her. “In a place that always seemed a little foreign, Usha’s presence made me feel at home,” he wrote, adding that she “always encouraged me to seek opportunities that I didn’t know existed.” The couple graduated in 2013 and married the following year. They have three children together: Ewan (age 7), Vivek (4), and Mirabel (2). “The J.D. I knew then is the same J.D. you see today—except for that beard—and his goals in this new role are the same that he has pursued for our family: to keep people safe, to create opportunities, to build a better life and to solve problems with an open mind,” Usha Vance said at the convention. “It’s safe to say that neither J.D. nor I expected to find ourselves in this position, but it’s hard to imagine a more powerful example of the American dream.” ## She clerked for conservative justices After law school, Usha Vance spent a year between 2014 and 2015 as a clerk for Judge Brett Kavanaugh during his tenure on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, followed by a year clerking for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts from 2017 and 2018. Both Roberts and Kavanaugh, the latter of whom Trump nominated to the Supreme Court in 2018, are prominent conservative justices and were among the majority who recently ruled in favor of Trump in a Supreme Court case involving [presidential immunity for official acts](https://time.com/6994189/supreme-court-donald-trump-presidential-immunity-decision/). **Read More:** [_What the Supreme Court’s Immunity Decision Means for Trump’s Criminal Cases_](https://time.com/6994361/supreme-court-immunity-donald-trump-criminal-cases/) Following her clerkships, Usha Vance joined the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson as a trial lawyer, working in their San Francisco and Washington, D.C., offices. She departed from the firm this week shortly after her husband was selected as Trump’s vice presidential running mate. Usha Vance has largely kept her political views private and has not been very vocal about her positions. As of 2022, voter records indicate that Usha Vance was registered as a Republican in Ohio and participated in the state’s Republican Senate primary in which her husband was a candidate. However, earlier voter records indicate that Usha Vance was registered as a Democrat until at least 2014, according to the [New York _Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/15/style/usha-vance-jd-vance.html). ## J.D. Vance credits her with reconnecting him to his faith J.D. Vance has often praised his wife in interviews, describing her as a “powerful female voice” and saying that she holds considerable influence over his career. “Usha definitely brings me back to Earth a little bit, and 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,” Vance said in an [interview](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/j-d-vance-on-trump-addiction-and-family-ep-29/id1532976305?i=1000534581240) on the “Megyn Kelly Show” podcast in 2020\. “I’m one of those guys who really benefits from having, like, a sort of powerful female voice on his left shoulder saying, ‘Don’t do that, do do that’—it just is important.” The daughter of immigrants, Usha Vance says she was raised with Hinduism and continues to practice the faith. “I did grow up in a religious household, my parents are Hindu, and I think that was one of the things that made them such good parents, that make them really very good people,” she said in a [recent interview with Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/video/6355707051112). J.D. Vance said during the same interview that his wife’s faith was a key factor in his decision to re-engage with Christianity later in his life, which he says Usha has been supportive of. Asked if she’s ready for the scrutiny “that comes with being Second Lady,” Usha Vance told Fox: “I’m not raring to change anything about our lives right now, but I believe in J.D. and really love him, and so we’ll just sort of see what happens with our life.” She also suggested it was too soon to discuss what political causes she may champion if her husband becomes Vice President. ## Transcript My name is JD Vance from the Great State of Ohio. But as we meet tonight, we cannot forget that this evening could have been so much different. Instead of a day of celebration, this could have been a day of heartache and morning. For the last eight years, President Trump has given everything he has to fight for the people of our country. He didn't need politics, but the country needed him. D it? Now, prior to running for president, he was one of the most successful businessmen in the world. He had everything anyone could ever want in a life. And yet, instead of choosing the easy path, he to endure abuse, slander, and persecution, and he did it because he loves this country. I want all Americans to go and watch the video of a would be assassin coming a quarter of an inch from taking his life. Consider the lies they told you about Donald Trump, and then look at that photo of him defiant fist in the air when Donald Trump rose to his feet in that Pennsylvania field, all of America stood with him. A And so, tonight, Mr. Chairman, I stand here humbled, and I'm overwhelmed with gratitude to say, I officially accept your nomination to be Vice President of the United States of America. When I was a senior in high school, that same Joe Biden supported the disastrous invasion of Iraq, and at each step of the way, in small towns like mine in Ohio or next door in Pennsylvania or Michigan, in states all across our country, jobs were sent overseas, and our children were sent to war. And Joe Biden screwed up, and my community paid the price. Now, I was lucky. Despite the closing factories and the growing addiction in towns like mine, in my life, I had a guardian angel by my side. She was an old woman who could barely walk, but she was tough as nails. I called her Mama the name we Hillbillies gave to our grandmothers. President Trump represents America's last best hope to restore what, if lost, may never be found again, a country where a working class boy born far from the halls of power can stand on this stage as the next Vice President of the United States of America. Our movement is about single moms like mine, who struggled with money and addiction, but never gave up. And I'm proud to say that tonight my mom is here, ten years clean and sober. I love you, Mom. It'll be ten years officially in January of 2025. And if President Trump's okay with it, let's have the celebration in the White House. Together, we will make sure our allies share in the burden of securing world peace, no more free rides for ns that betray the generosity of the American taxpayer. Together, we will send our kids to war only when we must. But as President Trump showed with the elimination of ISIS and so much more when we punch, we're going to punch hard. To the people of Middletown, Ohio, and all the forgotten communities in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and every corner of our n, I promise you this. I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from. And every single day for the next four years, when I walk into that White House to help President Trump, I will be doing it for you for your family, for your future, and for this great country. Thank you. God bless all of you, and God bless our great country. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6999385/usha-vance-jd-wife-indian-american-yale-law-hindu/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6999385/usha-vance-jd-wife-indian-american-yale-law-hindu/"},"headline":"Who Is Usha Vance, J.D. 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