Kamala Harris: Early life, marriage, career...all you need to know about the US Vice President

Kamala Harris was born on October 20, 1964 in Oakland, California.

Kamala Harris' mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a biologist who moved from India to the US when she was 19. Her father, Donald J. Harris, was a university professor at Stanford, who moved from Jamaica to the US in 1961.

Kamala Harris' parents divorced when she was seven years old, and she moved with her mother and younger sister to Berkeley. She saw her father on weekends. 

When Kamala Harris was 12, she moved to Montreal with her mother and sister, after her mother accepted a research and teaching position at the McGill University Jewish General Hospital.

After finishing high school, Kamala Harris attended Howard University, a historically black university in Washington D.C. where she interned as a mailroom clerk and joined a sorority.

Kamala Harris graduated from Howard University with a degree in political science and economics.

Kamala Harris later attended the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1989 and passed the California bar in 1990.

From 1990 onwards, Kamala Harris worked as a prosecutor and worked on cases of homicide, burglary, robbery and assault. 

Despite being the less-known candidate for the position, Kamala Harris was elected District Attorney of San Francisco in 2002. She was re-elected in 2007.

In 2010, Kamala Harris became the first woman, the first African-American and the first South Asian American to be elected Attorney General of California. She was re-elected in 2014.

In 2017, Kamala Harris became a US senator, with the endorsement of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

In 2018, Kamala Harris was a target of the U.S. mail bombing attempts. Several envelopes containing pipe bombs were mailed to critics of Donald Trump.

In 2020, Kamala Harris announced her candidacy in the run to the White House, and broke the record of donations made to a presidential campaign.

A few months later, Kamala Harris withdrew from the race and endorsed Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate.

In 2020, Kamala Harris became the first woman, the first African-American and the first South Asian American to be elected Vice President of the United States. 

During her term, Kamala Harris has had one of the lowest approval ratings for a Vice President. In April 2024, 55% of Americans polled had an unfavourable opinion.

Shyamala Gopalan and Donald Harris met in university over their shared passion of civil rights movements, and they took young Kamala to protests in a stroller when she was a baby.

In 2014, Kamala Harris married Douglas Emhoff, a lawyer, in a private ceremony officiated by her sister, Maya Harris. She became step-mum to his two kids, who refer to her as ‘Momala’. 

Kamala Harris has publicly expressed her love of cooking, and she bookmarks recipes from the New York Times. Her favourite meal is a simple roast chicken.

Kamala Harris is also a keen reader. One of her favourite books is The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, which was adapted into the first Narnia film.

Kamala Harris wakes up at 6 am every day, and she works out for half an hour. Her breakfast consists of a bowl of Raisin Bran mixed with almond milk, and tea with honey and lemon.

Kamala Harris follows one motto in particular in her life, and it comes from her mother, who always said: ‘You may be the first, but make sure you’re not the last’.

Kamala Harris is known to have a close relationship with both Michelle and Barack Obama. According to Politico, she has been friends with the former POTUS since 2004. 

In 2013, Obama even referred to Harris as ‘the best-looking attorney general in the country’. However, that comment was labelled sexist and he was forced to apologise. 

A white house spokesperson said: 

'They are old friends and good friends and he did not want in any way to diminish the attorney general's professional accomplishments and her capabilities.'

Kamala Harris went viral online after Charli XCX called her ‘brat’, a reference to her new album. According to the singer, the term refers to a woman who ‘lives her life and doesn’t care what you think about that’.

On the night of the presidential election in 2016, Kamala Harris admitted to eating a family bag of Doritos crisps and ‘not sharing a single chip’.

As district attorney, Kamala Harris officiated the first gay wedding in California in 2013. She married Kris Perry and Sandy Stier.

In 2013, Kamala Harris was set up on a blind date by a friend. She and Doug Emhoff hit it off, and they agreed to commit to each other for six months, then evaluate the situation. Their agreement worked well and they were married a year later. 

Doug Emhoff is currently the Second Gentleman of the United States, the male version of the role of First Lady. He is the first Jewish spouse to an American president in history.

In 2024, Joe Biden quit the race to the White House and endorsed Kamala Harris' candidacy to become the next President of the United States. 

If she is elected, Kamala Harris could become the first woman to become president of the United States. 

Kalama Harris may be elected as Head of the Democratic party mid-August, which would allow her to be the official presidential candidate.