All About Ella Emhoff, Kamala Harris' Fashion Model Stepdaughter

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

Ella Emhoffis making strides in the fashion industry, both on and off the runway.

While her father Douglas Emhoff is a lawyer and her stepmotherKamala Harrisis the 49th Vice President of the United States, Emhoff initially eschewed politics and embraced her fashion profile as a model, artist and designer.

Nearly a year after stepping into the sartorial scene professionally, she has established herself as a style “icon” due to her eccentric style and comfort in her own body. Furthermore, she gained attention as a designer with her quirky knitwear creations.

Now, Emhoff has been vocal about her support for her stepmother’s 2024 presidential run.

From her political family background to her numerous fashion accomplishments, here’s everything to know about Emhoff.

She’s a member of the Second Family of the United States

Vice President Kamala Harris Twitter

Emhoff was born to U.S. Second GentlemanDoug Emhoffand film producerKerstin Emhoffon May 29, 1999. After her parents divorced in 2008, her father married Harris in 2014.

At the time, Harris was serving as the Attorney General of California. When Harris became the U.S. Vice President, Emhoff became an official member of the Second Family of the United States.

She has modeled and walked runways for major fashion brands

Peter White/Getty

Since being signed, she has modeled forbrands such as Balenciaga, posed for renowned fashion magazines such asVanity Fair, and walked in shows for Miu Miu, Proenza and more.

She attended the Met Gala

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She’s a fashion designer in her own right

Ella Emhoff Instagram

Not only has Emhoff worked with some of the biggest fashion designers in the industry, but she’s a fashion designer too! The creative attended the prestigious Parsons School of Design in New York City andgraduated in May 2021.

Harris posted a celebratory tributeto her stepdaughter onTwitterwriting, “Congratulations to our daughter Ella on her graduation. I am so proud of you. Keep dreaming with ambition and there is nothing you cannot achieve.” She concluded the post, “Love, Momala.”

Emhoff studied fine arts with a concentrated focus on apparel and textiles. In the spring of 2021,she launched a limited collection of knitwear, with Batsheva Hay, and toldVanity Fairthere are designs for an eponymous collection at some point.

In January 2022, Emhoffannounced on Instagramthat she was continuing to produce knitwear under her own name. She shared that her first “knit drop,” which included 20 pieces of handmade items, would be available later that year onher website.

“I’m a one-woman show,” EmhofftoldWomen’s Wear Dailyin 2022. “It’s been an extreme labor of love.”

Since then, Emhoff’s designs have grown in popularity. In February 2023,Voguereportedthat her knitwear would be featured in a special pop-up presentation at New York Fashion Week. Two months later, Emhoff’sdesigns were featuredon the cover ofMINI V.

Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images

Harper’s Bazaarnamed Emhoff one of their “icons” of the year for her impact on the world through her ideas and her art.She spoke with PEOPLEat the 2022Harper’s BazaarIcons & Bloomingdale’s 150th Anniversary about the honor.

“It’s kind of shocking,” she said. “This is an incredible honor and as someone who doesn’t really think of herself like that it’s nice reassurance. And makes me check myself and the way I perceive myself, so exciting.”

She embraces her natural beauty

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Emhoff has established herself as a pioneer in the fashion industry due to her low-maintenance beauty routine, in addition to being an advocate for embracing one’s natural beauty.

“When I was younger I would pluck my middle brow area, but I recently stopped and it’s amazing,” she said in a video forGood Morning Vogueas she prepared for Balenciaga’s Spring/Summer 2022 Paris Fashion Week show. “I think everyone should just embrace their little unibrows.”

Trailblazing a new outlier standard, the model also notably does not cover her tattoos or shave her armpits. In September 2021,she notably walked the runwayat Prabal Gurung’s New York Fashion Week show in a skin-baring look.

She datedGQwriter Sam Hine

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In August 2021, Emhoffconfirmed her relationship withGQwriter Sam Hineduring an interview withVanity Fair. Though the couple was seen at fashion events and red carpets together, Emhoff said at the time their perfect date was “a stop at the market, buying the wackiest produce, and figuring out what to cook with it.”

At the theHarper’s Bazaarparty, where Emhoff was honored, Hine told PEOPLE why he thought she was an icon: “She does herself and that’s the message. She is a true individual. And that’s the most important. That’s what being an icon really is.”

The two parted ways in summer 2023.

She is supportive of Harris' 2024 presidential run

Ever since Harris announced her candidacy for the 2024 presidential race, Emhoff has been supportive of her stepmother. She has been a prominent fixture at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where she was seen sporting a Harris-Walz baseball hat on day one and holding a sign that read “Doug” on day two.

She has also been quick todefend Harris against her political opponents. In July 2024, when a Fox News interview from Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance, in which he criticized Harris for being “childless,” resurfaced, Emhoff weighed in on social media.

“How can you be ‘childless’ when you have cutie pie kids like cole and I,” Emhoff wrote on her Instagram Stories. “I love my three parents.”

source: people.com