Kamala Harris’ husband is Doug Emhoff, an American lawyer and Second Gentleman of the United States who was a partner at the multinational law firm DLA Piper. He was also a distinguished visiting professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Emhoff was born on October 13, 1964, and is 59 years old.
Emhoff, who is now the second gentleman of the United States, married his wife, the 49th vice president of the United States, on August 22, 2014, in Santa Barbara, California. The couple does not have any children together, but Doug welcomed two kids – Cole and Ella Emhoff, from his first marriage to Kerstin Emhoff.
Douglas Emhoff’s Profile Summary
- Full name: Douglas Craig Emhoff
- Gender: Male
- Date of birth: October 13, 1964
- Douglas Emhoff’s Age: 59 Years Old
- Ethnicity: Jew(ish)
- Nationality: American
- Zodiac Sign: Libra
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Judaism
- Marital Status: Married
- Douglas Emhoff’s Husband (Wife): Kamala Harris
- Kamala Harris’s Children: Ella and Cole Emhoff
- Douglas Emhoff’s Parents: Barbara and Michael Emhoff
- Douglas Emhoff Siblings: Andy and Jamie Emhoff
- Douglas Emhoff’s Height in Inches: 6 feet 0 inches
- Douglas Emhoff’s Height in Centimetres: 1.83 m
- Douglas Emhoff’s Weight: 79 kg
- Douglas Emhoff’s Net worth: $6 Million
- Famous for: First U.S second gentleman
Meet The Man Kamala Harris Is Married To
The United States’ first woman and Black vice president Kamala Harris is married to a strategic advisor and litigator Douglas Emhoff. Douglas was born in New York City to Jewish parents, Barbara and Michael Emhoff on the 13th of October 1964.
He grew up in New Jersey’s Matawan and Old Bridge Township and attended Cedar Ridge High School, Round Rock, Texas. When Emhoff turned 17, the family relocated to California, where he attended and would later graduate from Agoura High School. After high school, he proceeded to California State University, Northridge, where he bagged a Bachelor of Arts degree and later a Juris Doctor from the USC Gould School of Law.
He has a brother named Andy and a sister named Jamie.
Kamala Harris’s Husband, Douglas Emhoff, Started Off As An Entertainment Lawyer
After bagging his law degree, Emhoff began his career at Pillsbury Winthrop’s litigation group as an entertainment lawyer. In late 1990, he worked with the clothing firm Belin Rawlings & Badal. Ten years later, together with Ben Whitwell, he founded his own firm which was later bought over by Venable LLP, 6 years later in 2006, and later became the managing director of Venable overseeing its West Coast offices.
In 2017, he joined DLA Piper as a partner overseeing its California and Washington, D.C. offices. Emhoff is a successful lawyer and well-known highest-paid litigators and strategic advisors who in the course of his career which has spanned over 3 decades has represented international organizations, as well as the highest-profile individuals and influencers in real estate complex business, and even in intellectual property litigation disputes and issues.
What Is Douglas Emhoff’s Net Worth?
With a successful career that has spanned over three decades, Douglas Emhoff has made quite a living for himself and that has also been reflected in his bank account.
According to a 2019 Washington Post report, the couple’s joint income after 2018 tax returns recorded $1,884,319 and only $157,352 of the total figure is Harris’ Senate salary and another $320,125 which is royalty generated from her memoir. What this implies of course is that about $1.4 million is from Emhoff.
The post further reported that the lawyer’s income has been in the volume of $1 million since the couple started filing joint returns in 2014. With the above explanation, it is really not that easy to ascertain how much Emhoff is worth alone but according to a 2021 Forbes report, the couple was worth about $6 million. This figure is not only cash at hand but also inclusive of real estate assets and retirement accounts all summed up.
Considering the fact that this figure was arrived at before Harris was sworn in as Vice President, it should have gone up since Harris got to the White House. Sadly, we couldn’t lay hands on the updated figure at the time of writing this article.
Kamala Harris and Douglas Emhoff Met On A Blind Date
Interestingly this love story that has been standing for over half a decade began with a blind date. Harris has a relatively reserved personality when it comes to her love life; with her career and busy lifestyle, you can be almost certain that she has no time for a love life so a mutual friend, PR consultant Chrisette Hudlin, set her up on a blind date with Douglas Emhoff sometime in 2013. Amidst laughter, Harris revealed in an interview, that she had Googled Emhoff after her friend set them up for a date, despite being warned not to do so.
Emhoff on his part revealed that he spent a long time composing a text message for Harris, with the help of a friend after the blind date. The couple got engaged in April 2014 after Emhoff pooped the question while they were packing for a trip to Italy. According to The Washington Post, he had plans to propose while they were vacationing in Florence, but he jumped the gun and proposed even before they left for the trip; Harris said yes, and like they say “the rest is history”.
They wedded on August 22, 2014, in Santa Barbara, County Courthouse, California in an event that was officiated by Kamala’s sister Maya, a lawyer just like Kamala and Douglas. Maya Harris is a political analyst at MSNBC. She is married to a former U.S Justice Department senior official and General Counsel of Uber. They have one daughter.
Their Marriage Has Been Everything Blissful
The couple has been together for over half a decade now and they are still waxing strong together and having the time of their lives. Doug has also been a very supportive husband to Kamala and has been so involved in her career even before she became U.S Vice President.
After she garnered poor results than expected from the primaries and decided to drop out of the presidential race, Doug Emhoff was right there with her and by her side giving her all the support and encouragement she needed. Speaking in an interview with Marie Claire, Emhoff said he had to support whatever decision she made. “I’m her husband. And so my role was to be there for her, to love her, to have her back, to talk it through, to help her.”
Before Harris, Doug Was Married For 16 Years
Before his marriage to Vice President Kamala Harris, Doug was married to film producer Kerstin Emhoff (née Mackin) for 16 years and Cole and Ella are a product of that union. Doug and Kerstin were married from 1992 to 2008. There is no information about the reason for their separation but something that is certain is that the duo parted ways amicably and are still best of friends. Even after the divorce, Kerstin still bears Doug’s last name.
Harris and Kerstin are getting on so well, that during Harris’s bid for president, Kerstin volunteered on the campaign trail to the amazement of staffers.
In her essay about her blended family, Harris wrote that to know Cole and Ella is to know that their mother Kerstin is an incredible mother, Kerstin and I hit it off ourselves and are dear friends. She and I became a duo of cheerleaders in the bleachers at Ella’s swim meets and basketball games, often to Ella’s embarrassment. We sometimes joke that our modern family is almost a little too functional,” she added
On whether Kerstin is currently seeing anyone or planning to remarry someday, the film producer has kept everything about her relationship private. She told Politico in an interview that she doesn’t need people that are in her personal life getting any spotlight. “It’s already complicated enough,” she said. Hopefully, she may reconsider revealing the identity of the mystery man but till then we all have to keep our fingers crossed.
Harris and Emhoff Have No Children Together
The couple has no biological children together but Harris has been a fine mother to Douglas’ two kids Ella and Cole Emhoff from his previous relationship.
Cole Emhoff
Cole was born in September 1994 and is currently 29 years old. Cole does not particularly like public life, thus, he tends to keep his private life, well, private and we respect that.
So, there isn’t so much about him out in the public asides that he studied psychology at Colorado College and graduated in May 2017. He currently works as an executive assistant at Plan B Entertainment, before then, he worked as an assistant at William Morris Endeavor. He lives in L. A with his girlfriend, Greenley whom he has mentioned a couple of times in interviews.
Cole Emhoff is about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs between 135-140 lbs (60-63 kg)
Ella Emhoff
Ella was born in May 1999 and she is currently 54 years old. She graduated from high school in Los Angeles and studied at Parsons School of Design, majoring in apparel and textiles. She graduated in May 2021.
Ella actually designed her inauguration day dress with designer Batsheva Hay. She also designs hats, coats, jackets, and knitted shorts and sells them on her website, as well as through her IG account. She also sells paintings, drawings, and ceramics.
In January 2021, Ella signed a deal with an international modeling agency named IMG Models. Asides from gaining popularity as a member of the second family, she gained media publicity when she was featured on the New York Times and on BBC for refusing to shave her armpit hair and for having tattoos. She has also been featured on editorial for the independent fashion magazine Buffalo Zine.
Ella Emhoff made a cameo in the music video for the song “Repeat Stuff” by Bo Burnham. She is a strong supporter of same-sex marriage in California and LGBT rights, and a member of The 3% Movement (an organization focused on increasing the number of female creative directors in the United States). She lives in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Ms Emhoff stands at 5 ft 7 in (170cm) and weighs 110 lbs (50kg)
Kamala Harris and Her Stepchildren are Pretty Close
Cole and Ella call Harris Momala and the vice president is so grateful for her stepchildren. In 2019, she wrote about her relationship with her stepchildren in an article for Ella in commemoration of that year’s Mother’s Day celebration
“They are my endless source of love and pure joy, I am so thankful to Doug, to Kerstin, and most of all, to Ella and Cole” she had written. “And as our family embarks together on this new journey — one that has taken me to South Carolina, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Nevada, and Michigan in the last few weeks alone — I can say one thing with certainty, my heart wouldn’t be whole, nor my life full, without them”.Before she met Douglas, Kamala dated Wille Brown. At that time, she was a County Deputy District Attorney and Brown was the Speaker of the California State Assembly. The relationship shattered not long after Brown became Mayor of San Francisco.
What Has Douglas Emhoff Been Up To Since He Became U.S First Second Gentleman?
Following the announcement of Kamala Harris as Biden’s running mate, Emhoff took a leave of absence from DLA Piper and after Biden was announced the president-elect in the 2020 United States presidential election, the campaign team immediately announced that Emhoff would permanently vacate his position at DLA Piper before the Inauguration Day to avoid any dispute or clash of interest issues.
In December 2020, the Georgetown University Law Center announced that he would be joining the school’s faculty as a fellow at the school’s Institute for Technology Law and Policy, as well as a distinguished visitor. In March of 2021, Emhoff began teaching a course at the Georgetown University Law Center titled “Entertainment Law Disputes”.
In August 2021, he made a trip abroad, leading a delegation to attend the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Tokyo on behalf of the US government. He is definitely doing a great job as the first second gentleman of the United States.
Key Facts:
- Who is Douglas Emhoff? Douglas Emhoff is Kamala Harris’ husband and the second gentleman of the United States. He is an American lawyer who is married to the 49th Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris.
- When was Douglas Emhoff born? Douglas Emhoff was born on October 13, 1964.
- What is Douglas Emhoff’s educational background? Douglas Emhoff graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Northridge and a Juris Doctor from the USC Gould School of Law in 1990.
- Tell me about Douglas Emhoff’s career background? Douglas Emhoff is an entertainment litigator who began his career at Pillsbury Winthrop’s litigation group. He moved to Belin Rawlings & Badal, a boutique firm, in the late 1990s. He opened his own firm with Ben Whitwell in 2000, which was acquired by Venable LLP in 2006. He is also a distinguished visiting professor at Georgetown University Law Center.
- What is the focus of Douglas Emhoff’s role as Second Gentleman? Douglas Emhoff plans to focus on equal access to justice and legal representation in his role as Second Gentleman.
- What is the significance of Douglas Emhoff’s role as Second Gentleman? As the first-ever husband of a vice president, Emhoff is the first second gentleman in American history. He is also the first Jewish spouse of a vice president.
- What is the term “wife guy” referring to in relation to Douglas Emhoff? “Wife guy” is an online slang term referring to a man whose fame is owed to his wife, or one who is exceptionally supportive of his wife. Emhoff has been labeled as a “wife guy” due to his supportive role as the husband of Kamala Harris.
- What is Douglas Emhoff’s focus as a professor at Georgetown University Law Center? Douglas Emhoff teaches “Entertainment Law Disputes” at Georgetown University Law Center, where he is also a distinguished fellow of the school’s Institute for Technology Law and Policy.
- What diplomatic events has Douglas Emhoff led the U.S. delegations to? Douglas Emhoff has led the U.S. delegations to several diplomatic events, including the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo and the inaugurations of South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol and Philippine president Bongbong Marcos.
- What is the round table on antisemitism that Douglas Emhoff is leading? In response to a November 2022 meeting involving former President Donald Trump, Kanye West, and Nick Fuentes, the White House announced that a round table on antisemitism would be led by the Second Gentleman. It was held on December 7, 2022, and included many Jewish leaders, namely representatives from the Anti-Defamation League.
