Meet Kamala Harris's family, the people who could become America's next first family

As Kamala Harris's presidential campaign reaches its conclusion in the US, here's a look at the family who could move up the ranks with her if she wins today's election

If Kamala Harris is successful, who would be the new first family to move into the White House in 2025. Picture: Drew Hallowell/Getty

Joe Biden's vice president Kamala Harris is running for US President against Donald Trump, with the American people casting their votes today.

So, if she is successful, who would be the new first family to move into the White House in 2025?

Kamala Harris 

Vice President Kamala Harris. Picture: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

The 60-year-old is 49th vice president of the United States and is the first female, and the highest-ranking female official, to take the title.

On October 20, she celebrated her 60th birthday – just weeks before the election on November 5.

Harris was born in California to parents Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer researcher from India, and Donald Harris, an economist from Jamaica. The couple immigrated to the US and met at the University of California, Berkeley. They have two daughters, Kamala and her younger sister, Maya. Shyamala and Donald divorced when Kamala was seven.

She graduated from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of Law and began her career in the office of the district attorney of Alameda County. From there, she moved to San Fransico to take up the same position, before working for the city attorney’s office.

Harris was previously a US senator from 2017 to 2021 and the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017. She was selected by Biden to be his running mate in the 2020 election, after she withdrew from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Doug Emhoff 

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Picture: Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool

Harris met lawyer Doug Emhoff in 2013 after a mutual friend set them up on a blind date.

Born exactly one week before Harris on October 13, Emhoff is the son of Jewish parents Barbara and Michael Emhoff. He grew up in New Jersey but the family moved to California when he was 17.

Emhoff attended California State University, Northridge and University of Southern California before becoming an entertainment lawyer. In 2000, he opened up his own firm and joined DLA Piper as a partner in 2017. He left the firm after Biden and Harris were elected to avoid conflict of interest concerns.

He was married for 16 years to Kerstin Emhoff, an American film producer. They had two children together, Cole and Ella.

Harris and Emhoff tied the knot in 2014, with Maya Harris officiating the ceremony.

Cole Emhoff 

Doug Emhoff with children Ella and Cole. Picture: Tony Avelar/ Associated Press.

As mentioned, Harris is the stepmother to Emhoff’s two children and, as a result, they are officially part of the second family of the United States and – if she is successful in her presidential campaign – will become the first family.

Cole was born in 1994 and, according to Harris’s Elle essay, he was named after American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane.

In the piece, Harris mentioned how the family spend time together around the table for Sunday dinners. Cole’s role in this is to set the table and pick the music.

According to his IMDB page, he followed his mother’s footsteps into the entertainment industry, having worked as an assistant for the 2022 Father of the Bride remake and for 2020’s Minari. Cole is also credited as an actor in Dance Lady Dance, a short film from 2017.

In October 2023, Harris was the officiant at Cole’s wedding to longterm girlfriend Greenley Littlejohn.

In a statement to People at the time, Harris said that being asked to officiate “meant so much for so many reasons.” 

“For us, we think of marriage as being not just between these two people, but the coming together of families. So it was very much with that spirit that we all participated,” she said.

“I love my husband. I love our marriage. I want for those two [Cole and Greenley] to have a loving marriage where they are best friends and they know that it’s not just them against the world, that our family supports them. That the community of people that came together at the wedding supports (them).” 

Ella Emhoff 

On Inauguration Day 2021, Ella garnered attention for a Miu Miu coat she wore and was signed with IMG Models worldwide just a week later. Picture: Getty Images

Ella is a 25-year-old model, artist and fashion designer. Like Cole, her name comes from a legendary jazz performer, Ella Fitzgerald.

She graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York City in 2021 and now designs and sells jackets, hats, coats and knitted shorts. She also sells ceramics, paintings and drawings.

On Inauguration Day 2021, Ella garnered attention for a Miu Miu coat she wore and was signed with IMG Models worldwide, a New York-based agency, just a week later. She is also a member of the 3% Movement, which is focused on increasing the number of women creative directors in the US.

In Harris’s Elle piece, she wrote that her stepdaughter was on her school’s swim and basketball teams and enjoyed making dessert for the family’s Sunday dinners.

According to her essay, when Harris was sworn into the United States Senate, Ella entered her senior year of high school in Los Angeles, California.

"This new job meant that I would be splitting time between California and Washington, D.C., and the hardest part was going to be being away from my Ella," she wrote at the time.

Herself and brother Cole have coined the nickname “Momala” for Harris.

• This article was first published on July 23, 2024.