Yahoo News Vice President Kamala Harris's Life in Photos
In January 2021, Kamala Harris made history as the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to serve as Vice President of the United States. She's set to make history again at the Democratic National Convention, as the first Black woman and the first South Asian woman to be a major political party's nominee for president.
Harris, born October 20, 1964, is the older daughter of Donald J. Harris, an economist from Jamaica, and Shyamala Gopalan, a breast cancer researcher from India. She has one sister, Maya Harris, and a niece, Meena Harris. In 2014, Harris married California lawyer Doug Emhoff, who has two children from his previous marriage, Cole and Ella. (More on Kamala Harris's family tree here.) And a note on her name: Kamala is pronounced "comma-la," and it means lotus flower. As she writes in her memoir, The Truths We Hold, "A lotus flower grows underwater, its flower rising above the surface while its roots are planted firmly in the river bottom."
Here, take a look back at Kamala Harris's life in photos—and see where her roots are:
1964
A baby Kamala Harris is fed by her mom, Shyamala Gopalan Harris. "At twenty-five years old, Mommy had a college degree, a PhD, and me," Harris writes in her memoir.
1965
Here, Kamala's dad, Donald Harris, carries her. "Proud daddy on his way to a doctorate in economics at Berkeley," she notes in her memoir.
Undated
These two snaps show a baby Kamala with her mom.
1966
"Visiting my uncle Freddy in Harlem," Harris writes. "Harlem was always a magical place for me." Here, a baby Kamala eats a snow cone.
1967
Harris's younger sister, Maya Harris, was born in January 1967. These photos show the sisters together a few months after Maya arrived.
1968
The Harris sisters on Christmas in 1968. "Sisters waiting for Santa Claus," Kamala captions the photo in her memoir.
1970
"Mommy, Maya, and me outside of our apartment on Milvia Street after my parents separated," Harris writes about this photo. "From then on, we were known as Shyamala and the girls."
1972
Kamala, center, poses for a photo with her mom (standing behind her), her sister (bottom left), and her grandparents, P. V. Gopalan and Rajam Gopalan.
Undated
Kamala holds hands with her younger sister.
1980s
While an undergraduate at Howard University, Harris joined Alpha Kappa Alpha, a sorority for African American women.
Howard "is where I ran my first ever race for elected office," Harris posted on Instagram with this photo of her. "It’s where I joined my beloved sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha—and I’m so excited to be celebrating our 113th Founders’ Day today! And along the way, Howard taught me that while you will often find that you're the only one in the room who looks like you, or who has had the experiences you’ve had, you must remember: you are never alone. Your entire Bison family will be in that room with you, cheering you on, as you speak up and speak out. We’re with you every step of the way."
1986
A young Kamala Harris graduates from Howard in 1986. "Howard is an institution with an extraordinary legacy, one that has endured and thrived since its founding, two years after the civil wrote," she wrote in her memoir. "It endured when the doors of higher education were largely closed to black students. It endured when segregation and discrimination were the law of the land. It endured when few recognized the potential and capacity of young black men and women to be leaders."
1989
After Howard, Harris attended University of California Hastings College of Law. Here she is at graduation with her mom, center, and her first grade teacher, Mrs. Wilson, left.
1998
In 1998, her sister, Maya, married Tony West. Here are the sisters at the wedding.
2003
Harris pictured running for District Attorney in San Francisco. She was elected in 2004.
Read More: Kamala Harris Is the Latest Product of San Francisco's Long-Running Political Machine
2007
"I loved having my mother with me at community events," Harris writes in her memoir. Here are the two women at a Chinese New Year parade.
2009
Harris, then District Attorney for San Francisco, stands for a portrait. Per her official White House bio, as DA, "she was a national leader in the movement for LGBTQ+ rights, officiating the first same-sex wedding after Proposition 8 was overturned. She also established the office’s environmental justice unit and created a ground-breaking program to provide first-time drug offenders with the opportunity to earn a high school degree and find employment, which the U.S. Department of Justice designated as a national model of innovation for law enforcement."
2010
From left to right, Tony West, Kamala, Maya Harris, Meena Harris, and Tony's parents Frank and Peggy look up poll results in the Attorney General election. Harris won.
2011
In 2011, Harris was sworn as California Attorney General. As AG, her bio notes, "she oversaw the largest state justice department in the country. She took on those who were preying on the American people, winning a $20 billion settlement for Californians whose homes had been foreclosed on and a $1.1 billion settlement for students and veterans who were taken advantage of by a for-profit education company. She also defended the Affordable Care Act in court and enforced environmental laws."
2012
Harris at the California Democrats State Convention in San Diego. Her pearl necklace became a signature style.
2012
In 2012, Harris spoke at the Democratic National Convention. "The American dream belongs to all of us," she said, "and if we can work together and stand together and vote together on November 6 for President Barack Obama, that’s a dream we will put within reach of all our people."
2014
In 2014, Harris married Doug Emhoff, a lawyer. Here they are that fall, at the LACMA Art + Film Gala.
2017
In 2016, she ran for the Senate, and won, becoming the second Black woman and the first Indian American to serve in the Senate. Here, she is sworn in by then-Vice President Joe Biden.
2017
As a senator, she was on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she made waves as she questioned two Supreme Court nominees.
2017
Despite her busy career, she continued to make time for her family—here's Kamala, Doug, Cole, and Doug's ex-wife Kerstin at Cole's college graduation.
2019
In 2019, she declared her candidacy for president at a rally in Oakland, California. Her campaign slogan was "For the People."
At her kickoff rally, Harris holds her niece Amara as she stands next to her husband.
2019
Harris has long been a supporter of LGBTQ+ rights—here she is at a pride parade in 2019.
2020
After she dropped out of the presidential race, Joe Biden selected her as his running mate. She became the first Black woman and first Indian woman on a major party presidential ticket.
2021
In January 2021, Justice Sonia Sotomayor swore in Vice President Kamala Harris during the Presidential Inauguration.
2023
Vice President Harris and Emhoff en route to a state dinner celebrating India.
2024
In one of the more famous images from her vice presidency, Harris arrives at the Edmund Pettus Bridge for an event to commemorate the 59th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday" in Selma, Alabama.
2024
In July 2024, President Joe Biden made the announcement he would be withdrawing from the presidential race, and endorsing Harris to replace him on the ticket. "My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President," he wrote. "And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this."
2024
Harris quickly became the Democrat's presumptive nominee, securing enough delegates ahead of the Democratic National Convention.
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