Kamala Harris is making history as the first female, first black and first South Asian vice president, but she is not making history alone. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, will be the first ever second gentleman and the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president.
The son of Barbara and Michael Emhoff, Emhoff was born in Brooklyn and grew up in New Jersey before moving to California with his family when he was 17 years old. After earning his J.D. from the USC Gould School of Law, Emhoff went on to become an entertainment lawyer. He joined DLA Piper, a multinational law firm, in 2017, but following the announcement that Harris would be Joe Biden’s running mate, he took a leave from the firm that has since been announced to be permanent. Emhoff is not only Harris’ husband, but he is clearly her biggest supporter, too. After leaving DLA Piper, Emhoff hit the ground running in his full-time campaign efforts to help bring the Biden-Harris team to victory.
While Emhoff’s unwavering admiration and support for his wife might suggest otherwise, the two have only been married for six years. In 2013, Harris was serving as California’s Attorney General and Emhoff was the managing director for the West Coast of Venable LLP, where he focused on intellectual property and trademark disputes in the entertainment industry. Harris’ friend, Chrisette Hudlin, met Emhoff through work and set the two up on a blind date. They married less than a year later.
Emhoff divorced his first wife of 16 years, Kerstin Emhoff, back in 2008. The couple had two children together, Cole and Ella, who are now both in their 20s and refer to their stepmother as “Momala” – welcoming Harris into the family with open arms.
