All about Kamala Harris' husband – inside the Vice President's home life

Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff smiling
(Kevin Dietsch)

Kamala Harris is now hoping to suceed Joe Biden as President of the United States and was named as the Democratic presidential nominee. An esteemed politician and attorney, Kamala has served as a United States senator of California from 2017 until 2021 and is the certainly the woman of the moment right now.

As she prepares for the presidential debate against former president Donald Trump, she will be supported by her family.

But who is the leading man in her life, her husband, Doug Emhoff? Here's what we know about him.

Whirlwind romance

Kamala first met Doug through a mutual friend on a blind date back in 2013 and only a year later they tied the knot. Their Santa Barbara wedding was officiated by Kamala's sister Maya and took place in the courthouse.

Democratic vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and her husband Douglas Emhoff appear on stage after Harris delivered her acceptance speech on the third night of the Democratic National Convention from the Chase Center August 19, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware.
Kamala's right-hand man is her husband Doug (Win McNamee)

Doug was previously married to American film producer Kerstin Emhoff but the former couple divorced after 16 years together. They share two children.

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He's her biggest supporter

When Joe Biden won the election, in November 2020, and Kamala became Vice President, Doug reacted with a heartfelt photo that he shared on on X (formerly Twitter), in which he was seen embracing his wife.

His caption simply stated: “So proud of you."

He's staunchly supports her, regularly posting about her and on social media and cheering her on.

On July 12, he posted a snapshot of his wife with the President and wrote: “For the past three years, I’ve seen @POTUS and @VP fight for the American people – and they’re not done yet."

When asked about her possible performance in the debate, Doug joked on Pod Save America: "I haven't won one." He added: "It's not like we're in a debate, but I realize if we're talking about something, any really good lawyer will lay little traps for you along the way, and as I'm going through this discussion about some husband-wife thing, I say 'Oh, that's what you're doing!' I was a pretty good trial lawyer too."

His career

Doug was a partner at law firm DLA Piper. While his bio has now been deleted, at the time it said that he represented "large domestic and international corporations and some of today's highest profile individuals and influencers in complex business, real estate and intellectual property litigation disputes."

He left his job as a lawyer when Biden and Kamala were elected and transitioned into teaching. Doug joined the faculty at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.

kamala harris doug emhoff outside official residence
Kamala and Doug met on a blind date (Instagram)

Kamala's parents and siblings

Kamala's father is Donald J. Harris, a retired economics professor from Stanford University. Her mother, Shyamala, was a breast cancer researcher, but sadly died of colon cancer in 2009 aged 70. The couple had split when Kamala was seven, with Shyamala winning custody of their daughters.

Success really runs in this family, as Kamala's sister Maya is also a lawyer and writer. Maya is married to Tony West, who she met at Stanford Law School. They are parents to daughter Meena, 36, also a lawyer.

kamala harris sister
Kamala and Maya when they were young

Kamala recently took to her Instagram page to share a photo of her mother bottle-feeding her as a baby. She proudly wrote: "My parents were born half a world apart from each other: my mother in India and my dad in Jamaica. But like so many others, they came to America in pursuit of a dream. And that dream was a dream for themselves, for me, and for my sister Maya."

kamala harris baby
Kamala with her mother as a baby

She continued: "Born in Oakland, I was raised by my mother Shyamala Gopalan Harris, one of the few women of colour to have a position as a scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. She was all of five feet, but if you ever met her you would think she was seven feet tall.

"It's because of her that I was raised in a community where we were taught to see a world beyond just ourselves. To be conscious and compassionate about the struggles of all people.

"My mother always used to say, 'Don't sit around and complain about things, do something.' I've tried to follow that advice every day and live by the example she set."