Usha Vance

Birth Name: Usha Bala Chilukuri

Place of Birth: San Diego, California, United States

Date of Birth: January 6, 1986

Ethnicity: Telugu Indian

Usha Vance is an American attorney. She has been a law clerk for federal judges, including John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amul Thapar. She is married to politician, commentator, venture capitalist, and author JD Vance, who has been Vice President of the United States, since January 20, 2025. She is thus Second Lady of the United States.

Usha was born in San Diego, the daughter of Lakshmi, a marine molecular biologist and biochemist, who is a Provost at Sixth College; and Radhakrishna “Krish” Chilukuri, a college lecturer in an aerospace engineering department. Her parents moved from India to the U.S. earlier in the 1980s. They are of Telugu background. Her parents’ roots are in Andhra Pradesh. Her father’s ancestry is from Vadluru, near Tanuku, West Godavari. Her mother’s ancestry is from Pamarru, Krishna. Usha was raised in the Ranchos Peñasquitos neighborhood of San Diego. She is a Hindu.

Usha is married to JD Vance, who was previously a U.S. Senator from Ohio, from January 3, 2023 to January 10, 2025. The couple has three children. JD is Catholic.

The name Chilukuri means “belonging to the town/village of Chilukuru.” Usha’s patrilineal line can be traced to Chilukuri Buchipapayya Sastri, who lived in the 17th century, in Saipuram, Vuyyuru Mandal of Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh.

Usha’s paternal grandfather was named Chilukuri Rama Sastri/Sastry (the son of Veeravadhan). Rama taught physics at IIT Madras, which has a student award in his memory. Rama’s sister, Chilukuri Santhamma, is considered India’s oldest active professor, at 96 years.

Usha’s paternal grandmother was surnamed Sundari.

Usha’s maternal grandfather was surnamed Yechuri. The name Yechuri means “belong to the town/village of Yechuru.”

Sources: Genealogy of Usha Vance (focusing on her father’s side) – https://www.geni.com

Birth record of Usha Vance – https://www.familysearch.org