Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 was history-making on several accounts. Harris is both the first Black woman and first Asian American to run for vice president. And her husband Douglas Emhoff, 56, has officially become the first Second Gentleman of the United States.
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And in July of 2024, Joe Biden announced he would be stepping down from his presidential campaign, endorsing Harris as the next Democratic nominee. If Harris takes the nomination, there’s a long list of historic firsts ahead of her. And Emhoff will be by her side.
Since Harris’s first bid for the presidency, which ended in December 2019, Emhoff has become known as one of the most supportive political spouses. The entertainment lawyer, whom Harris met on a blind date in 2013, quickly broadcasted his excitement for his wife’s nomination on social media. “America, let’s do this!” he wrote alongside a photo of Biden and Harris on Twitter. As the inauguration approached, Emhoff was prepping for his record-breaking position:
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After reading up on Harris’s policies, learn 12 facts about Emhoff:
Emhoff is an entertainment lawyer.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Emhoff made his way to California for college. He attended the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law in 1990 and is currently a partner at DLA Piper Law Firm. He splits his time between California and D.C., and documented his swearing-in ceremony for the D.C. bar alongside Harris in 2017.
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According to his company’s website, Emhoff “is known for tackling and resolving the toughest problems—whether by aggressively litigating high-stakes cases in the public glare or acting as a trusted advisor behind the scenes.” He specializes in “large domestic and international corporations and some of today’s highest profile individuals and influencers in complex business, real estate, and intellectual property litigation disputes.”
A 2019 Hollywood Reporter profile of Emhoff notes his involvement in a case litigating use of Taco Bell’s “Yo Quiero Taco Bell” chihuahua. “With all this other stuff that’s happening in my life right now, it’s great to have [my practice] because it’s something that I love and I’m good at,” he told the outlet.
After Harris was selected as Biden’s running mate, Emhoff is took a leave of absence from the firm while he campaigned for the Biden/Harris ticket.
Emhoff has inspired his own #DougHive with supportive social media messages.
Emhoff has long been supportive of Harris both on and off social media. “I’m doing everything I can to help Kamala with the campaign, whether on Twitter, attending events, or rallying the team behind the scenes, all while keeping up with my full-time day gig as a lawyer, all while keeping our relationship and family first,” Emhoff told Refinery29 in 2019. “Date night definitely looks a little different these days, but we are still trying to maintain our ‘coupledom’ by enjoying whatever time we have together, even if it’s on the trail, and always with a sense of humor.”
Case in point: in June 2019, Emhoff wrote, “Dear @KamalaHarris: I love you, I believe in you, and I’m so proud of you. The whole country is going to see what I get to see everyday. You are amazing” alongside two hearts.
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He’s also been known to sport some Kamala Harris merch:
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And when Harris announced the end of her presidential campaign on December 3, 2019, Emhoff posted a black-and-white of himself holding her with the caption, “I’ve got you. As always.”
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Emhoff jumped to Harris’s defense on June 1, 2019, when he helped remove a protestor who approached Harris onstage and took her mic during her MoveOn Big Ideas Forum speech. Afterwards, #DougHive assembled at unprecedented numbers on Twitter, leading Emhoff to tweet, “Thx for all the kind notes. We are good. I love @KamalaHarris and would do anything for her.”
He won’t be a political adviser for the Biden/Harris administration.
Although Emhoff has been a major presence on the campaign trail, he won’t become an official political adviser after Harris is sworn in. “I’m her husband, that’s it,” Emhoff told People in a joint interview with Harris. “She’s got plenty of great people giving her political advice. I’m her partner, I’m her best friend and I’m her husband. And that’s what I’m here for. I’m here to have her back.”
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Instead, Emhoff is joining Georgetown Law as a professor that is “separate and apart from his official role as second gentleman,” a transition spokesperson told NPR. According to the outlet, Emhoff will be a distinguished fellow of Georgetown Law’s Institute for Technology Law and Policy, while teaching a spring course on entertainment law disputes. This also means he will exit from his position at the DLA Piper Law Firm. “I’ve long wanted to teach and serve the next generation of young lawyers,” Emhoff said in the statement, per NPR. “I couldn’t be more excited to join the Georgetown community.”
Emhoff will also retain use of the Twitter handle @SecondGentleman for his stint in the White House. As of inauguration day, the account has already gained half a million followers.
He has two children, Cole and Ella, from a previous marriage.
Emhoff has two children with his ex-wife Kerstin. In a Mother’s Day 2019 essay for ELLE, Harris pointed out that his kids were named Cole after jazz saxophonist John Coltrane and Ella after Ella Fitzgerald. Harris wrote that initially, she was nervous about meeting the children as a kid of divorced parents herself. “As a child of divorce, I knew how hard it could be when your parents start to date other people,” said. “And I was determined not to insert myself in their lives until Doug and I had established we were in this for the long haul. Children need consistency; I didn’t want to insert myself into their lives as a temporary fixture because I didn’t want to disappoint them. There’s nothing worse than disappointing a child.”
But while Harris may have had “butterflies” about meeting Cole, a graduate of Colorado College, and Emma, a Fine Arts student at Parsons School of Design, there was no need to worry. “Cole and Ella could not have been more welcoming,” Harris wrote for ELLE. “They are brilliant, talented, funny kids who have grown to be remarkable adults. I was already hooked on Doug, but I believe it was Cole and Ella who reeled me in.” A few years after Harris and Emhoff married, they decided against “stepmom” as her moniker and instead opted for “Momala.”
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Harris wrote that she and Emhoff’s ex Kerstin “hit it off ourselves and are dear friends,” adding, “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.”
Kerstin, founder of the production company Prettybird, confirmed her bond with Harris to Marie Claire. “When [Doug and Kamala] first started dating and [Kamala] was [attorney general of California], I just thought, Wow, that’s cool. Don’t mess this up!” she recalled.
In a recent profile for The New York Times, Cole and Ella reflected on their father (whom they call “Doug’) and his enduring romance with Harris. When asked to describe them as a couple, Cole offered, “It depends on the setting. Because Doug and Kamala together are like almost vomit-inducingly cute and coupley. I’m like, When is this going to wear off?” Ella added, “It’s so insane. It’s like the honeymoon phase forever. Like, the rest of the world gets to see it on social media, but we live that.”
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He’s Jewish.
Emhoff has been branded a “Hot Jewish Dad Crush” on the internet and references his faith on social media. During Rosh Hashanah last year, he shared a photo of himself, Harris, Cole, and Ella in honor of the holiday. “This Rosh Hashanah, I’m re-committing myself to do everything I can to help heal our nation & repair the world. My new year’s wish is that you will join me. From my family to yours, Shana tova! P.S. throwback pic of the fam when we could all be together — miss you, love you,” he captioned the snap.
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Emhoff first met Harris on a blind date.
The pair was introduced by one of Harris’s friends, PR consultant Chrisette Hudlin, per THR. The set-up happened a few years after Emhoff’s divorce and while Harris was serving as attorney general of California. Hudlin recently told Marie Claire that she met Emhoff through work and decided to set the pair up when he recalled meeting Harris at a lawyer function. “And he said something to the effect of ‘She’s really hot,’” Hudlin remembered, adding, “He was complimenting her, and at the same time he was admiring her, and I liked that. I thought, Oh, what’s your deal?”
After their first date, Emhoff reportedly emailed Harris the next morning and confessed, “I really like you.” He proposed one night while Harris was deciding whether to have chicken or shrimp pad thai for dinner. They were engaged after a year of dating, on March 27, 2017, per the the San Francisco Chronicle.
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During their first joint interview since Harris’s election, the couple spoke to CBS News’ Sunday Morning about their beginnings. When asked if she Googled Emhoff prior to their blind date, she replied, “I did!” Emhoff said, “Oh. This is a reveal!” Emhoff later wrote on Instagram, “When you find out your wife actually *did* Google you before your first blind date.”
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Last year, the couple celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary.
“I don’t believe in long engagements,” Harris told the Chronicle shortly after the proposal. Sticking true to her word, the couple was married about four months later at the Santa Barbara Courthouse, per the outlet. August 22, 2020 marked six years since their courthouse wedding, which included a cellist, personal vows, and Harris’s sister Maya officiating. (Maya is also a civil rights lawyer and worked on both Harris and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns.)
Last August, Emhoff commemorated their sixth wedding anniversary, writing on Instagram, “Dearest Kamala: here’s to us, our family, friends and our beautiful life together. Wouldn’t change a thing. Happy Anniversary! Love, D.”
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He’s a man of many hobbies.
When he’s not on the campaign trail or practicing law, Emhoff has several side passions. Harris herself has referred to her husband as her “favorite sous-chef,” a nod to his culinary talents. Vogue has also reported on Emhoff’s love for golf, fantasy football, and Nirvana. He’s also joked about his dance skills on the campaign trail, tweeting at San Fransisco Pride 2019, “If I can do these dad moves with my dad bod, then hopefully you all can help @KamalaHarris finish 2Q fundraising as strong as possible!”
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He’s built a friendship with Jill Biden on the campaign trail.
Shortly after the announcement that Harris had been selected as Biden’s VP candidate, Jill Biden tweeted, “Hey @DouglasEmhoff. Are you ready?” Emhoff gamely responded, “Ready to work! Let’s go @DrBiden!” Another high-profile political spouse, Chasten Buttigieg (husband of Pete) replied, “I love this so, so much.”
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Harris spoke to Jill and Emhoff’s friendship in an interview with People. “To be the spouse of a candidate, that’s tough duty,” she told the outlet. “I think that their bond is about that they can genuinely like each other and have that friendship and can do it together.” Biden confirmed, “Doug and Jill already were buddies, for real,” even before he chose Harris as his running mate. “During the debates, we’d be going at each other—they’re just laughing,” Biden explained. “Right, sitting there laughing,” Harris replied. “We’re looking down like, ‘How’d I do?’ And they’re just chatting with each other.”
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Emhoff also came to Dr. Biden’s defense after the publication of a sexist Wall Street Journal column from Joseph Esptein titled “Is There a Doctor in the White House? Not if You Need an M.D.,” last December. “Dr. Biden earned her degrees through hard work and pure grit. She is an inspiration to me, to her students, and to Americans across this country. This story would never have been written about a man,” he wrote on Twitter.
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He’s bonded with other first spouses.
Emhoff has forged friendly relationships with several significant others of fellow democratic presidential candidates, exchanging social media banter and posting selfies with Buttigieg as well as Bruce Mann, husband of Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
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“You forge these relationships, kind of apolitically, because you’re sharing something that’s very unique,” Emhoff told Politico in a piece about the “potential First Gentlemen.” He added, “This campaign is so intense that you can’t really share this experience with anyone other than someone else who’s going through it.”
After Pete Buttigieg was announced as Biden’s secretary of transportation, Emhoff welcomed he and husband Chasten to Washington. “Excited about the big news today – @PeteButtigieg is a good friend, tireless public servant, and a brilliant policy mind.
And he’s the best kind of package deal. Welcome to Washington, @Chasten!” he tweeted.
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He’s also feeling the WFH struggle.
Throughout 2020, Emhoff was fully committed to campaigning for Biden/Harris. That meant virtual fundraisers, canvassing alongside Jill Biden, and navigating working from home alongside his spouse. “Imagine working from home with Kamala Harris, during a pandemic and all the other issues going on,” he told Marie Claire for a recent profile. “She just works hard, and she’s relentless.…It’s just incredible how much she does. And I’m looking over and she’s looking [back] and she goes, ‘What are you doing, Dougie? You working?’ And I say, ‘Yep! Yes, honey.’”
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When they need to decompress from a day of work, Emhoff says he and Harris indulge in a Marvel movie or one of Netflix’s “90-minute cute rom-coms” such as Love, Guaranteed.
Emhoff and Harris were both vaccinated early.
“Today @KamalaHarris and I received the COVID-19 vaccine. It was quick, easy – and safe!” Emhoff shared on social media on Dec. 29, adding, “Grateful to our nurse Patricia and all the frontline workers saving lives across the country. We each have a role to play to keep ourselves and our communities safe.”
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