- began dating Harris in 2013 and married the then-California attorney general a year later.
- Emhoff was born on Oct. 13, 1964, in Brooklyn, New York, and
spent his childhood in Old Bridge and Matawan, New Jersey, with his parents Mike and Barbara, as well as brother Andy and sister Jamie. When he was a teenager, his family moved to southern California.
- Emhoff graduated from the University of California, Northridge and got his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. He became an entertainment, sports and media lawyer, opening his own firm in 2000, before it was sold in 2006 to Venable, LLP. When he and Harris moved to Washington, D.C., in 2016, Emhoff
became a partner at the firm DLA Piper, where
his clients included the pharmaceutical company Merck, arms dealer Dolarian Capital and Walmart, according to
The New York Times.
- Emhoff has also
taught at Georgetown University Law Center since 2021.
- One of Harris' close friends, PR consultant Chrisette Hudlin, set Harris and Emhoff up on their first
blind date in 2013.
- Emhoff was previously married to film producer
Kerstin Emhoff from 1992 to 2010. Emhoff and Kerstin remain close friends, and he stayed on as her lawyer and business adviser after their split and until he left his practice ahead of Harris' inauguration as vice president. Kerstin and Harris are also close.
- Emhoff was divorced and Harris was a child of divorce, so they took their time letting their relationship develop organically, Harris
wrote in a 2019 Elle essay. They were especially careful about introducing Harris to Emhoff's children with Kerstin: daughter
Ella — an artist, designer and model — and son Cole, who works as a producer and crew in Hollywood.
- Emhoff
stood proudly by Harris' side when she ran in the Democratic presidential primary in 2019