The Vanto family, originating from the Wild Space planet of Lysatra, were human. This family included Eli N. Vanto, along with his mother, father, and grandparents. Spanning the decline of the Galactic Republic and the age of the Galactic Empire, they managed a shipping company across three generations, utilizing several starships equipped with beckon calls for their business. Early in the Empire's reign, Eli Vanto enlisted in the Imperial Navy, hoping to leverage his family's shipping expertise to become an Imperial officer. However, Vanto was instead assigned as an aide to Lieutenant Thrawn, a situation that stunted his advancement and disappointed his parents. Later, after Vanto's secret defection to the Chiss Ascendancy, his parents endured the social consequences of his disappearance, which was later labeled as treason. Despite this, Thrawn asserted that the Emperor himself had authorized Vanto's transfer to the Chiss, suggesting that Vanto might not have been guilty of treason after all.
The Vanto family made their debut in Timothy Zahn's 2017 novel, Thrawn, as well as the audiobook of the same title. Eli Vanto, a member of the family, was first visually depicted in the first issue of Star Wars: Thrawn, a 2018 comic book adaptation of the novel, with illustrations by Luke Ross.