Before Kamala Harris became the current vice-president of the United States and the imminent Democratic nominee for president in the upcoming election, she was a stepmother-to-be. When she first started dating her now-husband Doug Emhoff in 2013, she soon had to prepare to meet her future stepchildren, Ella and Cole Emhoff – and was understandably nervous. {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Cole Emhoff with his dad, Doug Emhoff, stepmother Kamala Harris, and sister Ella Emhoff. Photo: @douglasemhoff/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/20/5ae6569b-d752-4d53-9df7-2f04aa896a33_095c17fb.jpg"} Cole Emhoff with his dad, Doug Emhoff, stepmother Kamala Harris, and sister Ella Emhoff. Photo: @douglasemhoff/Instagram “When the day finally came, I had butterflies in my stomach,” she told Elle magazine in July.
“On my way to meet Doug, I picked up a tin of cookies and tied a ribbon in a bow around them. I took a few deep breaths. I was excited, and I was nervous.
I rehearsed what I would say.” It turns out that she needn’t have worried. Harris recalled that “Cole and Ella couldn’t have been more welcoming”, and that after she married their father, the pair started calling her “Momala”.
Cole confirmed that there were good impressions all around at that first meeting, telling Glamour magazine in 2020 that it was “love at first sight”. So, who is Cole Emhoff, and what has shaped his personal and professional journey up to this point? Cole Emhoff’s early days Born on September 15, 1994 to lawyer Doug Emhoff and film producer Kerstin Emhoff , Cole was named after renowned jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, per People. His parents separated while he was in middle school.
“ Divorce was extremely common in our world in LA,” he told The New York Times in 2021. “It was hard at first, but I always think, like, I’m so happy they divorced, because I think it really brought us closer.” {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Doug Emhoff posted this photo with his children, Cole and Ella Emhoff, for Father’s Day in 2018. Photo: @douglasemhoff/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/20/8dce3b81-178d-448a-a4ed-e8b8dc3e78df_d7491f3d.jpg"} Doug Emhoff posted this photo with his children, Cole and Ella Emhoff, for Father’s Day in 2018. Photo: @douglasemhoff/Instagram The dad and kids trio, who nicknamed themselves the “Palazzo Crew” after the apartment complex that Doug moved into after the divorce, would frequently grab sandwiches from the Whole Foods deli counter before eventually moving on ordering to pre-made meals from Craigslist, per the same source.
However, when Doug began dating Harris, things started to change. He even became a good cook! Cole also spoke about how Harris’ role as California attorney general mirrored how she approached her role as a mother in their blended family. “I was a senior when they got together, and I remember I saw a tweet that somebody did.
It was a photo of Kamala at the Kavanaugh hearing, and someone tweeted, like, ‘I’d hate to have to look at [that] face and explain why I’m late for curfew,’” he shared in the interview. “And I was thinking, ‘I’ve literally had to do that.’” He grew up hearing about politics {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Cole Emhoff with his father, Doug Emhoff. Photo: @douglasemhoff/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/20/87e2dfe9-b665-4075-9bca-6d5b03da4ad8_7390c88c.jpg"} Cole Emhoff with his father, Doug Emhoff. Photo: @douglasemhoff/Instagram Cole grew up somewhat familiar with politics and was active in opposing Proposition 8, a California ballot initiative aimed at banning same-sex marriage.
There were even frequent discussions of political issues at the dinner table. “We would just have these real conversations at dinner, almost Socratic, where we would all bounce off each other,” he shared with Glamour. “It’s so interesting when I hear [Harris] speak publicly or read about her policy position.
I’m like, OK, I’ve seen that reflected at the dinner table, so I know it’s true to her.” Cole Emhoff’s career endeavours {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Cole Emhoff at university in 2013.
Photo: @coleemhoff/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/20/7a5b9ae9-22ce-486a-bb84-fe9b4e172422_eacb2dd4.
jpg"} Cole Emhoff at university in 2013. Photo: @coleemhoff/Instagram According to his LinkedIn, after graduating from high school, Cole attended Colorado College, where he earned a degree in psychology in 2017. He’s since followed his mother’s footsteps into the entertainment industry, holding various roles.
These include positions at the talent agency William Morris Endeavor and, currently, at Plan B Entertainment – Brad Pitt’s production company, which was responsible for films like Minari – where he works as an executive assistant. Who is Cole Emhoff married to? {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Cole Emhoff with his then-fiancée and now-wife, Greenley Littlejohn.
Photo: @coleemhoff/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/20/f5010e48-9084-440d-9ae4-0356d3d062f7_d7491f3d.
jpg"} Cole Emhoff with his then-fiancée and now-wife, Greenley Littlejohn. Photo: @coleemhoff/Instagram Cole met product development manager Greenley Littlejohn in 2020, per Elle. The couple got engaged in May 2023 and tied the knot on October 14, 2023, with Harris officiating the ceremony.
“I gave them a piece of advice, which is that, at the end of every day, find some way to check in, no matter how tired you are or how many miles apart you may be, even if it’s just at the end of the day, and say ‘I love you,’” Harris shared with People. Cole Emhoff said it was ‘love at first sight’ when he met his then future stepmother after she started dating Doug Emhoff; the two have formed a close bond, with Harris officiating his 2023 wedding Cole grew up talking politics over the dinner table with his blended family, but now he’s working for Brad Pitt’s production company, which is behind films like the Oscar-nominated Minari.
