What to Know About Kamala Harris’ Stepchildren, Ella and Cole Emhoff

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Vice President Kamala Harris met her husband, Doug Emhoff, in 2013 through a mutual friend. When they then got married in 2014, Harris gained a life partner— and also became “Momala” to his two kids: Cole and Ella. In a 2019 essay for ELLE.com, Harris wrote about taking on that new role, including her first time meeting her future stepchildren: “When the day finally came, I had butterflies in my stomach…On my way to meet Doug, I picked up a tin of cookies and tied a ribbon in a bow around them. I took a few deep breaths. I was excited, and I was nervous. I rehearsed what I would say.”

Afterwards, Harris admitted, “I was already hooked on Doug, but I believe it was Cole and Ella who reeled me in,” calling the two her “endless source of love and pure joy.” Below, all you need to know about Cole and Ella.

Ella Emhoff, 25

You might remember Ella Emhoff from her first viral moment: when she arrived at the 2021 presidential swearing-in ceremony in a stunning tweed Miu Miu coat. One week later, her style landed her a major modeling contract, signing with IMG Models. Ivan Bart, the president of IMG, told The New York Times that when he saw her at the ceremony he thought, “Wow, she’s communicating fashion.”

Although Ella had modeled before, she told the Times: “As someone who, like a lot of young girls out there, had self-confidence issues, it is intimidating and scary to go into this world that is hyper-focused on you and the body.” However, per the Times, she decided to join IMG in an effort to be “part of” changing the industry and representing a different kind of model—one who’s an artist in her own right with “really weird tattoos and kind of a funky haircut.”

Ella graduated from Parsons School of Design in 2021, where she received a fine arts degree. According to her personal website, she now uses her degree to “explore textiles through knitting, designing knitwear, creating installations for brands and upcycling donated materials.” This led her to launch her own company, Soft Hands, in 2021 and a knitting club of the same name. This April, a collection of her textile art was displayed in a gallery space in Gotham, an East Village dispensary.

Now that Harris has announced she’s running in the 2024 presidential race, Ella has been extra supportive of her Momala. When pop star Charli XCX tweeted that “kamala IS brat,” the ultimate compliment during Brat Summer, Ella reposted it to her Instagram Story and wrote, “@charli_xcx gets it.” Then when J.D. Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, referred to Harris as one of those “childless cat ladies,” Ella posted on her Instagram Story, writing: “How can you be ‘childless’ when you have cutie pie kids like cole and I?” She also added: “I love my three parents.”

Now that the Democratic National Convention is in full swing, Ella has been posting from the event. She first Instagrammed photos of her wearing the famous Harris-Walz camo hat and holding disposable cameras, writing in the caption: “Doing some important behind the scenes reporting”

Then, in honor of her dad’s DNC speech Tuesday night, she shared a round-up of images, including one of her wearing a Thom Browne suit and kissing her Puppets and Puppets cookie bag; her holding a “Doug” sign; and an old photo of her, Cole, and Doug. She wrote, “if you saw me cry on tv NO YOU DIDNT. Just kidding I was crying like a little baby. Very emotional sister and daughter over here. Proud doesn’t even begin to describe how I’m feeling after last night.”

Cole Emhoff, 29

Ella’s older brother, Cole, graduated from Colorado College in 2017, per People. Though he has since wiped his LinkedIn profile, according to ABC News, he previously listed working at Plan B Entertainment, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner’s production company, starting in 2019. Plan B has worked on a number of incredibly successful films, including A24’s Oscar-nominated Minari. Generally, Cole leads a more private life than his sister, who shares her art and goings-on on social media.

However, in her essay from ELLE.com, Harris explained that Cole and Ella are named after jazz icons John Coltrane and Ella Fitzgerald, and it’s clear that art and culture are still present in both of their lives.

In a discussion about his stepmom with The New York Times, Cole noted that he once saw someone tweet a photo of Harris at Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s 2018 confirmation hearing. “Someone tweeted, like, ‘I’d hate to have to look at that face and explain why I’m late for curfew,’” he said. “And I was thinking, ‘I’ve literally had to do that.’”

More recently, Cole got married to his now-wife, Greenley Littlejohn. The two met in 2020 and tied the knot last October. Harris officiated the vows at their wedding and told People the marital advice she gave her stepson: “At the end of every day, find some way to check in, no matter how tired you are or how many miles apart you may be, even if it’s just at the end of the day, and say ‘I love you.’”

Cole also made an appearance at the second night of the DNC. To introduce his dad’s speech, Cole narrated a video telling Doug’s life story and featuring baby photos of Cole and Ella, plus home footage of their family over the years:

In the video, Cole explains:

He the ended the video by declaring: “We might not look like other families in the White House, but we are ready to represent all families in America.”

During Doug’s speech, the Second Gentleman also gave a glimpse into their family dynamic, saying: “Those of you who belong to blended families know that they can be a little complicated. But as soon as our kids started calling her Momala, I knew we’d be okay. Ella calls us a three-headed parenting machine. Kamala and Kerstin, thank you both. Thank you both—for always putting your family and the kids first. Now, Cole and Ella’s friends knew when they’d come over for Sunday dinner with Momala, it was going to be real talk. In between taking cooking instructions, they’d have to answer questions about what problem they wanted to solve in the world. They learned that you’ve always got to be prepared, because Kamala is going to prosecute the case. In the same breath that Cole and Greeley told us that they were engaged, they asked Kamala to officiate their wedding.”

He went on to explain that Harris bound her wedding remarks in a book and gifted the memento to the couple. And he described a moment just a few days before the DNC when Harris had a rare day at home, and he found her not relaxing, but talking on the phone with Ella. “Those kids are her priorities,” Doug continued. “And that scene was a perfect map of her heart. She’s always been there for our children, and I know she’ll always be there for yours too.”

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