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The Inauguration of the 46th President

USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION

The first ‘second gentleman’: Meet Harris’ husband Emhoff

Jeanine Santucci

USA TODAY

With Kamala Harris’ historic election as vice president comes another historic role for her husband, Doug Emhoff. He’ll become the country’s first “second gentleman” when Harris is sworn in as vice president Jan. 20.

Emhoff will be the first male spouse of any vice president or president, and he played a big role in the campaign for Joe Biden’s presidency.

Here’s what to know about Emhoff:

He’s an entertainment lawyer

Emhoff, 56, is an entertainment lawyer and former partner with the firm DLA Piper. He took a leave of absence from the firm after Harris joined Biden’s ticket so he could focus on the campaign, he said. He will be joining the faculty at Georgetown Law School later in January.

He’s handled cases involving production companies, a former NFL athlete and a sports nutrition company, among others, according to the firm.

The case he may be most noted for is his successful defense of an advertising agency in a dispute over the rights to the chihuahua that starred in the “Yo Quiero Taco Bell” ads in the 1990s.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, he moved with his family to Southern California from New Jersey as a teenager. He graduated from California State University at Northridge in 1987 and went on to the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law, where he got his law degree in 1990.

He said during a “Lawyers for Biden” event that he would focus on “access to justice” as an issue while he’s second gentleman. He recalled being shocked, as a young lawyer going to Los Angeles’ Superior Court, by all the people lining the halls in need of legal help.

He and Harris met on a blind date

The story of how Harris met her husband begins with a blind date. A client of Emhoff ’s and a friend of Harris’ set them up in 2013, when Harris was California attorney general. She would be elected to the Senate four years later.

Ahead of their date, Emhoff called and left a long voicemail that Harris replays to him on their anniversaries.

“We’ve been together ever since,” Emhoff said in a YouTube conversation with Chasten Buttigieg, the spouse of former Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg.

Harris and Emhoff married in 2014 in a courthouse ceremony in Santa Barbara, California.

“We met, fell madly in love (still are), got married and continue to live very happily ever after,” he tweeted early last year.

“I love my husband. He is funny, he is kind, he is patient, he loves my cooking. He’s just a really great guy,” Harris told NowThis in an interview.

He has two adult children

Emhoff shares two children, Cole and Ella, with his first wife, Kerstin Emhoff, a film producer. The two children are named after jazz legends John Coltrane and Ella Fitzgerald.

Cole, 26, and Ella, 21, are known to call their stepmother “Mamala.”

“To my brother and me, you’ll always be ‘Mamala,’ the world’s greatest stepmom,” Ella said in a video introducing Harris at the Democratic National Convention, which was held virtually. “You’re a rock, not just for our dad, but for three generations of our big, blended family.”

Kerstin, Emhoff ’s first wife, has been supportive of Harris from the start, and even volunteered her expertise when Harris herself was running for the Democratic nomination in the primaries, she told Marie Claire.

“We are friends,” Harris said of her relationship with Kerstin Emhoff. “We have a very modern family.”

He was busy in the campaign

Emhoff and Jill Biden were prominent faces for the campaign who traveled to key states. When the candidates themselves couldn’t be in all the battleground states at once, their spouses stepped in to stump for them.

The day after Harris delivered her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, Emhoff made his first full public remarks to an LGBTQ Caucus virtual meeting at the convention. Soon after, Emhoff was headlining a fundraiser with James Taylor, and the fundraisers and events continued at a steady pace.

Emhoff also took part in events with Jewish Americans to help campaign for Biden, and he’ll be the first Jewish person in the role of vice presidential spouse.

Emhoff has been a vocal presence on social media in support of his wife, from her presidential bid through to her and Biden’s victory.

“I’ve got you. As always,” he said in a tweet that went viral shortly after she suspended her primary campaign.

Contributing: Maureen Groppe, Rebecca Morin

Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, onstage at the Democratic National Convention in August. OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Emhoff rallies supporters in Philadelphia on Nov. 2, the day before the election. Pennsylvania would prove pivotal. MARK MAKELA/GETTY IMAGES

Emhoff takes a selfie with Harris before she spoke at the Iowa State Fair in August 2019. ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES

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