Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris made history as the first woman, first Black American, and first person of South Asian descent to serve as U.S. Vice President, and remains one of the most searched political figures on the planet.
Who Is Kamala Harris?
Kamala Devi Harris was born on October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California, to an Indian-born mother (biomedical scientist Shyamala Gopalan) and a Jamaican-born father (economist Donald Harris). That dual heritage shaped both her identity and her political brand from day one.
She built her career in law and public office, rising from District Attorney of San Francisco (2004) to Attorney General of California (2011) before winning a U.S. Senate seat in 2016. In 2020, Joe Biden chose her as his running mate, and they won. On January 20, 2021, she was sworn in as the 49th Vice President of the United States, shattering several glass ceilings at once.
In July 2024, President Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Harris. She quickly secured the Democratic nomination and ran against Republican nominee Donald Trump, ultimately losing the November 2024 general election. It was the second time a major-party ticket she was on faced Trump, and the second time Trump won.
Harris remains a towering figure in Democratic politics, loved fiercely by her base, criticized sharply by opponents, and searched obsessively by everyone in between. Her future in public life is an open and heavily debated question.