In the days leading up to President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Google searches for “Usha Vance religion” have seen a significant increase. This surge reflects the public’s curiosity about Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President J.D. Vance, who has made history as the first Indian-American and first Hindu to serve as the Second Lady of the United States.
Born Usha Chilukuri to Telugu Indian immigrants in San Diego, Usha Vance was raised in the Hindu faith. Her parents, Krish and Lakshmi Chilukuri, emigrated from Andhra Pradesh, India, in the 1980s. Her father, Krish, is an accomplished engineer who has worked in the aerospace industry and as a lecturer in Aerospace Engineering at San Diego State University. Her mother, Lakshmi, is a distinguished academic in biology and currently serves as the provost at the University of California, San Diego.
Usha Vance’s Hindu faith has been a significant aspect of her identity and has influenced her husband’s political journey. During the 2024 Republican National Convention, she shared anecdotes about how J.D. Vance embraced aspects of her culture, including adapting to a vegetarian diet and learning to cook Indian cuisine from her mother.
The couple’s interfaith marriage—Usha practicing Hinduism and J.D. Vance identifying as a Christian—has drawn attention to the role of diverse religious backgrounds in American political life. As the nation witnesses this historic inauguration, the increased interest in Usha Vance’s religion underscores the evolving landscape of cultural and religious representation in the United States.
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