Vice President Kamala Harris met her husband, Doug Emhoff, in 2013 through a mutual friend. When they then got married in 2014, Harris gained a life partner— and also became “Momala” to his two kids: Cole and Ella. In a 2019 essay for ELLE.com, Harris wrote about taking on that new role, including her first time meeting her future stepchildren: “When the day finally came, I had butterflies in my stomach…On my way to meet Doug, I picked up a tin of cookies and tied a ribbon in a bow around them. I took a few deep breaths. I was excited, and I was nervous. I rehearsed what I would say.”
Afterwards, Harris admitted, “I was already hooked on Doug, but I believe it was Cole and Ella who reeled me in,” calling the two her “endless source of love and pure joy.” Below, all you need to know about Cole and Ella.
Ella Emhoff, 25
Ella Emhoff attends a Met Gala after-party for Jean Paul Gaultier this May.
You might remember Ella Emhoff from her first viral moment: when she arrived at the 2021 presidential swearing-in ceremony in a stunning tweed Miu Miu coat. One week later, her style landed her a major modeling contract, signing with IMG Models. Ivan Bart, the president of IMG, told The New York Times that when he saw her at the ceremony he thought, “Wow, she’s communicating fashion.”
Although Ella had modeled before, she told the Times: “As someone who, like a lot of young girls out there, had self-confidence issues, it is intimidating and scary to go into this world that is hyper-focused on you and the body.” However, per the Times, she decided to join IMG in an effort to be “part of” changing the industry and representing a different kind of model—one who’s an artist in her own right with “really weird tattoos and kind of a funky haircut.”
Ella Emhoff walks for Cecilie Bahnsen at Paris Fashion Week 2023.
Ella graduated from Parsons School of Design in 2021, where she received a fine arts degree. According to her personal website, she now uses her degree to “explore textiles through knitting, designing knitwear, creating installations for brands and upcycling donated materials.” This led her to launch her own company, Soft Hands, in 2021 and a knitting club of the same name. This April, a collection of her textile art was displayed in a gallery space in Gotham, an East Village dispensary.
Now that Harris has announced she’s running in the 2024 presidential race, Ella has been vocally supportive of her Momala. When pop star Charli XCX tweeted that “kamala IS brat,” the ultimate compliment during Brat Summer, Ella reposted it to her Instagram Story and wrote, “@charli_xcx gets it.” Then when J.D. Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, referred to Harris as one of those “childless cat ladies,” Ella posted on her Instagram Story, writing: “How can you be ‘childless’ when you have cutie pie kids like cole and I?” She also added: “I love my three parents.”
Cole Emhoff, 29
Cole Emhoff in Los Angeles in November 2023.
Ella’s older brother, Cole, graduated from Colorado College in 2017, per People. Though he has since wiped his LinkedIn profile, according to ABC News, he previously listed working at Plan B Entertainment, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner’s production company, starting in 2019. Plan B has worked on a number of incredibly successful films, including A24’s Oscar-nominated Minari. Generally, Cole leads a more private life than his sister, who shares her art and goings-on on social media.
However, in her essay from ELLE.com, Harris explained that Cole and Ella are named after jazz icons John Coltrane and Ella Fitzgerald, and it’s clear that art and culture are still present in both of their lives.
In a discussion about his stepmom with The New York Times, Cole noted that he once saw someone tweet a photo of Harris at Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s 2018 confirmation hearing. “Someone tweeted, like, ‘I’d hate to have to look at that face and explain why I’m late for curfew,’” he said. “And I was thinking, ‘I’ve literally had to do that.’”
More recently, Cole got married to his now-wife, Greenley Littlejohn. The two met in 2020 and tied the knot last October. Harris officiated the vows at their wedding and told People the marital advice she gave her stepson: “At the end of every day, find some way to check in, no matter how tired you are or how many miles apart you may be, even if it’s just at the end of the day, and say ‘I love you.’”
Talia Levine is a Features Intern for ELLE Magazine. She is an undergraduate at Brown University where she studies International and Public Affairs and is a Varsity Division 1 Athlete.