Fun Facts About Kamala Harris - US Vice President: Nick Name & Full Name, Family, Early Life

Kamala Harris. Photo: Latest Breaking News

If you watched Wednesday night’s vice presidential debate and walked away wanting to learn more about Kamala Harris who could become the next vice president, here’s what you need to know that KnowInsider wants to share with you.

She was born in Oakland and raised by immigrant parents

Kamala Harris was born and raised in Oakland, California. She is the daughter of Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer researcher from India, and Donald Harris, an economist from Jamaica. Harris pursued a degree in political science and economics at Howard University, and later earned her law degree from University of California, Hastings. She is married to Douglas Emhoff, a lawyer, and has two step-children.

Her name is pronounced COMMA-LA

Harris’ full name is Kamala Devi Harris, which means “lotus” or “pale” in Sanskrit. Meena Harris, founder of the Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign, and Harris’ niece, spelled out the pronunciation of her aunt’s name in a tweet.

Rather than referring to her as “stepmom,” her step-children, Cole and Ella, call her “Momala.”

Harris was bused

In first grade, Harris was bused to Thousand Oaks Elementary School, which was in its second year of integration. For the next three years, she’d play “Miss Mary Mack” and cat’s cradle with her friends on the bus that traveled from her predominantly black, lower-middle-class neighborhood to her school located in a prosperous white district.

She ran for president

Photo: NBC News

Senator Harris announced that she was running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020 on January 21, 2019. She was part of an historic field in the Democratic primary, but ultimately suspended her campaign on December 3, 2019, before voters began voting or caucusing during the primary process, according to The Every Girl.

Harris organized a successful protest at the age of 13

Kamala Devi Harris was born Oct. 20, 1964, in Oakland, Calif. Her mother, Shyamala, who later had a career as a renowned breast-cancer researcher, emigrated from India. Her father, Donald, an economics professor at Stanford University, came to the U.S. from Jamaica. When Harris was seven, her parents divorced and at age 12, she, along with her mother and sister Maya moved to Montreal. It was there that Kamala and her sister, Maya, organized a reportedly successful protest against the owner of their apartment building who would not let children play on the building's lawn.

She Was the First Woman and First Black Attorney General of California.

Photo: The Every Girl

After narrowly beating Los Angeles County district attorney Steve Cooley to become state attorney general in November 2010, Harris made an immediate mark by withdrawing from settlement negotiations with five of the country’s largest financial institutions for improper mortgage practices only to eventually settle for five times the original proposed amount.

As attorney general Harris created Open Justice, an online platform that makes criminal justice data available to the public at large. The database has helped improve police accountability by tabulating the number of deaths and injuries of those in police custody. She also presided over the creation of “Operation Boo,” a mandatory curfew for all homeless sex offenders on Halloween, according to Investopedia.

Trump has made campaign donations to Harris

The president made two donations to Harris' California attorney general re-election campaign. The first was in 2011, when Trump donated $5,000. In 2013, Trump sent the Harris campaign $1,000. Meanwhile, in 2014, his daughter Ivanka — now a top White House aide — donated $2,000 to the then-state attorney general.

Photo: KQED

She made headlines for grilling Trump administration officials and nominees

Harris has put her prosecutorial chops to use in a number of high-profile committee hearings, going viral for her questioning of Attorney General William Barr and then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Who is Meena Harris: Activities, Business, Biography, Family and Personal Profile Who is Meena Harris - Niece of Vice President Kamala Harris: Meena Harris has come under the lens of the White House for 'using her ...

Who is Kamala Harris: Biograpgy, Personal Profile, Family and Political Career Kamala Harris, from California, has made history again as become the first female elected-vice president and woman of color in the White House. Check out ...