To the rest of world, Kamala Harris will soon be known as Madam Vice President. But to Cole and Ella Emhoff, she’s “Momala.”
The twenty-something siblings gave Harris the nickname after their father, high-powered entertainment lawyer Doug Emhoff, married the former California senator in 2014.
Since then, Cole and Ella could be spotted along the campaign trail and celebrating in Wilmington, Delaware, in November with their famous pol stepmom when President-Elect Joe Biden gave his victory speech.
Cole, 26, and Ella, 21, are products of Emhoff’s first marriage to Kerstin Emhoff, née Mackin, a Hollywood producer.
They split in 2008, after 16 years of marriage, though they remain “incredibly close” according to Emhoff in an interview he gave to Chasten Buttiegieg.
Since Harris has no biological children of her own, Cole and Ella have stepped in to work the press circuit and cheerlead for their stepmom and dad, who has plans to abandon his law firm job for a teaching post at Georgetown Law for the duration of his wife’s appointment.
The “big blended family,” as Doug refers to their extended clan, has been front and center as Harris climbed the political ranks.
Meena and Maya Harris, the VP-elect’s niece and sister, plus Ella, formally nominated Harris to the Vice Presidential ticket, with Emhoff giving a shout out to “the world’s greatest stepmom” and her cooking, especially the VP’s “stir-fry, feta chicken, spaghetti and meatballs.”
Here are five things to know about Harris’ stepkids.
They’re both named after jazz greats
The eldest Emhoff is named for saxophonist John Coltrane, while his little sister Ella’s name pays homage to the singer Ella Fitzgerald. Neither of the kids play music, though their mother produces music videos, including the one for Beyonce’s song “Pretty Hurts.”
Kamala and Doug got together just as Cole was graduating high school. He studied psychology at Colorado College, according to his LinkedIn profile, before heading back to California to cut his teeth at big-time talent agency William Morris Endeavor.
They grew up in L.A.
Though their dad spent most of his childhood in Brooklyn, the Emhoff kids grew up out West, attending Wildwood High School in Los Angeles, where Ella played basketball and was on the swim team. That’s around when their dad was set up on a blind date with the future VP, who wrote in Elle Magazine in 2019 for Mother’s Day, “I was already hooked on Doug, but I believe it was Cole and Ella who reeled me in.”
But once Harris became a senator in 2017, it was a tough commute. She missed Ella’s high school graduation to hear James Comey’s testimony in the Russia election-hacking investigation. “I agonized over the scheduling conflict,” Harris said in the Elle piece. She added that Ella was “understanding,” and she made it back that night for a celebratory family dinner.
Ella attends Parsons fashion school in NYC
Cole followed his mom into the biz, working as an executive assistant for Plan B Entertainment, a production company originally founded by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. But his sister hopes to make it in the fashion industry.
The brunette, who is set to graduate this year, produces her own knitwear. She takes commissions for crocheted bucket hats, cardigans and basketball shorts via Instagram DM. She turned heads when she wore a Frankie Shop pinstripe suit to the Delaware election party, and has hinted that she may knit herself a reprise for the inauguration.
The D.C. royal lives in hipster Brooklyn and once traded her custom crocheted garments for a tattoo, according to her fave tattoo artist’s Instagram.
They’re both well-dressed, according to their mom
“My babies,” gushed their proud mom on Twitter, sharing a pic of her sharply-dressed brood, and giving a special shout-out to her daughter’s outfit; “the suit is a hit!”
Cole, who has a more laid back, West Coast style, was called out by his sister in an interview with Glamour Magazine for showing up to the vice presidential debate wearing Birkenstocks and shorts. Ella, who interned for the fashion label A.L.C., prefers Tyler McGillivary’s colorful clothing brand and fellow student Bailee Mylin’s wares.
Ella is a TikTok teen idol
Meena Harris, Kamala’s niece and fellow lawyer, posted a video to TikTok of the blended family watching the election returns, and of Ella trying a McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish for the first time, captioning it, “Ella Emhoff is the main character.” The video has nearly 400,000 views and comments, including “im OBSESSED” and “is she looking for a wife?”
Twitter stans chimed in, too, with one declaring that they were “desperately and democratically in love with her.”