NEWSSecond Gentleman Doug Emhoff: Meet The Husband & Family Of Vice President Kamala Harris
Jan. 20 2021, Published 10:33 a.m. ET
Vice President Kamala Harris will not be the only person making history when she is sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor in front of the U.S. Capitol. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, will become the nation's first-ever Second Gentleman, making him the first man and first person of Jewish faith in that role.
And since family is everything to Vice President Harris, here are the handful of people who know her simply as their wife, sister, aunt and "Momola."
Doug Emhoff
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff
Vice President Harris first met her husband in 2013 on a blind date. Emhoff, who was divorced with two children, wrote his date an email the following day that read: “I’m too old to play games or hide the ball. I really like you.” He proposed in Florence, Italy, the following year, and in 2014 the pair were married in a simple ceremony at the Santa Barbra courthouse. This is a man who has proven that he is happy to let his wife take the spotlight while remaining her biggest champion.
Cole, Doug, and Ella Emhoff with Vice President Harris
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Ella & Cole Emhoff
Vice President Harris' family grew threefold after her wedding, and she welcomed Emhoff's two adult children into the fold. She wanted her relationship with Emhoff's children to be just as strong as her relationship with their father. Ella is a student at Parsons School of Design in New York while Cole currently works for Brad Pitt's production studio, Plan B. Harris met Emma and Cole — who are named after Ella Fitzgerald and John Coltrane — soon after her first date with Emhoff, and the three quickly hit it off. She has even grown close with Emhoff's ex-wife and the children's mother, Kerstin. One thing she is not, however, is a stepmother, with the kids instead opting to refer to her as "Momola."
Maya Harris
Maya Harris
Vice President Harris' little sister is three years younger, but has a resume that is just as impressive. After a youth spent attending demonstrations and marches with their Berkeley-grad parents, Maya has gone on to work as an attorney, just like her big sister. At the same time, she was the chairwoman of her sister’s 2020 presidential bid, a senior policy adviser to Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and the executive director for the ACLU of Northern California. On top of all that, she is also her sister's closest friend and confidant, and a woman whom Harris has called one of the smartest people she knows.
Meena Harris
Meena Harris
The one person who is on track to become more accomplished than both Vice President and Maya Harris is Maya's daughter, Meena. She is an activist, attorney and author who attended Stanford and then Harvard Law. She founded the Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign, which was one of the most groups supporting Christine Blasey Ford when she testified during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings and in June released her book 'Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea.' The children's book tells the story of two sisters who work hard to change their community and then the world.
