What to Know About Doug Emhoff, the First Second Gentleman of the United States

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Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential run is history-making on several accounts. Harris is both the first Black woman and first Asian-American candidate. And were she to win the 2024 election, Douglas Emhoff, already the first second gentleman of the United States, would become the first husband to a president.

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, spoke about their loving relationship during a Democratic National Convention speech where he recounted calling to ask her on their first date. He made the call at 8:30 A.M. and left a voicemail that the couple listens to each year on their anniversary.

More about Emhoff, below:

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 was a partner at the law firm DLA Piper before he became second gentleman.

A 2019 Hollywood Reporter profile of Emhoff notes his involvement in a case litigating the 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 President Joe Biden’s running mate, Emhoff took a leave of absence from the firm to campaign for the Biden/Harris ticket. He left permanently after the election. Since 2020, he has taught at Georgetown Law. Per NPR, Emhoff said in a statement, “I’ve long wanted to teach and serve the next generation of young lawyers. I couldn’t be more excited to join the Georgetown community.”

Emhoff has been embraced on social media.

Emhoff has gained many fans online, and he’s a much-beloved character on the Harris campaign’s TikTok.

His 2020 #MeAt20 post went viral in the early days of Harris’ presidential campaign and inspired his own line of merch.

Always the supportive spouse, during the DNC, he tweeted, “@KamalaHarris knows the best way to deal with a coward is to take him head on. She doesn’t tolerate any B.S. You’ve all seen the look, you know what I’m talking about.”

Emhoff’s Twitter handle @SecondGentleman currently has 1.7 million followers.

He’s a dad of two.

Emhoff has two children, Cole and Ella, 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 them. “As a child of divorce, I knew how hard it could be when your parents start to date other people,” she 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 might have had “butterflies” about meeting Cole and Emma, 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.”

Harris wrote that she and Emhoff’s ex Kerstin “hit it off ourselves and are dear friends.” 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.

Cole, who works for the production company Plan B Entertainment, appeared at the 2024 DNC in a video introducing his father. “It felt like Dad was a bit out of place on Capitol Hill. I thought, What is my goofy dad doing here? But he embraced it. He left his practice after being a lawyer for 30 years. That was tough. I was so proud to watch him do it, to stand by her side. An example of true partnership,” he said. Cole, 29, married Greenley Littlejohn in 2023 and says he is inspired by his father and stepmother’s marriage.

Ella, 25, is a New York-based fashion designer and model who graduated from Parsons School of Design in 2021. Shortly after the inauguration, she was signed by IMG Models.

He’s Jewish.

Emhoff is the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president and has worked on Jewish outreach for the Harris campaign. He’s also increasingly spoken out about antisemitism and worked with President Biden on the U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism in 2023.

“This hate, this antisemitism, is a poison,” he said during an August fundraiser. “As your first first gentleman, I promise you, as the first Jewish person ever to be a White House principal, I am going to continue this fight against antisemitism.”

Emhoff has been branded a “Hot Jewish Dad Crush” on the internet and references his faith on social media. During Rosh Hashanah in 2019, 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.

Emhoff first met Harris on a blind date.

The pair was introduced by one of Harris’ 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 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 San Francisco Chronicle.

During a joint interview, 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.”

This year, the couple is celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary.

On August 22, Harris will accept the Democratic presidential nomination—and mark a decade of marriage for her and Emhoff.

“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. Their courthouse wedding 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.)

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!”

He built a friendship with Jill Biden.

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.”

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.” The president 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,” he explained. “Right, sitting there laughing,” Harris replied. “We’re looking down like, ‘How’d I do?’ And they’re just chatting with each other.”

Emhoff also came to Jill’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.

He’s bonded with other first spouses.

Emhoff has forged friendly relationships with several politicians’ significant others, exchanging social media banter and posting selfies with Chasten as well as Bruce Mann, husband of Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

“You forge these relationships, kind of apolitically, because you’re sharing something that’s very unique,” Emhoff told Politico in 2019 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 him and 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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