CHICAGO — Kamala Harris has a husband, Doug Emhoff, who could make history as America’s first gentleman husband. She also has two stepchildren who call her “Momala.” She has a sister who is politically connected and a top adviser. She also has a brother-in-law who temporarily left a high-profile private-sector job to help her get elected. She also has a niece who is the mother of two daughters whom Kamala Harris adores. She also has her husband’s ex-wife, who has been an advocate for Harris and Emhoff and their blended family.
They appeared in Chicago and on social media this week at the Democratic National Convention, where Harris will formally accept the party’s presidential nomination.
A look at Harris’ blended family members:
Doug Emhoff: Husband
He would become America’s first “first gentleman” if his wife were elected president.
Emhoff, 59, is already America’s first “second gentleman” and the first Jewish spouse of a U.S. president or vice president. He has been a leader of the Biden administration’s efforts to combat anti-Semitism. Emhoff gave up a lucrative career as an entertainment and intellectual property lawyer in California to avoid conflicts of interest and support his wife after she became vice president.
In a speech Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention, Emhoff recounted how he and Harris met on a blind date in 2013; she was then California’s attorney general. They married in 2014, his first marriage and her second. Emhoff has two adult children, Ella and Cole, from a previous marriage, and they call Harris “Momala.”
Ella Emhoff: Stepdaughter
Ella, 25, is the daughter of Emhoff and his first wife, Kerstin.
Ella is an artist, model, and fashion designer based in New York City. Her parents named her after jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. She graduated from Parsons School of Design at The New School in New York City in 2021. She made her debut at the annual Met Gala in 2021 in a red mesh bodysuit and matching pants by Stella McCartney. After her father’s speech at the convention, she showed off a heart-shaped silhouette made with her hands. Ella recently came under fire after posting a fundraising link to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East on a personal social media account.
Cole Emhoff: Stepson
Cole, 29, is the son of Emhoff and his ex-wife.
Cole is an assistant and film producer at Plan B Entertainment, a Los Angeles production company co-founded by Brad Pitt. His parents named him after saxophonist John Coltrane. He introduced his father at the convention Tuesday night as “the glue that holds this family together.” Cole graduated from Colorado College in 2017 with a degree in psychology. Harris officiated in October 2023 when Cole married his longtime girlfriend, Greenley Littlejohn.
Maya Harris: Sister
Maya, 57, is the vice president’s younger sister and only sibling. She spoke of her sister’s “fighting spirit” and protectiveness of those close to her in a short video released during the convention. Maya is a lawyer, political activist, speaker and writer. She chaired her sister’s 2020 presidential campaign. She later became the national representative for the Biden-Harris ticket after her sister became Joe Biden’s running mate. In 2016, she served as a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Maya lives in California and New York with her husband, Tony West.
Tony West: Brother-in-law
West, 59, recently left his job as Uber’s general counsel to work on Harris’ campaign. West spoke about his sister-in-law at the convention Wednesday night, telling delegates she was motivated “by a belief in equal opportunity.” He has advised Harris’ campaigns since she ran for San Francisco district attorney in 2003, and has accompanied her on some recent trips. A graduate of Stanford University Law School, West was general counsel for PepsiCo before joining Uber in 2017. He worked at the Justice Department under Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. West and Maya Harris met at Stanford and married in 1998.
Meena Harris, Alexander Hudlin, Jasper Emhoff, Arden Emhoff: nieces and nephews
Meena, 39, is Maya Harris’ daughter from a previous relationship. She is the founder and CEO of Phenomenal, a consumer and media company. Meena is also a lawyer, author and theater producer who worked on her aunt’s 2020 presidential campaign. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband, Nikolas Ajagu, and their daughters Amara, 8, and Leela, 6. The vice president loves to pamper her young nieces and recently took them out for ice cream at model Tyra Banks’ new boutique in Washington, D.C. Meena and the vice president share a birthday on October 20.
Hudlin, Jasper Emhoff and Arden Emhoff spoke about their “aunt” at the convention Wednesday night. Hudlin called her a “player” and said she “will lift our spirits.” Jasper Emhoff said Harris will make time “for what matters,” even though “no one is busier than my aunt.” Arden Emhoff said Harris will treat everyone with respect because, “even when I was a kid, my aunt made me feel seen, that my words mattered, that I was important and loved.”
Kerstin Emhoff: Doug’s ex-wife, Ella and Cole’s mother
Kerstin, 57, is a film producer and co-founder and CEO of a commercial production company and creative studio in California. She is attending the Democratic convention and produced a short presentation film about her former husband that was screened before he spoke at the convention Tuesday night, according to her social media posts. Kerstin and Doug married in 1992 and separated in 2009, but remain on good terms. Their daughter Ella has described the Emhoffs and Harris as a “three-headed parenting machine.” Kerstin has defended their blended family and recently defended Harris after Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance’s previous comments about “childless cat ladies” running the U.S. government resurfaced. She also defended Doug after he admitted to an extramarital affair that he said contributed to the breakdown of their marriage.
Shyamala Gopalan and Donald Harris: the parents of Kamala and Maya
Kamala Gopalan was a renowned breast cancer scientist who came to the United States at age 19 from India. She earned a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley in 1964. She and Jamaican-born Donald Harris met there as graduate students and civil rights activists. They married in 1963 and had two daughters, but divorced by the time Harris was 7. Gopalan died of cancer in 2009 at age 70.
Donald Harris, 85, has become a renowned economist. He was a professor of economics at Stanford University from 1972 to 1998 and is currently professor emeritus. He has also served as an economic consultant to the Jamaican government and several of its prime ministers.
Republicans have tried to link Donald Harris’s writings on Marxist theories to their own claims that the vice president is a communist. But his academic work also had a more pragmatic focus on options for achieving growth.
Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.
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