Who is Kamala Harris's mother, Shyamala Harris?

One of the most frequently mentioned people at the Democratic National Convention this week has been someone not in the room: Shyamala Gopalan, Vice President Kamala Harris's late mother.

Harris has frequently cited her mother as a major influence on her life and politics. In a now-viral 2023 interview, Harris quoted Gopalan saying, "You think you just fell out of coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you."

The quip grew so popular that a coconut emoji quickly became a symbol of Harris's campaign online after she launched her presidential bid last month.

Other DNC speakers have also adopted Gopalan's teachings. In her address to delegates this week, former First Lady Michelle Obama drew parallels between Gopalan and her own recently deceased mother, and cited one of Gopalan's mottos when she told the crowd, "Don't sit around and complain about things. Do something."

Harris is likely to touch on her mother's legacy again in her speech Thursday accepting the presidential nomination. Here's what to know about Gopalan and her role in the vice president's politics.

Who was Shyamala Gopalan?

Born in India, Gopalan immigrated to the United States at 19 years old to pursue a post-graduate degree in nutrition and endocrinology at the University of California, Berkeley. She eventually became a breast cancer researcher, and her work contributed to several significant advances in the field.

In California, Gopalan also met economist Donald J. Harris, and the couple married and had two children, Kamala and Maya.

The couple bonded over their involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, and Harris has said attending marches for racial justice as a child was formative in her upbringing.

Harris's parents eventually divorced, and Gopalan got primary custody of their children. Donald continued to see Kamala and Maya during the weekends and summer, but Gopalan raised the sisters "mostly on her own," according to the vice president's 2019 memoir.

“Had they been a little older, a little more emotionally mature, maybe the marriage could have survived. But they were so young,” Kamala wrote in "The Truths We Hold."

More: Who is Kamala Harris's father, Donald J. Harris?

What is Shyamala Gopalan's connection to Wisconsin?

Though she lived in California for much of her life, Gopalan also spent several years in Wisconsin.

The family lived in Madison from the time Kamala was three to five years old. Shyamala worked as a breast cancer researcher in the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research at University of Wisconsin-Madison, while Donald was an associate professor of economics at the university.

In her memoir, Harris cited the family's move to Madison as the reason for her parents' separation.

Shyamala Gopalan death and legacy

Gopalan died of colon cancer in 2009 at the age of 70. At the time, Harris was serving as the district attorney of San Francisco.

After her mother's death, Harris traveled to Chennai, India, to scatter Gopalan's ashes. Harris used to travel there with her mother every other year to visit her grandparents, according to USA Today.

Though Gopalan won't be in the audience tonight, she will almost certainly on Harris's mind as becomes the first Black and South Asian woman to accept the Democratic presidential nomination.

“Mommy, you are the star of this book because you are the reason for everything,” Harris wrote in her 2019 memoir “The Truths We Hold.” “There is no title or honor on earth I’ll treasure more than to say I am Shyamala Gopalan Harris’ daugher."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Who is Kamala Harris's mother, Shyamala Harris?