Who are JD Vance's parents? About mom Beverly Vance and dad Donald Bowman

When it comes to his early years and family life, Ohio Senator JD Vance is an open book – and that book is called “Hillbilly Elegy.”

Former President Donald Trump's vice president told his story in his 2016 memoir, in which Vance credits his grandparents, particularly his beloved “Mamaw,” with shaping his life, outlook and values. But they weren't the only ones raising him. JD Vance's parents – Donald Bowman and Beverly Vance – also played a formative role during at least part of his upbringing. The vice presidential candidate has vividly captured the influence his parents had on him, both in his memoirs and on the campaign trail.

Who are JD Vance's parents? Read on to learn more about Donald Bowman and Beverly Vance.

His father gave him up for adoption at the age of six.

Donald Bowman and Beverly Vance married in 1983 and the couple had their son the following year. But when he was still a toddler, their marriage was already over.

Two years after their divorce, JD Vance's mother married a man named Bob Hamel. In his memoirs, JD Vance recalled how his biolocal father soon after gave up his claim to his son.

“When I was six, my father gave me up for adoption,” the now-politician wrote in his memoirs. “After the adoption, he became something of a phantom for the next six years. I had hardly any memories of life with him. I knew he loved Kentucky, its beautiful mountains and its rolling, green horse country. He drank RC Cola and had a distinct Southern accent. He drank but stopped after converting to Pentecostal Christianity. I always felt loved when I spent time with him, which is why I found it so shocking that he “didn't want me anymore,” as Mama and Mamaw told me. He had a new wife with two small children and I had been replaced.”

When JD Vance became a teenager, Donald Bowman reconnected with him and over time they renewed their relationship. Still, the fact that his father had given him up for adoption at a young age remained a sensitive topic – until they finally discussed it.

“For the first time I heard his side of the story: that the adoption had nothing to do with a desire to avoid child support, and that Dad wasn't just 'giving me away' like Mom and Mamaw had said, but that he had stopped “I hired several lawyers and did everything possible to keep myself,” Vance wrote in his book.

The adoption came only after his father feared the “custody war” would destroy him.

Bowman died in 2023.

JD Vance was adopted by his stepfather and changed his name

With the adoption, JD Vance's name changed – and not just his last name.

“When Bob became my legal father, my mother changed my name from James Donald Bowman to James David Hamel,” he wrote in his best-selling book.

“Until then I had taken my father's first name as my middle name, and Mom used the adoption to erase all memory of his existence. She kept the D to maintain the now common nickname JD. Mom told me that I was now named after Uncle David, Mamaw's older, pot-smoking brother. Even when I was 6, it seemed a bit excessive to me. Any old D name would have sufficed, as long as it wasn’t Donald.”

When Beverly and Bob Hamel finally parted ways, Hamel's adopted son felt that “the worst thing about it” was that it would further complicate the already discordant names in his family.

His mother struggled with addiction

Beverly Vance, who had worked as a nurse, began abusing prescription drugs when JD Vance was a child, and he later learned that she was also struggling with a heroin addiction. As his childhood progressed, her behavior towards him became increasingly erratic.

In a 2017 interview with NBC News, he recalled a frightening interaction while riding in the car with his mother.

“I said something or a topic of conversation really sparked her anger,” he explained. “Then she just accelerated and kept saying, 'I'm just going to crash this car and kill us both.'

He was ultimately raised by his grandparents

He escaped from the car and Beverly Vance was arrested. He then lived with her parents, his grandparents Bonnie and James Vance. Over time, he took her last name.

His parents have other children, but he doesn't know how many siblings he has

It's hard to tell how many siblings JD Vance has – even for him.

In “Hillbilly Elegy,” he explained that he “detested” being asked about brothers or sisters.

“As a child, you can't wave your hand, say, 'It's complicated,' and then move on,” he wrote. “And unless you're a particularly skilled sociopath, dishonesty can only get you so far. So I answered dutifully for a while, guiding people through the tangled web of familial relationships to which I had become accustomed. I had a biological half-brother and sister that I never saw because my biological father gave me up for adoption. I had many stepbrothers and stepsisters, but only two if you limited the number to the offspring of Mom's then-husband. Then there was my birth father's wife, and she had at least one child, so maybe I should count him too. Sometimes I waxed philosophical about the meaning of the word “siblings”: Are the children of your mother’s previous husbands still related to you? If so, what about the future children of your mother's previous husbands? By some standards, I probably had about a dozen step-siblings.”

He grew up with his older half-sister Lindsay Ratliff, although in his youth he knew nothing about the “half” part, writing, “If ever an adjective preceded her introduction, it was always one of pride: 'my full sister'.” Lindsay;' “my whole sister, Lindsay;” “my big sister, Lindsay.” Lindsay was (and remains) the person I was most proud of.”

Beverly Vance responded to Hillbilly Elegy

Although JD Vance's turbulent upbringing and strained relationship with his mother were an integral part of “Hillbilly Elegy,” both the book and the 2020 film adaptation, he did not consult her when he wrote the book. Instead, he spoke to other relatives since he and she were not speaking to each other at the time.

After the book was published and after Beverly and JD Vance healed their rift, she said he got her story right – from his perspective.

“I think from a child's perspective it's 100 percent accurate and true,” she told The Movie Times in 2020. “You know, I didn't think I was such a bad mother. I know I was addicted to drugs. But I always knew that I had my parents, and I thought it would be good if I sent them to my mother all the time. Looking back, I think I should have been there more often.”

Beverly Vance has been sober for a decade

In a sign of their improved relationship, Beverly Vance attended the Republican National Convention in July and watched as her son introduced her and told those in attendance that she had been “10 years clean and sober.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com