Kamala Harris can become the first woman to become US President. In the middle of the election campaign, she is celebrating her 60th birthday – with her “modern family”.
If she triumphs in the US election on November 5th, Kamala Harris will be the first female president to move into the White House at the age of 60. Today, October 20th, the politician, who was born in Oakland, California in 1964 – during the time of the civil rights movement – is celebrating her special birthday. The daughter of a Tamil woman from Madras, India, and a native Jamaican, she is a family man and, like her parents, has had a fabulous career.
No child of his own, but the “Momala” for two
Kamala Harris does not have a child of her own. At the latest when they got married around ten years ago, two teenagers came into the house. The Baptist has been married to the Jewish lawyer Douglas Emhoff (60) since August 2014. His son and daughter, who were teenagers when they got married, come from his first marriage (1992-2008). Of first meeting the two, Harris, who met Emhoff on a blind date arranged by a friend in 2013, said: “Cole and Ella couldn’t have been friendlier. They are brilliant, talented and funny children who have grown into remarkable adults . I was already excited about Doug, but I think it was Cole and Ella that captivated me.”
And the entire patchwork constellation actually seems to be characterized by respect. She also speaks highly of the two’s mother, film producer Kerstin Mackin, and calls her a “friend”. Kerstin was a wonderful mother, said Harris and continued: “Kerstin and I hit it off straight away and are good friends. She and I became a cheerleading duo in the stands at Ella’s swimming and basketball games – often to Ella’s chagrin.”
Everyone involved knows that so much sympathy and harmony is unusual and so “we sometimes joke that our modern family functions almost a little too well.” Perhaps this also has something to do with the fact that the term “stepmother”, which generally has a negative connotation, is not used in this family: “When Doug and I married a few years later, Cole, Ella and I agreed that the term ‘stepmother’ “We didn’t like it. Instead we came up with the name ‘Momala,'” she revealed her pet name to the magazine.
Family time together is of course rare for such a successful politician – and yet there seems to be some kind of ritual. “Our time as a family is Sunday dinner. We all gather around the table,” she said. Over time, a good distribution of roles developed: “Cole sets the table and chooses the music, Ella makes wonderful desserts, Doug acts as my sous chef and I cook.”
Amazing career – and often a pioneer
She may celebrate her career highlight as the first woman to serve as US president on November 5th. But the path there is also marked by pioneering achievements. Kamala Harris is the first woman, the first Black person and the first person of Indian descent to serve as US Vice President. She was San Francisco’s first female district attorney. And at a young age, the daughter of emigrants – her father is economist Donald J. Harris (born 1938) – was one of the first children in her city to be allowed to attend a school that had previously only been reserved for whites.
In an interview with “Good Morning America” in 2020, Kamala Harris revealed, according to “People” magazine, that she would “think of her mother” on Inauguration Day as vice president. About breast cancer researcher Dr. Shyamala Gopalan (1938-2009), who died of cancer in 2009, Harris continued: “I was raised by a mother who always said to me, ‘Kamala, you may be the first to do many things – make sure that you’re not the last one.'”
Harris’ fighting spirit was evident when her best friend at school confided in her that her stepfather was abusing her. The Harris family eventually took the girl in. That changed both of their lives, says the friend. Harris realized then that she wanted to hold people accountable for their actions.
“A lawyer celebrated like a pop star,” says the “BR” portrait. Kamala Harris has become a symbol of a longing for an America that could perhaps exist again: “A country that is united in its belief in democracy and that is ready to defend it.”
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
