Unclaimed
J. D. Vance
History & Commentary
J. D. Vance is an American politician and memoirist whose Hillbilly Elegy examines white working-class struggles through his upbringing in Ohio.
Biography
J. D. Vance is an American politician, author, venture capitalist, and Marine Corps veteran serving as the 50th vice president of the United States since 2025. A Republican, he previously represented Ohio in the U.S. Senate from 2023 to 2025.
Born in 1984, Vance grew up in an unstable, low-income family in Middletown, Ohio. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2003 and worked as a military journalist in public affairs until 2007. He earned a bachelor's degree from Ohio State University and a law degree from Yale Law School. After briefly working in corporate law, he joined the venture capital firm Mithril Capital.
His 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, brought him national attention for its account of his upbringing and discussion of white working-class life. The book drew interest from scholars and journalists examining working-class disaffection after Donald Trump's election and was adapted into a film in 2020.
Wikipedia contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Excerpt, formatting adapted
Books by J. D. Vance
Hillbilly Elegy
Hillbilly Elegy is a memoir that explores the struggles of America's poor white working class through Vance's account of growing up in a low-income family in a Rust Belt town. It combines his personal story with an analysis of a culture in crisis.