StoryKamala Harris, 1964-
Kamala Harris, the 49th vice president of the United States in the Democratic administration of Pres. Joe Biden. She is the first woman and the first African American to hold the post. She had previously served in the U.S. Senate 2017 to 2021 and as attorney general of California 2011 to 2017.
Born in Oakland, California, to two immigrant parents - an Indian-born mother and Jamaican-born father - her parents divorced when she was five and she was primarily raised by her Hindu single mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, a cancer researcher and civil rights activist.
Beginning of her career as the deputy district attorney in Alameda County, Harris worked for San Francisco’s City Attorney Louise Renne as the chief of the Community and Neighborhood Division, where she specialized in prosecuting child sexual assault cases.
In a video posted to her social media she shares the news with President-elect Joe Biden: "We did it, we did it Joe. You're going to be the next president of the United States!" Her words are about him but the history of the moment is hers.