At a Glance
- Usha Vance’s parents, Krish and Lakshmi Chilukuri, immigrated from India over 40 years ago
- Both are accomplished professors in San Diego – aerospace engineering and molecular biology
- Raised daughters in Hindu household emphasizing education and family values
- Why it matters: Shows contrasting background to JD Vance’s upbringing detailed in Hillbilly Elegy
Vice President JD Vance’s wife Usha Vance comes from a dramatically different background than her husband, raised by Indian immigrant parents who emphasized education and family stability throughout her childhood.
Immigration Journey from India
Krish and Lakshmi Chilukuri both grew up in India before relocating to the United States in the late 1970s. Krish spent part of his childhood in Vadduru, Andhra Pradesh, before moving to Chennai when his father began teaching physics at the Indian Institute of Technology around 1959.
The couple settled in San Diego, where they built their careers and raised their family. “I was lucky in that I grew up with incredibly loving parents. They came from a different country. They came voluntarily. They came legally,” Usha shared during an August 2024 Fox & Friends interview.
She continued, “They made a life for themselves in a place where there were tons of other immigrants, all of whom had had different paths to getting there but really shared a view that this was the country that they wanted to be in and that this was a place they really wanted their children to grow up in, to build a future in and to really become a part of the fabric of American society.”
Academic Careers and Achievements
Both parents established themselves as respected educators in San Diego’s university system. Krish works as a lecturer in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at San Diego State University, having published numerous technical papers and received multiple patents.
Lakshmi serves as a professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at UC San Diego and coordinates the Undergraduate Microbiology Teaching Laboratory. In this role, she designs microbiology teaching laboratory curriculum and coordinates Instructional Assistant training.
In 2018, she was appointed provost of Sixth College. Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla praised her as a “creative and dynamic educator” in his appointment letter, noting she was “one of the founding members of the pilot course in Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in Biology and Medicine, exploring the practice and philosophy of science from a multicultural perspective.”
Lakshmi has also been politically active, joining over 2,300 California professors who signed an open letter to Donald Trump urging him not to withdraw from the Paris climate accords. According to a July 2024 report, both Krish and Lakshmi are registered Democrats.
Raising Children with Hindu Values
The Chilukuris raised Usha and her sister Shreya in Rancho Peñasquitos, an upper-middle-class San Diego suburb. They maintained their cultural heritage by speaking both Telugu and English at home while practicing Hinduism.
“I did grow up in a religious household. My parents are Hindu and that is one of the things that made them such good parents, that made them really good people. And so I have seen the power of that,” Usha told Fox News.
The parents emphasized education without being overly strict. “My parents are – it might shock people – they are very relaxed in a lot of ways. They had this thought that they would just never say no if I wanted to get a book,” Usha explained during her Fox & Friends interview.
She added, “They would read to me, they would talk to me about all of my interests. But they weren’t very pushy. I think they just felt that as long as I was working really hard at things I cared about, that’s what mattered.”
Stark Contrast to JD Vance’s Upbringing
Usha has openly discussed how her childhood differed from her husband’s experiences. “My background is very different from JD’s. I grew up in San Diego, in a middle-class community with two loving parents, both immigrants from India, and a wonderful sister,” she said at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
JD Vance wrote about meeting Usha’s family in his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, noting the dramatic difference from his own family dynamics. “The first time I visited her family for Thanksgiving, I was amazed at the lack of drama. Usha’s mother didn’t complain about her father behind his back. There were no suggestions that good family friends were liars or backstabbers, no angry exchanges between a man’s wife and the same man’s sister. Usha’s parents seemed to genuinely like her grandmother and spoke of their siblings with love,” he described.
Throughout their careers, Krish and Lakshmi have largely remained out of the political spotlight, focusing on their academic work and family. Their story represents a classic immigrant success narrative – coming to America legally, building successful careers in education, and raising accomplished children who have integrated into American society while maintaining their cultural heritage.
Key Takeaways
- The Chilukuris embody the Indian-American immigrant experience, building successful academic careers over four decades
- Their emphasis on education and family values created a stable foundation that contrasts sharply with the family instability JD Vance experienced
- Both parents have maintained their Democratic party registration while their daughter married a Republican Vice President
- Their story highlights how different American experiences can unite, as Usha and JD Vance built a life together despite vastly different upbringings
