Family of JD Vance

Vance family
JD Vance with his family in 2025
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Middletown, Ohio, U.S.
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JD Vance is an American politician and author who is the 50th vice president of the United States since 2025. Vance was formerly the junior United States senator from Ohio, and served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a military journalist in public affairs. His family is the second family of the United States since 2025 during Vance's vice presidency under Donald Trump.

Vance's ancestry comes from the Appalachian area of Kentucky. He is married to American lawyer Usha Vance.

Ancestors

Abner Vance

This section is an excerpt from Abner Vance.[edit]

Abner Vance (1760 or 1770 – July 16, 1819) was an American Revolutionary War veteran and murderer. He was also reportedly a preacher. He reportedly killed a man in 1817 and fled to Tug Fork. A few years later he was hanged for murder.

After he was hanged a folk song was made about him. The murder and subsequent execution is considered a founding an event for the Vances' settlement in Tug Fork Valley. Many of his descendants would be involved in the Hatfield-McCoy Feud. He is an ancestor of Vice President JD Vance.

Immediate family

Usha Chilukuri

Second Lady of the United States Usha Vance in 2025

Usha Bala Vance (née Chilukuri) is the wife of JD Vance. She was born on January 6, 1986 in San Diego County, California, to Hindu parents, Lakshmi (née Yechuri) and Radhakrishna "Krish" Chilukuri, both Telugu Indian immigrants who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1980s from Andhra Pradesh.

She attended Yale University, graduating summa cum laude in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in history, with membership in Phi Beta Kappa. After graduating, she taught English and American history at Sun Yat-sen University. Vance then attended Clare College, Cambridge, in England, receiving a Master of Philosophy in early modern history in 2010. In 2013, Vance obtained her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, where she met her future husband JD Vance. They married on June 14, 2014, and have four children.

Ewan Vance

Ewan Blaine Vance is the eldest son of JD and Usha Vance. He was born on June 4, 2017. He is being raised Christian alongside his brothers and sister.

Vivek Vance

Vivek Vance is the second son of JD and Usha Vance. He was born on February 12, 2020. On February 12, 2024, Vivek's 4th birthday, his father addressed the U.S. Senate expressing regret that he couldn't be with Vivek at his "birthday dinner," but assured his son "Daddy loves [him] very much" before reading the Dr. Seuss book Oh, The Places You'll Go! out loud.

Mirabel Vance

Mirabel Rose Vance is the only daughter of JD and Usha Vance. She was born in December 2021. She and her parents travelled to the Taj Mahal in April 2025.

Alec Vance

Alec Neel Vance is the youngest son of JD and Usha Vance. He was born on July 19, 2026.

Parents

Beverly Vance

Beverly Vance with her son JD in 2025

Beverly Carol Aikins (née Vance) is the mother of JD Vance. She was born to Bonnie Eloise Blanton and James Lee Vance. She struggled with poverty and drug addiction most of her life. She worked as a licensed practical nurse, before she began to struggle with prescription substance abuse after one of her co-workers offered her drugs. She was fired and lost her nursing license after she got caught stealing morphine soon after. In 1979, at the age of 19, she had JD Vance's half-sister, Lindsay. She married Donald Bowman in 1983, a year before JD Vance was born. They divorced when JD Vance was only three years old. She eventually married her third husband, Bob Hamel, who adopted JD, renaming him James David Hamel, replacing her ex-husband's first name with her uncle’s name to preserve the "JD" nickname. After they divorced, she was married and divorced two more times, the last with a man surnamed Aikins.

When JD Vance was 12 years old, he was riding with Beverly in her car before she threatened to crash into a tree to kill them both. When the car came to a stop, JD successfully jumped out of the backseat window and ran to a nearby neighbor's house, who called the police. She was arrested and JD and his sister Lindsay were placed into the care of their grandparents, James Lee Vance and Bonnie Blanton. She began her journey to beating her addiction in 2015, and in 2025, she celebrated 10 years being sober with her son at the White House.

Donald Bowman

Donald Bowman
Born
Donald Ray Bowman

(1959-08-15)August 15, 1959
Hamilton, Ohio, US
DiedNovember 4, 2023(2023-11-04) (aged 64)
Hamilton, Ohio, US
Other nameBig Don
OccupationMachinist
Known forFather of JD Vance
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1983, divorced)​
  • Cheryl McCarty
    ​
    (m. 1988)​
Children4

Donald Ray Bowman (August 15, 1959 – November 4, 2023) was the father of the 50th vice president of the United States, JD Vance.

Bowman died in 2023 at the age of 64, one year before his son was elected Vice President.

Early life and career

Bowman was born on August 15, 1959, to Donald C. Bowman and Melva Shepherd (née Baker). His father died when he was 16 months old, and his mother remarried Joseph Shepherd, who raised him.

Bowman graduated from Edgewood High School in 1979. He then worked as a machinist for over 13 years, for Hamilton Tool. After the company closed he became self-employed and ran a construction business, Bowman Construction & Excavating, for 30 years. He moved to Florida briefly in 2005 and obtained his Residential Contractor’s license. He built custom homes for the next three years in Auburndale, Florida. He then returned to Ohio in 2008.

Religion

Bowman was a member of River Church Cincinnati. His obituary reads, "He loved to pray, study the Word, worship and to be in the presence of God. He was a spiritual father and mentor to many, encouraging and praying for others, always looking for someone that he could help in any way."

Marriages

Bowman married Beverly in 1983 when he was 24 years old; he then became a stepfather to Lindsey Vance whom Vance had in her previous marriage which lasted a year. The following year the couple had a son, James Donald Bowman. The pair divorced when James was a toddler. Bowman and his wife Beverly had a custody battle over their son and then he gave his son up for adoption and Beverly had custody. He then did not see his son again until he was 12. His son later took "James David Vance" as his full name.

Bowman married Cheryl McCarty in 1988. The couple had several children including Ryan Green, JD, Cory Bowman, who ran in the 2025 Cincinnati mayoral election, and Chelsea Deal. The couple remained married until Bowman's death in 2023, a marriage of over 35 years.

Relationship with JD Vance

Bowman had a very complex relationship with his son. JD had talked about never really having a stable father figure, with his mother's repeated marriages and divorces.

JD's memoir includes how his dad gave him up for adoption when he was 6 years old, then disappeared for the next 6 years. JD also wrote about having a few memories of Bowman: he loved Kentucky and its beautiful mountains, and the rolling green horse country. He also knew Bowman drank RC Cola and that he had a very clear Southern accent.

He drank, but he stopped after he converted to Pentecostal Christianity. I always felt loved when I spent time with him, which was why I found it so shocking that he 'didn't want me anymore,' as Mom and Mamaw told me. He had a new wife with two small children, and I'd been replaced."

Bowman and his son reunited five years later and gained a closer relationship with time, particularly after Bowman told JD he had hired lawyers and tried to keep him. On June 26, 2021, on the social media network X, JD posted a picture of him and his dad at a political event with the caption, "Hanging with my dad at the Trump rally!"

Death

Bowman died on November 4, 2023, aged 64 from esophageal cancer. Bowman is buried at the Warrens Chapel Cemetery in Vincent, Kentucky. JD Vance and all his family attended his funeral service.

Legacy

In 2016, JD Vance published his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, in which he portrays his father as an absent man who gave up his 6-year-old son and parental rights. Vance shares how he felt a sense of abandonment, and describes how he had to frequently mold his own personality with no real father figure, with his mom repeatedly having new husbands and boyfriends. JD had spent years believing his father simply walked out on him with no care for him.

JD Vance's birth certificate

Years after the book was written, Bowman sat down with his son and gave his perspective. Bowman explained that the adoption was not about abandonment but it was a last resort to step back during an intense custody battle that was destroying Vance. After hearing this, the emotional wound between Bowman and his son could heal.

Other relatives

Lindsay Lewis

Lindsay Leigh Ratliff (née Lewis) is the elder half-sister of JD Vance. She was born in 1979. Amid their mother’s abuse, JD Vance noted that Lindsay was a source of "comfort and protection" for him. Later in life, she got married and had three children. She is an aunt to JD Vance's four children.

Cory Bowman

Cory Bowman (born November 1988) is the younger half-brother of JD Vance. He was born to Donald Bowman and his second wife, Cheryl McCarty. Bowman was also the Republican nominee in the 2025 Cincinnati mayoral election, losing to the incumbent mayor. Bowman and Vance had not met until they were teenagers as a result of his fathers adoption with JD. Bowman is married and has four children. He is uncle to JD Vance's four children.

Bonnie Blanton

Bonnie Blanton in August 1955

Bonnie Eloise Vance (née Blanton; April 16, 1933 – April 24, 2005) was the maternal grandmother of JD Vance. She was born on April 16, 1933 to Blaine Blanton and Hattie Blanton (née Hounshell), along with her three brothers. At the age of 13, she and her family moved to Ohio. She married James Lee Vance in 1947.

Bonnie and James primarily raised JD Vance and his half-sister due to Beverly's drug addiction. On April 24, 2005, she died of pneumonia in Butler County, Ohio.

Nate Vance

Nate Vance is JD Vance's first cousin. He was born in 1978 to James "Jim" Vance (maternal uncle of JD Vance and son of James Lee Vance and Bonnie Eloise Blanton). He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at age 17 in 1995.

Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Vance traveled to Lviv to help. He was formally discharged from Ukrainian service in January 2025.

Lakshmi Chilukuri

Lakshmi Chilukuri is Second Lady Usha Vance's mother and JD Vance's mother-in-law. She is the provost of Sixth College and a Biological Sciences professor at the University of California, San Diego.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Pronounced /ˈuːʃə/ OO-shə. Usha Vance's family originates from Telugu-speaking areas of India; in Telugu names the family name is usually put before the given name. Her name in Telugu order would be "Chilukuri Usha", and several relatives of hers have their names customarily in Telugu order.

References

  1. ↑ Council, West Virginia Humanities. "Hatfield Family". www.wvencyclopedia.org. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  2. ↑ Telugu Personal Names. Central Intelligence Agency. 1964. p. 5.
  3. ↑ Gopal, B. Madhu (July 18, 2024). "Usha Chilukuri, Potential Second Lady of U.S., has a close Vizag connection". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on July 19, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  4. ↑ McGowan, Elisabeth (January 20, 2025). "How Old Is J.D. Vance's Wife? Usha Vance's Age Now". Hollywood Life. Archived from the original on January 21, 2025. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Sheerin, Jude (July 17, 2024). "Who is Usha Vance, lawyer and wife of Trump's VP pick?". BBC News. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2024. Mrs Vance, 38,... née Chilukuri, the child of Indian immigrants – was born and raised in the suburbs of San Diego, California.
  6. ↑ "JD Vance 'feels bad' for taking Hindu-raised wife Usha to weekly Mass". October 12, 2024. Archived from the original on November 2, 2025. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  7. ↑ Burack, Emily (January 20, 2025). "Meet Usha Vance's Parents, Krish and Lakshmi Chilukuri". Town & Country. Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Usha Vance parents Krish and Lakshmi Chilukuri: Ivy League brains behind the new Second Lady of US". The Times of India. January 21, 2025. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  9. ↑ Sadam, Rishika and Das, Krishna N. (July 18, 2024). "Indian family of Usha Vance, wife of Trump's VP pick, known for academic prowess". Reuters. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Who is Usha Vance, JD Vance's wife who influenced who he is today?". CBS News. July 16, 2024. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024. The daughter of Indian immigrants to the U.S. who were also professors, she was born in San Diego
  11. 1 2 Akula, Amaraiah (July 20, 2024). "Usha Vance: Telugu population in US enthused about Second Lady in waiting". The Federal. Archived from the original on July 20, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2024. Her parents, Telugu Brahmins from Saipuram near Pamarru in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, migrated from India in the 1980s
  12. ↑ అమెరికా ఉపాధ్యక్ష అభ్యర్థి వాన్స్‌ సతీమణి ఉష చిలుకూరి – ఈమె ఫ్యామిలీ గురించి తెలుసా?. ETV Bharat (in Telugu). July 18, 2024. Archived from the original on July 20, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  13. ↑ "ట్రంప్ గెలిస్తే తెలుగమ్మాయే మిసెస్ వైస్ ప్రెసిడెంట్". Eenadu (in Telugu). July 17, 2024. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Yale Phi Beta Kappa". Yale College. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024. Class of 2007 – Second Election of the Class of 2007: Usha Bala Chilukuri
  15. 1 2 "Ten Yale-China Teaching Fellows to begin appointments this summer". Yale Bulletin & Calendar. May 25, 2007. Archived from the original on September 29, 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  16. 1 2 Sarnoff, Leah; Faulders, Katherine. "Who is Usha Vance? JD Vance's wife leaves law firm after Trump VP announcement". ABC News. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Gates Cambridge Scholars 2009" (PDF). Gates Cambridge. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  18. ↑ Riley-Smith, Ben (January 25, 2025). "Revealed: The Left-wing Cambridge days of America's new second lady". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Usha Chilukuri". Gates Cambridge. June 25, 2020. Archived from the original on July 25, 2025. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  20. ↑ Chilukuri, Usha (2010). John Field and the ownership of copy in the English book trade, 1642-68 (MPhil thesis). Seeley Library. 72QTR.
  21. ↑ "Volume 122 Masthead". The Yale Law Journal. October 2012. Archived from the original on May 29, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Meet Usha Chilukuri Vance: Trump VP pick's Indian-origin wife, litigator, Yale graduate". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Yale Law & Policy Review Volume 29.2 Masthead" (PDF). Yale Law & Policy Review. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 21, 2025.
  24. ↑ Vance 2016, p. 339.
  25. ↑ Bhatia, Shireen. "Ohio Senator JD Vance reveals Hindu wife's support for his Christian faith". Christian Today. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  26. ↑ Bernstein, Joseph (July 15, 2024). "Who Is Usha Vance, the Wife of J.D. Vance?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  27. 1 2 Jeffries, Ella (February 13, 2026). "Everything to Know About JD Vance's Kids". Today. Retrieved June 14, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. 1 2 3 Caruso, Skyler (June 2, 2026). "JD Vance's 3 Children: What to Know About the Vice President's 3 Kids and Son on the Way". People.com. Retrieved June 14, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  29. ↑ VIRAL MOMENT: JD Vance Reads Dr. Seuss Book For Son's Birthday During Senate Floor Speech - Forbes Breaking News
  30. ↑ "Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel: Vice President JD Vance arrives in Armenia with family". MediaMax. February 9, 2026. Retrieved June 14, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. ↑ "Vice President JD Vance and wife Usha welcome their 4th child, Alec Neel Vance - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. July 19, 2026. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  32. 1 2 3 Ward, Ian (July 15, 2024). "55 Things to Know About JD Vance, Trump's VP Pick". Politico. Archived from the original on July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  33. ↑ Vance, JD (November 6, 2017). "Combating the opioid epidemic: A conversation with J.D. Vance". Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  34. 1 2 3 Louderback, Jeff (November 17, 2025). "Mother of JD Vance Shares Her Addiction Story". Jeff Louderback. Retrieved June 14, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  35. 1 2 3 Aizin, Rebecca (January 18, 2025). "All About JD Vance's Parents, Mom Beverly Vance and Dad Donald Bowman". People.com. Retrieved June 14, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  36. 1 2 Dr. Suzette Glasner (September 4, 2025). Addiction, Forgiveness & Faith: VP JD Vance's Mom Bev Vance Aikins Tells Her Story | Ep. 20. Retrieved June 17, 2026 – via YouTube.
  37. 1 2 "Who are JD Vance's parents? About mom Beverly Aikins and dad Donald Bowman". TODAY.com. January 21, 2025. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  38. ↑ "Family tree of J. D. Vance". Geneanet. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  39. 1 2 3 "Donald Bowman Obituary Nov 4, 2023". Brown Dawson Flick Funeral Home. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  40. ↑ Deb, Prakriti (May 20, 2026). "Was 'Donald' once part of JD Vance's name? Here's the truth". Hindustan Times. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  41. ↑ "What's in a name? Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance has had many of them". AP News. July 26, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  42. 1 2 LaFraniere, Sharon (July 17, 2024). "Absent a Father Figure, J.D. Vance Found Notable Mentors". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  43. ↑ "JD Vance's half-brother advances in his uphill quest to become Cincinnati's mayor". opb. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  44. ↑ Liska, Lillie (May 30, 2026). "New Biopic BROKEN AND RESTORED Tells the True Story of VP JD Vance's Father". Movieguide | The Family Guide to Movies & Entertainment. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  45. ↑ "How JD Vance's upbringing shaped his sharp-edged rhetoric about families". NBC News. August 15, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  46. ↑ Ian (October 4, 2025). "JD Vance's Parents: The Story Behind His Family". Pressfarm. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  47. ↑ "Who are JD Vance's parents? About mom Beverly Aikins and dad Donald Bowman". Yahoo Entertainment. January 22, 2025. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  48. ↑ "JD Vance Parents: All About Donald Bowman And Beverly Vance". TimesNow. July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  49. ↑ S, Tony (January 12, 2025). "Everything We Know About JD Vance's Rocky Relationship With His Dad". The List. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  50. ↑ "JD Vance (@JDVance) on X". X (formerly Twitter). June 26, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  51. ↑ Moorwood, Victoria. "In new book, JD Vance says years living in Cincinnati were 'best' of his life". The Enquirer. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  52. ↑ Ndetei, Chris (August 14, 2025). "Meet JD Vance's parents and their role in his journey from poverty to politics - YEN.COM.GH". yen.com.gh. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  53. ↑ "Who is Jd's Older Sister Lindsay". Cincinnati. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  54. ↑ Prasad, Sumith (July 17, 2024). "Lindsay Lewis: Where is J.D. Vance's Sister Now?". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  55. 1 2 Gibson, Kelsie (January 18, 2025). "All About JD Vance's Sister Lindsay". People.com. Retrieved June 14, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  56. ↑ "JD Vance's brother to run for Cincinnati mayor". www.bbc.com. May 7, 2025. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  57. ↑ NewsNation (April 25, 2025). Meet JD Vance’s half-brother, a candidate for Cincinnati mayor | Elizabeth Vargas Reports. Retrieved June 19, 2026 – via YouTube.
  58. ↑ Aizin, Rebecca (January 18, 2025). "All About JD Vance's Grandma 'Mamaw', Bonnie Blanton Vance". People.com. Retrieved June 14, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  59. ↑ Breslow, Jason (July 18, 2024). "Stories about J.D. Vance's grandmother stole the night at the RNC. Here's who she was". NPR. Archived from the original on July 22, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  60. ↑ "The two Vances are related". Kyiv Post. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  61. ↑ "Le Figaro: The US Vice President JD Vanceʼs cousin fought for Ukraine". babel.ua. March 10, 2025. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  62. ↑ "«Nous sommes les idiots utiles de Vladimir Poutine» : Le Figaro a retrouvé Nate, cousin germain de JD Vance et combattant volontaire en Ukraine". Le Figaro (in French). March 9, 2025. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  63. ↑ Smith, Benedict (March 9, 2025). "Vance and Trump are Putin's 'useful idiots', says US vice-president's cousin". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  64. ↑ "'Didn't want to endanger his life' — JD Vance on criticism from his cousin who fought in Ukraine". Yahoo News. March 11, 2025. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  65. ↑ "Appointment of Professor Lakshmi Chilukuri as Provost of Sixth College". UCSD. April 5, 2018.
  66. ↑ Burack, Emily (January 20, 2025). "Meet Usha Vance's Parents, Krish and Lakshmi Chilukuri". Town & Country. Retrieved May 23, 2025.