Getty California Senator Kamala Harris endorses Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden during a campaign rally in Michigan on March 9, 2020. Biden named Harris as his pick for vice president on August 11.
Kamala Harris is now officially the Vice President-Elect of the United States. Harris does not have biological children, but she does have stepchildren with her husband, Douglas Emhoff. She and her stepchildren are very close, and she’s also very close to her niece, she has said.
Here’s what you need to know:
Harris’ 2 Stepchildren Call Her ‘Momala’
Although she doesn’t have children of her own, Harris does have two stepchildren with Emhoff and they are very close.
Post campaign son and dad started a Wed night dinner ritual. Last night son invited dad to his apt. There was a cheese plate. My work is done. 😭❤️
Emhoff has two children from a previous marriage with former wife Kerstin Emhoff: Cole and Ella, Newsweek reported. Cole Emhoff graduated from college in May 2017.
Proud Papa at Ella’s Senior Art Show!
Harris was careful about meeting his children, waiting until she and Emhoff had been dating for several months before first introducing herself to them, CNN reported. She was really nervous about their first meeting and was relieved when they welcomed her to the family. Today, Harris is very close with Emhoff’s children, who call her “Momala.”
In 2019, Harris’ New Year’s resolution was to have more family dinners, she told Good Morning America. She said: “I spend time thinking about recipes, I plan menus in my head and then it’s just a matter of when can I get the family together and be home to cook Sunday family dinner… So my goal this year is to do even more Sunday family dinners. It’s my most favorite thing to do.”
In May 2019, Harris wrote on Twitter: “Of all the titles I’ve ever had, Momala is my favorite.”
She wrote in Elle that when she and Emhoff were dating, she was hooked on him, but his children “reeled me in.”
She said that when she was sworn in as Senator, she agonized over missing some of Ella Emhoff’s swim meets. And when James Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee, she had to miss her graduation. She said Ella Emhoff was understanding, but she felt awful until colleague Maggie Hassan told her: “Our kids love us for who we are and the sacrifices we make. They get it.”
“(Ella and Cole) are my endless source of love and pure joy,” she wrote for Elle.
She & Her Niece Are Very Close
GettySenator Kamala Harris (D-CA) waves to her supporters with her husband, Douglas Emhoff, and Amara Ajagu, 2.
Harris’ sister, Maya Harris, was the campaign chairwoman for Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign. Maya Harris has one daughter, Meena. Meena Harris is very close with her Aunt Kamala. In fact, she posted excitedly about Harris’ news a few minutes after the announcement. First she wrote that she cried about the news.
Then she wrote: “Pretty awesome and emotional explaining to my 4 year old daughter, with my mom, what just happened.”
Meena Harris, born in 1984, is a lawyer and author. She founded Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign and released the book Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea in June 2020, which is the story of her mother and her aunt. Meena has two children; and Kamala Harris can be seen in the photo above holding one of Meena Harris’ children, Amara Ajagu.
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