Vice President JD Vance’s love story with
Usha Bala Chilukuri is one for the ages — and it all started with curiosity, culture, and a lot of heart.
A warm homecoming to India
JD Vance and his wife Usha Bala Chilukuri recently completed a four-day visit to India, where they were welcomed with open arms — but it was Usha who stole the spotlight.
The daughter of Indian immigrants, Usha was treated like a celebrity during their travels across Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra.
Vance himself joked:
“She’s a bit of a celebrity, it turns out, in India. I think more so than her husband.”
From Yale classmates to soulmates
Their love story began at Yale Law School, where two very different worlds collided — and instantly connected.
Usha, raised in a deeply traditional Indian-American household, helped Vance, the son of a struggling Appalachian family, navigate the elite world of Ivy League academia.
In his bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy, Vance described Usha as his “spirit guide,” calling her:
“A genetic anomaly — a combination of every positive quality a human being should have.”
