Usha Vance: Top lawyer and soon wife of the Vice President?

When all eyes, TV cameras and smartphones turn to the newly announced vice presidential candidate of the Republican Party in Milwaukee on the first afternoon of the Republican Party Convention, he is not alone in the hall: JD Vance is accompanied by his wife, Usha. It is an image that has been conspicuously missing from the election campaign of his new boss Donald Trump in recent months: his wife Melania has more or less disappeared, rarely appearing in public – speculation (and ridicule) about the state of Trump’s marriage has long been rife.

The Vances are the antithesis of this: not only is the couple young and camera-ready, they present themselves as a team in their first appearance in their new role. Instead of distant gestures, there is a kiss for the cameras. The 38-year-old Usha stands firmly by her husband’s side, so the message goes. In the US presidential election campaign, this is a valuable resource: partners – usually wives – often serve as evidence of the human, sensitive side of candidates and then always take up a topic themselves during their term in office, usually a socio-political one. It is unclear what this might mean for Usha Vance. What does a look at her biography reveal?

Usha Vance comes from California

The daughter of Indian immigrants grew up in the US state of California; her birth name is Chilukuri. She grew up in a religious household; her parents were Hindus, she says of her childhood. She met her future husband at the elite Yale University, where both studied law. The couple married in 2014 and now have three children. At the time, she was registered as a Democrat, according to the New York Times. After graduating, the lawyer worked as a trainee at the Supreme Court for Judge John Roberts. Vance later became a lawyer in a firm that specializes in claims for damages and represents large companies.

The senator’s wife has not exactly been in the spotlight so far. In a joint interview with Fox News a few weeks ago, Usha Vance raved about her husband: “Everything he says and does is based on so many considerations. He’s always trying to do better.” When asked if she was ready to potentially become Second Lady of the USA, she said: “I don’t know if anyone is ever ready for that kind of scrutiny.” But she loves her husband and that’s why the couple is “open” to it.