JD Vance: Biography, All You Need To Know About Him

JD Vance, Biography

JD Vance was born on August 2, 1984 and named James Donald Bowman. His mother changed his name to James David Vance and he is popularly known as JD. Since 2023, the American politician, novelist, and Marine veteran has represented Ohio as the junior US senator. In the 2024 U.S. presidential election, he is the Republican contender for vice president.

JD Vance, Childhood

Beverly Carol and Donald Ray Bowman welcomed James Donald Bowman into the world on August 2, 1984, in Middletown, Ohio. His ancestry is Scots-Irish. When he was a toddler, his parents divorced. In order to eliminate his father’s name and maintain his nickname, JD, Bowman’s mother altered his name to James David Hamel when he was adopted by Bob Hamel, his third husband.

JD Vance: All You Need To Know About Him

On August 2, 1984, James Donald Bowman was born in Middletown, Ohio, an industrial community 20 miles south of Dayton and 30 miles north of Cincinnati. In the late 1940s, his maternal grandparents, Jim and Bonnie Vance, also referred to as “Papaw” and “Mamaw,” relocated to Middletown from Jackson, Kentucky, a town located in the coal belt of southeast Kentucky. Bonnie, who was 13 years old and expecting Jim’s kid, was 16 years old. At the time, they were both single. Vance has mentioned the conservative localist Rod Dreher, the reactionary blogger Curtis Yarvin, and the “postliberal” Catholic philosopher Patrick Deneen as some of his other contemporary intellectual inspirations. With Thiel’s more than $10 million in contributions, he was elected to the U.S. Senate from Ohio in November 2022. His first public position was that one.

When Vance was a youngster, his biological parents, Bev Vance and Donald Bowman,  divorced. Later, he was taken in by Bob Hamel, his mother’s new husband, and given the name James David Hamel. His nickname, JD, was maintained by the name change.

Hillbilly Elegy

On June 28, 2016, Vance’s autobiography, Hillbilly Elegy, was released . The book made the case that the social pathologies of the white working class, not the collapse of the American industrial sector, were largely to blame for the deterioration of post-industrial America.

JD Vance, Narya

Vance established his own Ohio-based startup capital business, Narya, in 2019. Narya was named after a mythical item from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books, just like Thiel’s company, Palantir.

Raised by Maternal grandparents

According to Vance’s writing, his mother battled drug addiction, and his early years were characterized by abuse and poverty. The primary caregivers for Vance and his sister Lindsey were his maternal grandparents, James and Bonnie Vance, whom they referred to as “Papaw” and “Mamaw.”

JD Vance, Education

After Middleton High School, Vance enlisted in the US Marine Corps, where he worked from 2003 to 2007 as a military journalist. He earned degrees from Yale Law School and Ohio State University. Before starting a career as a venture investor in the IT sector, he worked for a short time as a corporate lawyer. Hillbilly Elegy, his memoir, was released in 2016 and made into a movie in 2020.

JD Vance, Career

Before starting a career as a venture investor in the IT sector, he worked for a short time as a corporate lawyer. Hillbilly Elegy, his memoir, was released in 2016 and made into a movie in 2020.

In Ohio, Vance defeated Democratic candidate Tim Ryan to win the 2022 U.S. Senate race. Vance has been a fervent Trump supporter since Trump’s administration, having opposed Trump’s campaign in the 2016 election. Trump announced Vance as his running mate ahead of the Republican National Convention in July 2024.

 

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JD Vance, Political Position

Vance identifies as a member of the post-liberal right and has been described as a right-wing populist and national conservative. He opposes abortion, same-sex marriage, gun regulation, and U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, among other political issues. Vance has admitted that his social views have been influenced by Catholic theology and is a vocal opponent of childlessness.

JD Vance, The Catholic Church

In August 2019, he had his Catholic baptism. The French philosopher René Girard, whom Thiel studied under at Stanford University, was recognized at the time with influencing his conversion through Thiel. Girard is most known for his “mimetic desire” thesis, which holds that people mimic the interests of their peers, leading to rivalries and violent disputes that are settled by “scapegoating” a shared foe.

JD Vance, Wife

Vance and Usha Chilukuri first crossed paths in 2013 while attending Yale Law School. Because Usha is Christian and Vance is Hindu, they married in an interfaith ceremony in Kentucky in 2014. A Hindu pandit blessed the bride and groom, while Vance’s “best friend” Jamil Jivani read a passage from the Bible during their wedding. Before spending a year as a clerk for Chief Justice John Roberts, Usha worked for Brett Kavanaugh, who was then a judge on the Washington appeals court. The couple has three kids.

JD Vance, Height, and Weight

Vance weighs around 200 pounds and is about 6 feet 3 inches tall.

JD Vance, Support

In the Trump universe, Donald Trump Jr. was Vance’s main ally. Tucker Carlson is his most well-known conservative media ally. Peter Thiel was his largest contributor.

JD Vance, Net Worth

The estimated net worth of JD Vance ranges from $4.8 million to $11.3 million. His job in venture capital, the book royalties from his best-selling novel “Hillbilly Elegy,” and investments in real estate and cryptocurrencies are some of the sources of his fortune.