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In Photos: The Life Of Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris smiles after announcing her candidacy for vice president in her hometown of Oakland, California, in 2019.

Harris, 59, is the first woman of color to serve as California attorney general, the first South Asian-American and second African-American woman elected to the U.S. Senate, and the first female, African-American, and Asian-American vice president of the United States. 

Harris, the daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father, paid tribute to her parents on her Instagram account earlier this year.
 
"My mother, Dr. Shyamala Gopalan, had two goals in life: to cure breast cancer and to raise my sister and me. I miss her every day and think of her all the time. I am so proud to be her daughter. Happy Mother’s Day."

In February 17, 2011, then-U.S. President Barack Obama (center) warmly greets California Attorney General Harris (left) as California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom (2nd left) and San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee (right) look on.

Harris began her career as the district attorney of San Francisco, where she served from 2004–2011 before being named attorney general of California. 
 

While attorney general of California (2011-2017), Harris focused on issues such as criminal-justice reform, the foreclosure crisis, environmental protection, and marriage equality.

Harris gained national exposure during her tenure as attorney general when she addressed the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 5, 2012. Her selection as a speaker highlighted her growing influence and the party's recognition of her as a future leader within the Democratic Party.

Harris greets parade-goers during the San Francisco Pride Parade on June 30, 2013.

A vocal supporter of the LGBT community, Harris filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that Proposition 8 (a ballot proposition passed in 2008 that banned same-sex marriage) should be struck down. Her actions contributed to the Supreme Court's decision to dismiss the appeal on procedural grounds in 2013, effectively legalizing same-sex marriage in California.
 

Then-U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (center) is flanked by then-California Attorney General Harris (left) as he addresses graduates from the Conviction and Sentence Alternatives (CASA) program at U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, California, on October 24, 2014.
 

Known for her sharp questioning during Senate hearings, the then-U.S. senator from California (2017–2021) grilled President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, during his September 2018 Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court as an associate justice on October 6 by a vote of 50–48.

Harris, pictured with Senator Cory Booker (Democrat-New Jersey), at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on June 16, 2020, was a strong advocate for comprehensive police reform in the wake of George Floyd's killing and the nationwide protests against police brutality. 

Former Vice President Joe Biden (left) is challenged by then-U.S. Senator Harris on his past opposition to federally mandated busing to desegregate schools in the 1970s. 

"There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day. And that little girl was me."


 

Harris is pictured with Biden after both accepted the Democratic nomination in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 20 to represent their party as candidates for president and vice president in the 2020 elections.

Harris is pictured with Biden during a campaign stop at Alexis Dupont High School in Wilmington, Delaware, in August 2020. It was their first joint appearance after Biden named her as his running mate for the U.S. elections.

 

A girl sits next to paintings of U.S. President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris on display alongside a road in Mumbai, India, on November 8, 2020.

In addition to being the first African-American vice president, Harris was also the first Asian-American vice president.

Harris is sworn in as U.S. vice president as her husband, Doug Emhoff, holds a Bible during the inauguration of Biden as the 46th president of the United States in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2021.

Harris (left) and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hold an inscribed Ukrainian flag brought by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy from Bakhmut during his remarks at a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress on December 21, 2022.

"Bakhmut stands," Zelenskiy said to cheers. "Ukraine holds its lines and will never surrender."



 

Harris stands and cheers as House Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican-Louisiana) listens to Biden deliver his State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress on March 7, 2024, in the Capitol.

Harris embraces Biden after a speech on health care in Raleigh, North Carolina, on March 26, 2024. Harris has been increasingly prominent since Biden's faltering performance in a televised debate with Trump.