Logo
LifestyleLifestyle

Kamala Harris is a household name after more than three years as Vice President, but now that she’s up for a promotion, her family has come under America’s magnifying glass like never before.

If elected, Harris would be the first-ever commander in chief known as “madam president,” but to her stepkids Cole and Ella Emhoff, she’s just “Momala.”

The siblings gave Harris the playful moniker after their high-powered entertainment lawyer father Doug Emhoff — now potentially in line to be named the nation’s introductory “first gentleman” — married the then-California attorney general in 2014.

During her historic runup to becoming the country’s first female VP, Cole, 30, and Ella, 25, were regular fixtures on the campaign trail, and it’s likely they’ll be by her side once again if she secures the Democratic Party nomination as expected.

Ella’s distinctive Miu Miu tweed coat made her a viral sensation during Biden’s inauguration in 2021, and she was soon thereafter signed to the elite modeling agency IMG Models.

The fashionista has kept herself busy in the last few years. Besides the occasional runway gig, Ella — whose father is Jewish — found time between flogging $5,000 textiles at pot shops and running her $60-a-head knitting club to promote a multi-million dollar Gaza fundraiser.

Doug, Ella and Cole Emhoff supported wife and stepmother Kamala Harris on the campaign trail.APDoug, Ella and Cole Emhoff supported wife and stepmother Kamala Harris on the campaign trail.AP

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) told The Post at the time that her support for the cause — operated by the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund — was “abhorrent,” and said it was almost certain Hamas would be able to siphon off any humanitarian cash entering Gaza.


  Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ “big blended family” kamalaharris/Instagram Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ “big blended family” kamalaharris/Instagram

Meanwhile Cole, following in his biological mother’s footsteps, has sought a career in the entertainment industry, his IMdB page showing credits as crew member on the critically acclaimed 2020 film “Minari” and the 2022 remake of “Father of the Bride.”

In October 2023, Cole married longtime girlfriend Greenley Littlejohn, in a ceremony Harris officiated. Emma has been romantically linked to GQ fashion editor Samuel Hine.

Both of Harris’ grown stepchildren are the result of Emhoff’s first marriage to Kerstin Emhoff, née Mackin, a Hollywood producer.

They split in 2008, after 16 years of marriage, though they remain “incredibly close,” according to Emhoff in an interview he gave to Chasten Buttigieg. 

The “big blended family,” as Doug refers to his and the Veep’s extended clan, has been front and center as Harris climbed the political ranks.

Here are five things to know about Harris’ stepkids. 

They’re both named after jazz greats

The elder Emhoff is named for saxophonist John Coltrane, while his little sister’s name pays homage to the singer Ella Fitzgerald. Neither of the kids plays music, though their mother produces music videos, including the one for Beyonce’s song “Pretty Hurts.” 

Kamala and Doug got together just as Cole was graduating high school. He studied psychology at Colorado College, according to his LinkedIn profile, before heading back to California to cut his teeth at big-time talent agency William Morris Endeavor.

They grew up in LA 

Though their dad spent most of his childhood in Brooklyn, the Emhoff kids grew up out West, attending Wildwood High School in Los Angeles, where Ella played basketball and was on the swim team. That’s around when their dad was set up on a blind date with the future VP, who wrote in Elle magazine in 2019 for Mother’s Day, “I was already hooked on Doug, but I believe it was Cole and Ella who reeled me in.” 

But once Harris became a senator in 2017, it was a tough commute. She missed Ella’s high school graduation to hear James Comey’s testimony in the Russia election-hacking investigation. “I agonized over the scheduling conflict,” Harris said in the Elle piece. She added that Ella was “understanding,” and she made it back that night for a celebratory family dinner. 

Ella graduated from Parsons fashion school in NYC

Cole followed his mom into the biz, working as an executive assistant for Plan B Entertainment, a production company originally founded by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. But his sister hopes to make it in the fashion industry.  

Ella produces her own knitwear. She takes commissions for crocheted bucket hats, cardigans and basketball shorts via Instagram DM. She turned heads when she wore a Frankie Shop pinstripe suit to the Delaware election party.

The DC royal lives in hipster Brooklyn and once traded her custom crocheted garments for a tattoo, according to her fave tattoo artist’s Instagram

They’re both well-dressed, according to their mom

“My babies,” gushed their proud mom on X, sharing a pic of her sharply dressed brood, and giving a special shout-out to her daughter’s outfit: “the suit is a hit!”

Cole, who has a more laid-back, West Coast style, was called out by his sister in an interview with Glamour magazine for showing up to the 2020 vice presidential debate wearing Birkenstocks and shorts. 

Ella, who interned for the fashion label A.L.C. before landing her gig at IMG, prefers Tyler McGillivary’s colorful clothing brand and fellow student Bailee Mylin’s wares. 

Ella is a TikTok teen idol

Meena Harris, Kamala’s niece and a fellow lawyer, posted a video to TikTok of the blended family watching the election returns, and of Ella trying a McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish for the first time, captioning it, “Ella Emhoff is the main character.” The video has nearly 400,000 views and comments, including “im OBSESSED” and “is she looking for a wife?”

X stans chimed in, too, with one declaring that they were “desperately and democratically in love with her.”

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy