Second Lady Usha Vance may be conquering the global stage with her stunning appearances, bold stances, noble deeds, and more. However, her personal life is mostly hidden from the public eye.
The former American attorney, who has stepped back from her professional career, is now making headlines for her more focused role as a public figure. She’s undoubtedly one of the most visible public figures, right next to her husband and the Vice President of the U.S., JD Vance.
Born to an upper-middle-class Telugu-speaking family in California, she became the first Indian American second lady that the world has seen. Speaking about the former, Usha’s family heritage speaks of sheer academic excellence above all.
Her father, Krish Chilukuri, is a retired mechanical engineer from IIT Madras and a lecturer at San Diego State University. On the other hand, Usha’s mother, Lakshmi, is a molecular biologist and provost for the University of California, San Diego.
However, it seems Usha’s younger sister, Shreya Chilukuri, has drawn attention precisely because of her absence from the spotlight. But did you know that the latter commands an even stronger qualification and is super successful and accomplished, just like her sister?
Yes, there’s little public information on Shreya, even online. However, Usha Vance had once tagged her sibling for one of the most enriching experiences while growing up.
Usha and I had a great trip to Greenland today visiting our US Space Force base.
Security and defense are this administration’s top priorities. pic.twitter.com/cUivfIHom6
— Vice President JD Vance (@VP) March 28, 2025
Speaking at her introductory speech for the 2024 Republican National Convention, the second lady had said, “I grew up in San Diego, in a middle-class community with two loving parents, both immigrants from India, and a wonderful sister.”
With a private Instagram account of less than 70 followers, Shreya Chilukuri has been totally off the radar in comparison to the stardom enjoyed by her sister, Usha. Nonetheless, a NickSwift report claims that Shreya has held a degree in mechanical engineering from Duke University in North Carolina since 2012.
She had served as a soccer coach during her time here and even took part in the theater department, thereafter churning out their student-run record label titled Small Town Records.
The piece by Tunku Varadarajan on Usha Chilukuri Vance in Wall Street Journal is one of the most ideologically driven pieces about Indian Americans!! I don’t have much to say about Usha Vance but this moment is producing all kinds insidious narratives about Indian Americans. 1/1 pic.twitter.com/0uMc5n5K4D
— Sangay Mishra (@SangayMishra) July 18, 2024
Shreya Chilukuri then entered into a brief fellowship in Germany and thereafter ended up working as a mechanical design engineer in San Diego. Speaking about the Chilukuri sisters, the two of them are rarely seen together, much less dropping pictures of themselves on social media. In fact, compared to Usha Vance’s constant presence in the social limelight, very little is known about Shreya’s political beliefs or her relationship status.
It is believed that both Usha and Shreya are extremely cultured people and are really close to their families. As of 2022, Shreya Chilukuri is said to have been working at ASML, which is one of the world’s foremost semiconductor technology companies.
Besides this, during her extensive career, Usha Vance’s sister has also worked in several leading brands like Cordis Engineering and Lude 32. In fact, her technical expertise has contributed to the development of products like the GoPro camera and the Fitbit smartwatch.
