10 Facts You Didn't Know About Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris, the daughter of two graduate students, was born in Oakland, California, on October 20, 1964. She attended Westmount High School and graduated from Howard University with a degree in political science in 1986.

After earning her Juris Doctorate from Hastings College of the Law in 1989, Harris became Deputy District Attorney in Alameda County where she prosecuted cases involving narcotics trafficking and domestic violence. In 1998, she was elected as San Francisco’s first female District Attorney.

1) She was born in Oakland, California

Even if you’re unfamiliar with her name, it’s likely you know California’s junior senator. Kamala Harris is a rising star in American politics: she was elected to two terms as attorney general of California before winning a seat in Washington, D.C., in 2016.

She made headlines for grilling Trump appointees at confirmation hearings—including Jeff Sessions and Betsy DeVos—in her capacity as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

She has also broken from her party on issues including marijuana legalization and prison reform. Here are 10 facts about Sen. Harris that may surprise you. No matter your politics, there’s much to admire about one of our most powerful elected officials.

2) Her full name is Kamala Devi Harris

The soon-to-be junior senator from California doesn’t have a nickname like Joe Biden, nor is she an acronym (like Hillary Clinton) or an initial (like John McCain). Her full name is actually Kamala Devi Harris. She was born in Oakland, California and her father was a Jamaican who worked as a professor of economics at Stanford University and UC Berkeley. Her mother immigrated to California from Chennai, India before Kamala was born. She attended public schools in Oakland.

3) Her parents emigrated from Jamaica

Growing up, California's junior senator could not go to school on her own—Harris was a child of first-generation immigrants, and she had to walk with a chaperone. (Eventually, however, she graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and UC Hastings College of Law in San Francisco.) In 1999 she became Alameda County's district attorney. From 2004 to 2011 she served as California's attorney general. In 2016 President Barack Obama appointed her as U.S. attorney general for California's Central District, but he nominated her for vice president less than three months later.

4) She was raised by her mother after her parents divorced

When she was nine, her father, Donald Harris, an Indian American, moved to Chicago and would visit his daughter on weekends. In 1971, she moved with her mother to Canada where she attended Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute in Burlington. After graduating from high school in Toronto in 1977 at age 18, as a freshman at Yale University, she worked as a reporter for The Yale Daily News. After receiving her Juris Doctor degree from Hastings College of Law in 1986, Harris served as a Deputy District Attorney in Alameda County and San Francisco.

5) She worked as a Deputy District Attorney in Alameda County

One of her first high-profile cases in that role involved representing District Attorney Dolores Carr and one of her employees, Armando Rodriguez, when they were sued for conducting a search without a warrant in order to uncover corruption within Oakland city hall. The case went on for eight years and eventually made it all the way to California's Supreme Court. Kamala took over as lead counsel shortly after Rodriguez passed away.

The case has been cited by various courts in that state as precedent-setting multiple times since it was settled in 2002. It even helped overturn a conviction resulting from one of those illegal searches. American Vice President Joe Biden once referred to Harris as the best lawyer in America while discussing her work on that case.

6) Her political career began when she was elected as the San Francisco District Attorney

In 2003, she was elected as District Attorney of San Francisco, becoming only its second African-American DA. She served in that role for seven years before being elected California's Attorney General in 2010.

That same year, she became America's first female, first African-American and Asian-American attorney general when Governor Jerry Brown appointed her to fill the vacant seat left by retiring AG Jerry Brown. In 2015, California passed Proposition 63, making background checks mandatory for ammunition purchasers and requiring owners to report lost or stolen guns within a certain amount of time.

7) In 2010, she became California's first female Attorney General

From 2003 to 2011, Harris was a California District Attorney in San Francisco. She was elected as San Francisco's first female district attorney, defeating incumbent Terence Hallinan and avoiding a runoff by receiving more than 55% of votes cast.

As district attorney, she served on an anti-tobacco coalition and sought to root out police misconduct. In 2010, she ran for California Attorney General against fellow Democrat and Sacramento County District Attorney Jerry Brown.

Despite garnering endorsements from former President Bill Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden along with many other prominent Democrats, Brown defeated her by four points in one of California's closest-watched races of 2010.

8) In 2016, she ran for United States Senate and became California's first Indian-American senator.

After finishing as California's top vote-getter in a crowded field of candidates for attorney general, she ran for Senate in 2016. She became California's first Indian-American senator and, with that, now makes history as one of only two black women currently serving in Congress (the other is fellow Democrat Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey). This was far from her first foray into politics; her involvement began when she went to law school after college.

A child of immigrants herself, Harris grew up in Oakland and attended Westmount High School before getting her B.A. at Howard University and her J.D.: After finishing as California's top vote-getter in a crowded field of candidates for attorney general, she ran for Senate in 2016.

9) In 2017, she was ranked #4 on The Root 100 list of influential African Americans.

In 2017, she was ranked #4 on The Root 100 list of influential African Americans. According to a report from The New York Times, she also has ties to big banks through her husband. On May 18, 2017, Politico reported that California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones would endorse Harris for president in 2020. : In 2017, she was ranked #4 on The Root 100 list of influential African Americans.

According to a report from The New York Times, she also has ties to big banks through her husband. On May 18, 2017, Politico reported that California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones would endorse Harris for president in 2020.

10) She has been an active advocate for criminal justice reform including bail reform and ending cash bail.

Acknowledging that being wealthy has its privileges in America, Senator Harris introduced The Justice Is Not For Sale Act—legislation that would end our country’s private for-profit prison industry. She has also supported efforts to strengthen indigent defense services, including sponsoring a bill to provide $40 million in grants for public defenders and legal aid for low-income communities.

In addition, she has repeatedly taken on President Trump’s immigration policies by protecting asylum seekers and defending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Senator Harris is also a leader on other issues including combating climate change and promoting diversity in tech.

Kamala Harris, full name Kamala Devi Harris, is the 49th Vice President of the United States

She was elected alongside President Joe Biden. She is also a former California Attorney General and a District Attorney of San Francisco.