J.D. Vance biography, wife, age, height, family, children 2025

Biography of J.D. Vance

J.D. Vance is an American political figure and the fiftieth Vice President of the United States. He climbed his way to the top from humble beginnings. Vance's life story reads like a Hollywood screenplay.

J.D. Vance close-up against the backdrop of the US flag — J.D. Vance

Childhood and Youth

James Donald Bowman was born on August 2, 1984, in the industrial town of Middletown, Ohio, to a white working-class family.

When his mother Beverly Carol married for the third time, she gave her son a new middle name after her husband, David Hamel, trying to sever the child's connection with his biological father. James Donald became James David, and he got the nickname JD.

He grew up in a troubled family. His maternal grandparents were from Kentucky but moved to Ohio in their youth due to his grandmother's early pregnancy and a lack of jobs in their hometown. In Middletown, Vance's grandfather found work in the steel industry.

Their daughter Beverly Carol – the future mother of a U.S. Vice President – was a promising student in school. But as a teenager, she got pregnant, decided to keep the baby (the politician's older sister, Lindsay), and became a single mom. She later dated many men and gave birth to a son from one of them, Donald Ray Bowman.

Vance's "starting conditions" at birth didn't exactly promise success. By then, his hometown had become an economically depressed area. In the seventies, it had been a thriving industrial zone, but after the U.S. opened trade with China and the Cold War ended, local businesses declined.

The industrial zone, including Ohio, turned into the Rust Belt. Cities fell into decay, people lost jobs and access to education. Many survived on welfare, while drinking and crime became commonplace.

Young JD Vance and his grandmother, both smiling — JD Vance with his grandmother

The future politician's father was a heavy drinker, which led Vance's mother to break up with him. She, a nurse by profession, became addicted to pills and later heroin.

In his memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," JD Vance describes life with his mother as chaotic. He never had a clear father figure in his life. His mother often brought men into the house, but it always ended in arguments, mostly initiated by her.

His mother had a volatile temper. In his autobiography, he recalls a particularly traumatic incident when he was 11. He was riding with his mother when she suddenly exploded, threatening to crash the car and kill them both if he didn't get out immediately. When he did, she chased him.

Police eventually detained her, and Vance struck a deal: he wouldn't tell the judge what happened if she'd let him choose where to live. He first moved in with his biological father, then briefly with his older sister, and finally with his maternal grandmother Bonnie Blanton Vance – whom he affectionately called Mamaw. According to the politician, this saved his life:

Those three years with Mamaw – uninterrupted and alone – saved me. I didn't notice the causality of change, how living with her altered my life. I didn't notice that my grades started improving right after I moved in.

JD Vance

As an adult, he took his grandmother's surname – a decision that would prove crucial to escaping the difficult environment where he grew up. To stay afloat, he worked as a loader and a store clerk while in school.

First Steps to Success

For a young man looking to escape poverty, the army offered the only way out. After finishing school, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and became a military correspondent. In 2005, he served in Iraq for six months.

During his service, he rose to the rank of corporal, and in 2007, he used his veteran's educational benefits to enroll at Ohio University, studying philosophy and political science. Two years later, he graduated with honors with a bachelor's degree.

Vance continued his education at the prestigious Yale Law School. During his studies, he joined the editorial team of a student publication. At the same time, he began working on the previously mentioned book "Hillbilly Elegy," essentially a memoir about the lives of people from the Rust Belt and his own family's fate. It would later play a significant role in launching the future vice president's political career, along with the 2020 film adaptation.

Young J.D. Vance in a parade military uniform and white cap — J.D. Vance in the Army

After graduating from law school, Vance worked briefly as an aide to Republican Senator John Cornyn. He then became a court clerk and later worked as a corporate lawyer.

Vance then shifted his focus to the booming tech sector. This brought him to the firm of American entrepreneur Peter Thiel, who would later become one of Donald Trump's major campaign backers. At Thiel's firm, Mithril Capital, Vance rose to the position of director. In 2016, "Hillbilly Elegy" was published and became a bestseller. The book's success opened doors for Vance to write for The New York Times and make television appearances. He earned a decent income from investments and also established a non-profit organization focused on addressing social issues, including combating drug addiction and other problems faced by Ohio residents.

America's Forgotten Working Class | J.D. Vance | TED

Politics

Conservative J.D. Vance ran for Senate from Ohio and took his seat in the U.S. Congress at the beginning of 2023.

As a senator, he opposed raising the U.S. national debt limit and proposed criminalizing gender-affirming care for teenagers at the federal level, suggesting twelve-year prison sentences for those who provide it.

Vance also opposed the country's push for diversity, equity, and inclusion, which included gender diversity.

Meanwhile, the U.S. presidential race was heating up. In the summer of 2024, Donald Trump, as a candidate for the U.S. presidency, named J.D. Vance as his running mate.

As a candidate in the election, Vance found himself in the spotlight due to his statements on major social issues. For example, he was reminded of an interview he gave back in 2021. At that time, Vance claimed that "childless and therefore unhappy people" were running the country through the Democrats and were trying to make everyone around them unhappy. The politician's words provoked a strong reaction from society.

Donald Trump and J.D. Vance in blue jackets with red ties — Donald Trump and J.D. Vance

Another scandal erupted over Vance's remarks about Haitian immigrants in Ohio, whom he claimed were overburdening social services and creating chaos. Vance also accused Haitian "guests" of allegedly stealing cats and dogs to eat them. Local authorities later refuted the politician's claims. Still, Vance didn't deny that he was willing to tell untruths to draw media attention to Americans' struggles.

Personal Life of J.D. Vance

J.D. Vance is married to Usha Chilukuri, whom he met while studying at Yale Law School. She's a year and a half younger and comes from a family of professors who immigrated from India.

Both J.D. and Usha helped organize a discussion group on the decline of "white America," which brought them closer together. J.D. soon fell in love with her.

J.D. Vance and Usha Chilukuri in their youth — J.D. Vance and Usha Chilukuri

In 2014, a year after meeting, the couple got married. Since Usha practices Hinduism, the ceremony included a Hindu pandit who blessed the couple. Notably, Vance was originally Protestant but converted to Catholicism in 2019.

J.D. and Usha have three children. Their son Evan was born in 2017, their second son Vivek in 2020, and a year later, their daughter Mirabel.

J.D. Vance, Usha Chilukuri, and their three children — J.D. Vance with wife and children

J.D. Vance Now

At the end of January 2025, Vance officially became the 50th Vice President of the United States.

Vice President JD Vance's first interview | Face the Nation

In February, he participated in the Munich Security Conference. During the event, he criticized European leaders, stating that the main threat to European countries lies within themselves. Vance attributed this to a lack of freedom of speech and uncontrolled migration.

J.D. Vance in a white chair on stage — J.D. Vance in 2025

On February 28, Vance sat in on a meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House concerning the war in Ukraine and a planned mineral sale deal. The meeting ended in a verbal altercation, which the Vice President sparked by telling Zelenskyy it was inappropriate to "air grievances" in front of the press in the Oval Office. He also asked the Ukrainian President to remember to be grateful to Trump for his efforts to end the conflict with Russia.