Meet Kamala Harris's Two Stepkids, Ella and Cole

Since Kamala Harris became Joe Biden's Vice President following the 2020 presidential election, voters have naturally become increasingly interested in learning more about the first Black woman and first Asian American to secure the role.

Now that she's back in the running for president (after her initial run in 2020 before teaming up with Biden), the spotlight is once again on the potential first female president, including whether she has children.

Let’s take a deep dive into Kamala's personal life.

Kamala married Doug Emhoff, on Aug. 22, 2014; they tied the tied during a private ceremony held at the Santa Barbara Courthouse.

Although Kamala doesn't have any biological children of her own, she is a stepmom of two children from Doug's previous marriage to Kerstin Emhoff: a stepdaughter named Ella and a stepson named Cole.

"Cole and Ella could not have been more welcoming. They are brilliant, talented, funny kids who have grown to be remarkable adults," the Vice President wrote in an essay for Elle in May 2019. "I was already hooked on Doug, but I believe it was Cole and Ella who reeled me in."

Kamala continued, "They are my endless source of love and pure joy. I can say one thing with certainty, my heart wouldn’t be whole, nor my life full, without them."

Evidently, Kamala's stepchildren refer to her as "momala" – which is something they actually came up with themselves. Kamala shared this tidbit of information with her Instagram followers in May 2019.

Ella attended Parsons School of Design at The New School in New York, starting in 2017 and graduating in 2021 with a BFA in fine and studio arts, according to her LinkedIn bio. She interned at A.L.C. in 2015 for seven months before working as a fabricator at The Haas Brothers from June 2018 to August 2019.

Currently, Ella is dedicated to her art and has a collection available for viewing on her official website and on Instagram.

If you take a look at her Instagram, it's evident Ella is a skilled knitter. She occasionally leads knitting sessions in the East Village of New York City.

Ella's older brother, Cole, graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology from Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo., according to his LinkedIn profile. Cole worked as an assistant at William Morris Endeavor (WME) from January 2018 to November 2019 and now works full-time for Plan B Entertainment, having joined the company in November 2019.

Although Cole isn't very active on Instagram these days, we did uncover that he married his longtime girlfriend, Greenley Littlejohn, at the end of 2023.

Kamala's sister, Maya Harris — who served as the campaign chairwoman for her 2020 presidential campaign — has one daughter named Meena. As it turns out, Kamala and Meena are extremely close. 

You can bet Meena was overjoyed about the news of Biden tapping her aunt for his VP. "Pretty awesome and emotional explaining to my 4 year old daughter, with my mom, what just happened," Meena tweeted on Aug. 11, 2020. We're pretty sure she's even more thrilled to see Biden backing Kamala for the 2024 presidential election.

And there you have it! Although Kamala Harris doesn't have biological children, she is still very much a "momala" to her two stepchildren and to her niece, Meena.

Election Day is Nov. 5, 2024, so be sure to register to vote at vote.gov and head to your state’s board of elections for details on requesting a mail-in or absentee ballot.