Douglas Emhoff

Emhoff was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, the son of Jewish parents, Barbara (née Kanzer) and Michael Emhoff. He has a brother, Andy Emhoff, and a sister, Jamie Emhoff. He lived in New Jersey from 1969 to 1981, moving with his family to California when he was 17 years old. Emhoff graduated from Agoura High School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Northridge and a Juris Doctor from the USC Gould School of Law in 1990.

Emhoff is an entertainment litigator and began his career at Pillsbury Winthrop’s litigation group. He later moved to Belin Rawlings & Badal, a boutique firm, in the late 1990s. He opened his own firm with Ben Whitwell in 2000. The firm was acquired by Venable in 2006. His clients included Walmart and Merck. Emhoff then became managing director of Venable's West Coast offices.

Emhoff was married for 16 years to Kerstin Emhoff, née Mackin. They have two children, Cole and Ella. He married Kamala Harris on August 22, 2014, in Santa Barbara, California, with Kamala's sister Maya Harris officiating. Emhoff's two children call Harris, their stepmother, "Momala." As of August 2019, Emhoff and Harris had an estimated net worth of $5.8 million.

Emhoff joined DLA Piper as a partner in 2017, working at its Washington, D.C., and California offices. Following the announcement Kamala Harris would be Joe Biden's running mate in the 2020 United States presidential election, Emhoff took a leave of absence from DLA Piper. On November 10, 2020, Emhoff announced that he would quit DLA Piper prior to Inauguration Day.

Kamala Harris was a candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries before dropping out in December 2019. Harris was announced as Joe Biden's running mate for the 2020 United States presidential election on August 11, 2020, making Emhoff the third man in U.S. history to be the spouse of a vice presidential running mate of a major political party, following John Zaccaro and Todd Palin. When Harris assumes office, Emhoff will become the first Second Gentleman of the United States. He will also be the first Jewish spouse of a U.S. vice president.