Kamala Devi Harris is an American personality, she is a politician and attorney who is currently serving as the 49th vice president of the United States since 2021, under the guidance of president Joe Biden. Kamala Harris wrote her name in history, as the first woman, first African American, and first Asian American to hold the vice presidency, with that she became the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history.

In 2024, Kamala Harris is also the Democratic Party’s nominee for the presidential election. Before getting elected as the vice president, she served as a U.S. Senator from California from 2017 to 2021, and before that, as California’s attorney general.

She started her legal career in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office and later worked in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, followed by the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. In 2003, Harris was elected as San Francisco’s district attorney, and in 2010, she became California’s attorney general. In 2014, she again got elected to the attorney general role and in both  positions, she made history as the first woman, African American, and Asian American to serve in these capacities.

Kamala Harris served as the junior U.S. Senator from California from 2017 to 2021, after winning the 2016 Senate election. She became the second Black woman and the first South Asian American to be elected to the U.S. Senate. During her time in office, Harris was a strong advocate for progressive causes, including stricter gun control, the DREAM Act, federal cannabis legalization, and healthcare and tax reforms. She gained national attention for her sharp, incisive questioning of officials from the Trump administration, most notably during the Senate hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

In 2019, Kamala Harris launched a bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination but withdrew before the primaries. Joe Biden later selected her as his running mate, and together, they defeated incumbent President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in the 2020 election.

She has cast more tie-breaking votes than any vice president in U.S. history, helping to pass significant legislation, including the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. After President Biden decided not to run in the 2024 election, Harris launched her own campaign with his endorsement. 

Personal Life and Background

Kamala Harris born on 20 October 1964, In 2024 she is running at the age of 59 years old. Harris’ early life started in Oakland, California, Harris earned her undergraduate degree from Howard University and her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. 

Harris’ nationality is American. Her parents are Shyamala Gopalan and Donald J. Harris.

Shyamala Gopalan: Kamala Harris’s mother was an Indian lady and she was a renowned biomedical scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Her groundbreaking work in isolating and characterizing the progesterone receptor gene significantly advanced research in breast biology and oncology. Gopalan’s contributions to science not only left a lasting impact on cancer research but also deeply influenced Harris’s own commitment to public service and advocacy for health-related issues.

Donald J. Harris: Kamala Harris’s father, he is a Jamaican-American economist and professor emeritus at Stanford University. Born in Saint Ann’s Bay, Jamaica, Harris pursued his education at the University College of the West Indies and later earned a PhD in economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1966. He met his future wife, Shyamala Gopalan, through their involvement in the civil rights movement. Harris’s academic career and his advocacy for economic justice played a significant role in shaping Kamala Harris’s views on equality and opportunity.

Kamala Harris is married to Douglas Emhoff, an American entertainment attorney and law professor and she has a stepson Cole Emhoff and a stepdaughter Ella Emhoff.

Douglas Emhoff: Douglas Emhoff, Kamala Harris’s husband, was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish parents, Michael and Barbara Emhoff. He moved to California as a teenager and later graduated from California State University, Northridge, and USC Gould School of Law. Before marrying Harris, he was married to film producer Kerstin Emhoff, with whom he has two children. Emhoff and Harris wed on August 22, 2014, in Santa Barbara, California, in a ceremony officiated by Harris’s sister, Maya Harris.

Douglas Emhoff is an accomplished entertainment litigator who began his career at Pillsbury Winthrop’s litigation group before moving to the boutique firm Belin Rawlings & Badal in the late 1990s. In 2000, he co-founded his own firm, which was later acquired by Venable in 2006.

Emhoff joined DLA Piper as a partner in 2017, working from its Washington, D.C., and California offices. After Kamala Harris was selected as Joe Biden’s running mate in the 2020 election, Emhoff took a leave of absence from the firm. Following their victory, he permanently left DLA Piper to avoid any potential conflict of interest before Inauguration Day.

Cole Emhoff: He is Kamala Harris’s stepson through her marriage to Doug Emhoff. Born on September 15, 1994, to Kerstin Emhoff, he was named after jazz legend John Coltrane. Cole graduated from Colorado College with a degree in psychology and has worked in the entertainment industry, including positions at William Morris Endeavor and Plan B Entertainment. He affectionately refers to Harris as “Momala.” On October 14, 2023, Cole married Greenley Littlejohn in a ceremony in Los Angeles, officiated by Harris.

Ella Emhoff: She is  Kamala Harris’s step daughter through her marriage to Doug Emhoff. Born on May 29, 1999, to Kerstin Emhoff, she was named after jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. In 2018, she graduated from high school in Los Angeles, where she was a member of the swim team. Ella is an artist studying apparel and textiles at Parsons School of Design. She gained public attention for designing her own dress, in collaboration with designer Batsheva Hay, for Harris’s inauguration day. Like her brother, Ella affectionately refers to Harris as “Momala.”