Over the last couple of years, Kamala Harris has steadily risen through the ranks of the Democratic party to become one of the most popular politicians in the U.S. After first attracting attention with her work as District Attorney of San Francisco, she became the Attorney General of California. In 2017, she became the junior senator from California. Despite being a new addition to the U.S. Senate, Harris hasn’t shied away from grilling high profile individuals like , Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. In the 2020 elections, Kamala beat President and VP to be the next U.S. Vice President.
Sun Sign
Libra
Residence
California, United States
Nationality
Education
Kamala Harris went to Westmount High School in Quebec, Canada. After graduating, she returned to the U.S. and got enrolled at the Howard University in Washington, D.C. and graduated with a major in economics and political science.
Later, she got enrolled at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and graduated with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) in 1989.
Family
- Father – Donald Harris (Stanford University Economics Professor)
- Mother – Shyamala Gopalan Harris (Breast Cancer Researcher)
- Siblings – Maya Lakshmi Harris (Younger Sister) (Lawyer, Public Policy Advocate, Television Commentator)
- Others – P.V. Gopalan (Maternal Grandfather) (Indian Diplomat), Rajam (Maternal Grandmother)
Boyfriend / Spouse
Kamala Harris has dated –
- Willie Brown – In 1993, Kamala Harris started going out with Willie Brown, who was working as California Speaker of the Assembly at that time. During the course of their relationship, Brown would introduce Harris to some of the most powerful individuals in the California political and campaign management field. These connections would prove to be invaluable in her future rise.
- Phil Bronstein (2004) – Harris started going out with popular journalist and editor, Phil Bronstein, in 2004. Their relationship was short-lived and they had separated by the end of the year.
- (2013-Present) – In August 2014, Kamala got married to Douglas Emhoff, a California attorney. With their marriage, she became stepmother to Emhoff’s 2 children.
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Best Known For
Being one of the most prominent and popular politicians from the Democratic Party. She currently serves as a junior United States Senator from California and has previously worked as the Attorney General of California. Also, she is considered amongst one of the leading Democratic candidates for the 2020 U.S. Presidential elections.
First TV Show
In October 2009, Kamala Harris made her first TV show appearance on the News talk show, Hannity.
Personal Trainer
Kamala Harris works out every day in the morning. She usually works out for half an hour on the elliptical machine. On some days, she likes to head to the SoulCycle studio. On the weekends, she prefers Soul Survivor, which is longer and more intense than the SoulCycle sessions. She also loves to go swimming if it does not create an issue with her hair.
After her morning workout, she eats Raisin Bran with some almond milk. She prefers generic Raisin Bran and makes sure that it doesn’t have too much sugar in it. Before leaving for the office, she drinks tea with and honey.
Kamala Harris Facts
- When she was 7 years old, her parents got divorced and her mother got custody of the children. She decided to move to Montreal, Quebec with the children as she had secured a research position at the Jewish General Hospital. She also taught at MacGill University.
- While studying at Howard University, Kamala Harris was a member of the debate team. She was also elected to the liberal arts student council in her freshman year.
- She became a member of the Alpha Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority while studying at the university.
- In 1990, she was granted membership to the State Bar of California.
- In 1990, Harris started working as a Deputy District Attorney in Alameda County, California. She had decided to pursue a career in law enforcement as she wanted to be at a place where the decisions were made. She worked in that role until 1998.
- She was hired by San Francisco city attorney Louise Renne’s office in 2000 to work as a chief of the Community and Neighborhood Division. In that role, she was tasked with overseeing civil code enforcement matters.
- In 2003, she managed to defeat a 2-term incumbent, Terence Hallinan, to become the District Attorney of the City and County of San Francisco.
- She was caught in a huge uproar in April 2004 after her office released a statement that they wouldn’t seek the death penalty for the killer of San Francisco Police Department Officer Isaac Espinoza, who was shot while on duty.
- Even Harris’ fellow Democrat and former San Francisco Mayor, Dianne Feinstein, who was a member of the U.S. Senate, urged Harris to seek the death penalty for the killer during Officer Espinoza’s funeral at St. Mary’s Cathedral. This led to Feinstein receiving a standing ovation from the 2,000 uniformed police officers in attendance.
- However, it had no effect on Harris and led to Officer Espinoza’s killer being sentenced to life in prison. It didn’t have an adverse impact on her career and she was re-elected as San Francisco District Attorney in 2007. She had run unopposed.
- She published her book Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor’s Plan to Make Us Safer in 2009. In her book, she discussed how criminal justice was influenced by economic factors.
- Kamala Harris has served as the vice president of the National District Attorneys Association. She has also served on the board of the California District Attorney’s Association.
- While working as the San Francisco District Attorney, she formed a special Hate Crimes Unit, which tackled hate crimes against LGBT teens and children in schools.
- In November 2008, she revealed that she was going to run for the California Attorney General position. She was declared the winner of the election in January 2011.
- When she won the attorney general election, she became the first female of Indian-American and Jamaican-American origin to become the attorney general in California.
- She was identified as a potential U.S. Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016 by The New York Times.
- However, President never got a chance to nominate anyone because the Republican-controlled Senate decided that such a thing shouldn’t be done in the election year and the new President should be allowed to pick Supreme Court nominee.
- After the Democratic United States Senator Barbara Boxer declared that she won’t seek re-election at the end of her term in 2016, Harris was the first candidate to announce her candidacy for the position. She officially launched her campaign in January 2015.
- During Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s hearing to become the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Harris’ office claimed to have received a letter from someone called Judy Munro-Leighton who accused Kavanaugh of having raped her.
- After Senator Chuck Grassley opened an investigation into the rape claims, it was revealed that the accuser was a Democratic activist and she had made false accusations to stall Kavanaugh’s appointment, who had proved was a conservative judge. Harris was slammed for her role in the fiasco.
- In 2021, she made history as she became the first woman, first Black person, first Indian American, and the first Asian American to become the U.S. Vice President.
Featured Image by United States Senate / harris.senate.gov / Public Domain
Facts of Kamala Devi Harris
- Gender Female
- full nameKamala Devi Harris
- nicknamesKamala
- birthplaceOakland, California, United States
- Date of Birth October 20, 1964
- Age 60 years 2 months
- Horoscope Libra
- Lucky Number 5
- Lucky Stone Peridot
- Lucky Color Blue
- Best Match for Marriage Gemini
- ethnicity / ethnic backgroundTamil and Jamaican
- nationalityAmerican
- net worth$6.3 million
- professionPolitician, Attorney
- weight59 kg or 130 lbs
- height5 ft 2 in or 157.5 cm
- hair colorDark Brown
- eye colorDark Brown
- body type / buildSlim
- high schoolWestmount High School
- collegeUniversity of California
- motherShyamala Gopalan Harris
- fatherDonald Harris
- sistersMaya Lakshmi Harris