Doug Emhoff

Doug Emhoff (born October 13, 1964, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.) is an American attorney who served as the second gentleman of the United States (2021–25) and is the husband of Kamala Harris, the 49th vice president. As the first male spouse of a vice president, Emhoff holds the distinction of being the first second gentleman. He is also the first Jewish spouse of a U.S. president or vice president. Emhoff previously worked as an entertainment lawyer.

Early life and education

Emhoff is one of three children born to Mike and Barbara Emhoff. In 1969 the family moved from New York City to New Jersey. They spent some 12 years there, living in the Matawan area, before settling in southern California. Although the family is Jewish, Doug Emhoff was not very religiously observant as a child.

In 1987 Emhoff earned a bachelor’s degree in communications at California State University, Northridge. He then enrolled in law school at the University of Southern California. He later noted that becoming an attorney had been a childhood dream that was largely motivated by his dislike of bullies. In a 2024 interview with Los Angeles Lawyer magazine, Emhoff said, “I was always there to stand up [to bullies]. I just thought, ‘Wow, lawyers do that for a living! That’s a job: Standing up for other people!’ ” He graduated in 1990.

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Legal career

Emhoff subsequently embarked on a career in entertainment law. He worked at the firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and later joined Bingham McCutchen. In the late 1990s he moved to Belin Rawlings & Badal. His clients there included Hollywood Video, a rental chain that he defended after Fox Entertainment Group accused it of underreporting sales and rentals.

In 2000 Emhoff cofounded the firm Whitwell Jacoby Emhoff. One of his highest-profile cases involved Taco Bell. The Michigan marketing firm Wrench claimed that it had invented the fast-food chain’s Chihuahua mascot (whom the firm had dubbed “Psycho Chihuahua”) and sued for breach of contract. Wrench alleged that Taco Bell had failed to compensate the company after the chain switched to advertising firm TBWA. When it was ruled that the chain owed Wrench $42 million, Taco Bell asserted that TBWA was responsible for the use of the character. Emhoff represented TBWA, and Taco Bell was ultimately held responsible for the damages.

In 2006 Whitwell Jacoby Emhoff was acquired by Venable LLP, and Doug Emhoff became head of that firm’s Los Angeles branch and later manager of its West Coast operations. In 2017 he joined the global firm DLA Piper, where he represented such clients as big-box store Walmart, arms dealer Dolarian Capital, and pharmaceutical company Merck.

Marriages and political campaigns

Emhoff married film producer Kerstin Mackin in 1992. The pair had two children, Cole Emhoff and Ella Emhoff, before divorcing in 2010. Three years later Doug Emhoff met Harris—then California’s attorney general—on a blind date, and they wed in 2014.

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In 2016 when Harris, a Democrat, ran for the U.S. Senate, Emhoff maintained a relatively low profile during the campaign. She ultimately won, and the couple moved to Washington, D.C. Emhoff took on a more public role during the 2020 presidential election, as Harris first ran for the party’s nomination before dropping out and then becoming Joe Biden’s running mate. Biden and Harris ultimately defeated the Republican ticket headed by Pres. Donald Trump, and Harris became the first woman, the first Black American, and the first Asian American to serve as vice president. During the campaign Emhoff stopped practicing law, and he later began teaching at Georgetown University’s law school.

Second gentleman

As second gentleman Emhoff has often highlighted his Jewish faith. In 2021 he and Harris attached a mezuzah to the official residence of the vice president, and on International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2023, he traveled to Auschwitz. He also has spoken out against antisemitism, especially after the start of the Israel-Hamas War.

In addition Emhoff has utilized his platform as second gentleman to advocate for gender equality, reproductive rights, and access to legal aid. He has also sought to raise awareness of mental health issues. As part of his role, he has traveled to more than 40 U.S. states and visited 15 countries. In July 2023 he traveled to Samoa, becoming the highest-profile U.S. official to visit the country.

Emhoff gained more public attention in July 2024 when Biden dropped his reelection bid—Biden was trailing in the polls to the Republican challenger, Trump—and Harris emerged as the Democratic Party’s choice for its presidential nominee. At the Democratic National Convention in August 2024, Harris was officially nominated for president, and Emhoff gave a self-effacing speech that was widely praised. He also expressed great enthusiasm for his wife’s campaign, saying: “America, in this election you have to decide who to trust with your family’s future. I trusted Kamala with our family’s future. It was the best decision I ever made.”

Harris was defeated by Donald Trump in November. Emhoff’s time as second gentleman ended on January 20, 2025.