Early Life And Family Background

Douglas Emhoff: The History Behind the Husband of Kamala Harris

Early Life and Family Background

Douglas Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 13, 1964. He was raised in a Jewish household by his parents, Michael and Barbara Emhoff. From 1969 to 1981, he resided in New Jersey.

Kamala Harris's Family History

Kamala Harris's parents, Donald J. Harris and Dr. Shyamala Gopalan, met while studying at the University of California. They married in 1963 and welcomed Kamala in 1964 and Maya in 1967. Her parents' influence played a significant role in shaping her values and beliefs.

In the fall of 1962, at an off-campus space at the University of California at Berkeley, Harris's father, a Jamaican PhD student, addressed a small crowd, drawing parallels between the Jamaican and American civil rights movements.