Doug Emhoff biography: 13 things about Kamala Harris’s husband

Douglas Craig “Doug” Emhoff is the first ever Second Gentleman of the United States. He is the husband of the 49th U.S. vice president Kamala Harris.

As a lawyer, Emhoff tackled and resolved litigating disputes with an emphasis on media, entertainment and intellectual property matters. He considers a lawsuit brought up by a group of Midwestern investors against a con man in Orange County, California, USA his toughest one.

Emhoff and his former wife Kerstin Mackin have two children namely Cole Emhoff and Ella Emhoff. Mackin is the cofounder and chief executive of production company Prettybird.

Doug loves to play golf and fantasy football. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA to Jewish parents Michael Emhoff and Barbara Emhoff. (a) (b) He is the younger brother of Jamie Emhoff and the older brother of Andy Emhoff. (c)
2. From Brooklyn, he and his family moved to California when he was in his 11th grade. (c)
3. In 1982, he graduated from Agoura High School in Agoura Hills, California. (c)
4. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communication studies from California State University, Northridge in Los Angeles, California. In 1990, he earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law in Los Angeles. After earning his Juris Doctor, he worked in the litigation group of Pillsbury Winthrop in New York. (d)
5. In the late 1990s, he moved from to Pillsbury Winthrop to Belin Rawlings & Badal, a boutique firm in Los Angeles. (d)
6. He and Mackin got married in 1992 and divorced in 2008. Mackin supported his marriage with Kamala and Kamala’s political career. (c)
7. He met public relations consultant Chrisette Hudlin through work in 2013. Set up by Hudlin, he and Kamala met in 2013 and got married on August 22, 2014. (c)(e)
8. After spending a decade at Venable, a corporate firm in Washington, D.C., USA, he moved to DLA Piper in California in 2017 as Kamala started her term as a U.S. senator from California. (c) (e)
9. After successfully taking the bar in Washington, D.C., he was sworn in on March 10, 2017. (f) 
10. He worked as a litigator and partner at DLA Piper. He worked out of the firm’s offices in California and Washington, D.C. In August 2020, he announced that he would be taking a leave of absence from the firm. (c)
11. It was announced on November 10, 2020 that he would focus on his role at the White House so he would leave his private law practice by January 20, 2021, the day of Kamala’s inauguration as the 49th U.S. vice president. (e)
12. He was 56 years old when Joe Biden and Kamala became the respective U.S. president-elect and U.S. vice president in November 2020, which also made him the first ever Jewish spouse of a U.S. vice president. (e) He is seven days younger than Kamala. (g)
13. On December 10, 2020, it was announced that in January 2021, he would join the faculty of Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. and teach a two-credit course on entertainment law disputes and would serve as a distinguished visitor from practice. (h)

SOURCES:

• a. 92Y
• b. Tatler
• c. Marie Claire
• d. The Hollywood Reporter
• e. Associated Press
• f. The Oklahoman
• g. O, The Oprah Magazine
• h. Georgetown University Law Center