Before Kamala Harris was announced as Joe Biden’s running mate in August 2020, Doug Emhoff was an accomplished entertainment lawyer, earning $1.2 million per year as a partner at DLA Piper according to Forbes.
All that changed after Harris, his wife, was announced as Biden’s choice. His life was further thrown into the complexities and drama that come with political life when Biden and Harris defeated Donald Trump and were sworn in as President and Vice President on January 20, 2021.
With that, Emhoff, as the husband of America’s first female Vice President, became the country’s first Second Gentleman.
Interestingly, the 60-year-old is in line to assume another historic title: First Gentleman of the United States, if Harris defeats Trump in the hotly contested presidential race.
But who was Emhoff before his wife’s political career thrust him into the heart of American politics?
Doug Emhoff, the Young Brooklyn Boy Who Became an Entertainment Lawyer
Emhoff, who began his litigation career at Pillsbury Winthrop shortly after being admitted to the California Bar in 1990, was born in Brooklyn to Jewish parents, Michael and Barbara Emhoff, whose ancestors migrated to the U.S. from Gorlice, Poland, around 1899 due to persecution.
As a young boy, Emhoff’s father, who designed women’s shoes, moved the family around—first to New Jersey, and later to Los Angeles. By the time he was 17, the family had moved again to Southern California, where Emhoff graduated from Agoura High School.
He would remain in California for years, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from California State University in 1987 and a Juris Doctor from USC Gould School of Law in 1990.
An illustrious career as a litigator began, and in 2000, Emhoff co-founded his law firm with Ben Whitwell. Six years later, it was acquired by Venable LLP, where Emhoff rose to become managing director of Venable’s West Coast office.
He joined DLA Piper in 2017, earning $1.2 million per year before his marriage to Kamala Harris introduced him to an entirely different life.
‘Oh My God, She’s Hot’: How Dough Emhoff Met Harris on a ‘Blind Date’
A divorce in 2008, which Emhoff partially attributed to an affair he had with one of his children’s teachers, ended his marriage to film producer Kerstin Mackin, his first wife.
Although the two described their post-marriage relationship as friendly, their union produced two children: Cole, who is 30, and Ella, who is 25.
Six years after the divorce, Emhoff was ready for another committed relationship.
“Oh my God, she’s hot,” was Emhoff’s reaction when filmmaker Reginald Hudlin suggested setting up a blind date between Emhoff and Kamala Harris, who was then California’s Attorney General.
It was 2013, and as Emhoff would recall years later, “I was just a dude, a lawyer, and then I met Kamala on a blind date set up by legendary filmmaker Reginald Hudlin.”
While Emhoff was in business with Hudlin (the idea for the blind date came up during a meeting), Hudlin’s wife, Chrisette, was a close friend of Harris.
Hudlin gave Emhoff Harris’s number, and he texted her that same night.
In her memoir, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey, first published in 2019, Harris shared memories of their love journey.
“The morning after our first date, Doug emailed me with a list of his available dates for the next couple of months. ‘I’m too old to play games or hide the ball,’ the email read. ‘I really like you, and I want to see if we can make this work,’” Harris wrote.
Call it love at first sight, but a romance had begun. By March 2014, the couple was engaged, and they married six months later at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse on August 22, 2014.
A Wife Guy
As a private citizen, Emhoff, like many other spouses of politicians, was drawn into the web of Harris’s political aspirations.
The life he didn’t choose, and perhaps never imagined, became his reality when Harris ran for U.S. Senator from California in 2016 and won.
Three years later, on January 21, 2019, Harris announced her candidacy for President of the United States in the 2020 election.
Emhoff remembered “freaking out.”
But, like other political spouses such as Michelle Obama—who has often said she disliked politics but always supported her husband, Barack Obama—Emhoff began to adjust to his new reality.
In fact, he would come to embrace that life, even earning the label of a “wife guy”—a slang term for a man whose fame is linked to his wife (or to content he posts about her), or who is exceptionally supportive of her.
Online, he created a fun persona, campaigning vigorously for his wife on social media.
“I love Kamala Harris and would do anything for her,” he tweeted during the 2020 campaign.
Harris eventually dropped her presidential bid in December 2019 and endorsed Biden in March 2020.
Throughout this period, while championing his wife’s campaign, Emhoff continued practicing law.
“I’m trying to do my legal work and deal with all these issues for clients, and she’s trying to save the world,” he said.
After Harris became Biden’s running mate in August 2020, Emhoff took a leave of absence from his role as partner at DLA Piper. He left the firm entirely before Harris was inaugurated as Vice President of the United States, thus becoming the nation’s first Second Gentleman.
Doug Emhoff’s Role From Second Gentleman to First Gentleman
Just as his role as Second Gentleman was largely ceremonial, his potential role as First Gentleman, if Harris wins, would be similar.
As Second Gentleman, Emhoff has been involved in advocacy around equal access to justice and legal representation.
Additionally, as a Jewish American, Emhoff has become a prominent face in Joe Biden’s fight against anti-Semitism.
He has also led U.S. delegations at several diplomatic events, such as the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, the inauguration of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, and the inauguration of Philippine President Bongbong Marcos.
While the role of First Gentleman, like that of First Lady, is not formally defined, Emhoff is expected to play a more active role in his wife’s administration than he did when she was Vice President.
As a Jewish American, it would not be surprising if Emhoff participates in U.S. delegations that work to broker peace in the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. Representing the country in diplomatic events would likely be a natural extension of his position as First Gentleman.
Typically, U.S. First Ladies have chosen specific causes: Dr. Jill Biden has focused on education and support for military families, while former First Lady Michelle Obama worked extensively on initiatives related to health and wellness. Emhoff, too, is expected to champion a specific advocacy and aim to make his own mark.