US Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, hosted a classy dinner at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The event was held in the run-up to the swearing-in of President-elect Donald Trump on January 20 and had many of Trump’s incoming cabinet members and other VIPs in attendance. But one who stole the evening was Usha Vance in her bespoke Oscar de la Renta attire. She looked poised, elegance oozing from every inch of her being.
Usha Chilukuri Vance is a successful lawyer and daughter of Indian immigrants; she will be the first non-white second lady of the United States. Born and raised in suburban San Diego, California, Usha’s roots are from Vadluru, a village in Andhra Pradesh, India. Her family migrated to the United States over fifty years ago, yet they have maintained a strong connection to their homeland.
The Chilukuri family has been involved in various charity work in Vadluru: donation for the building of Sai Baba Temple, Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy, and Goddess Bala Seeta temples; the temples also are part of essential gathering points within the community. Though Usha hasn’t traveled to Vadluru yet, her father Chilukuri Radhakrishnan did visit this village three years ago to monitor the upkeep of those holy places and also their family relations to the roots.
As Usha Vance readies herself for the national stage, her stellar legal career, strong cultural connections, and poised public presence have made her an inspiration to many.
