Kamala Harris is set to make history as the first female, first black and first Asian-American US vice-president-elect.
Following her inauguration, Ms Harris will be known as madam vice-president.
How old is Kamala Harris?
Born in 1964 in Oakland, California, to a Jamaican-born father and Indian-born mother, Ms Harris said she was inspired to fight injustice by her mother, who was an activist and researcher.
Her mother was Shyamala Gopalan, an Indian-American biologist whose work on the progesterone receptor gene stimulated work in breast cancer research. She sadly passed away in 2009.
READ MORE: Watch: Historic moment as Kamala Harris sworn in as first female vice president of the United States
The 56-year-old touched on the relationship with her family during her victory speech saying her mother “believed so deeply in an America where a moment like this is possible. So, I’m thinking about her and about the generations of women – black women, Asian, white, Latina and native American women throughout our nation’s history who have paved the way for this moment tonight."
READ MORE: Kamala Harris VP: ' I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last'
The political career of Kamala Harris
After studying at Howard University and then for a law degree at the University of California, she began her career in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.
She won her first election in 2003 when she became San Francisco’s district attorney and, when elected California’s attorney general in 2010, she was the first woman and black person to hold the job.
After being elected to the Senate in 2016, she quickly gained attention for her assertive questioning of Trump administration officials during congressional hearings.
Did Kamala Harris run for president?
Kamala Harris did partake in the race for the White House. She launched her own bid to become president last year after serving two terms as the attorney general of California, and winning the 2016 Senate election.
She launched her presidential campaign in early 2019 with the slogan “Kamala Harris For the People,” a reference to her courtroom work.
She was one of the highest-profile contenders in a crowded Democratic primary and attracted 20,000 people to her first campaign rally in Oakland.
READ MORE: Donald Trump leaves White House for final time ahead of Joe Biden inauguration
Why Kamala Harris wore purple
Kamala Harris is wearing purple at the inauguration - something that is significant according to CNN's Abby Phillips who says: "Kamala Harris is wearing purple, something pretty significant to her. When she ran for president, one of her colours of her campaign was purple and yellow. That is a nod to Shirley Chisholm who ran for president as a black woman decades ago and has inspired her political career."
Who is Kamala Harris' husband?
The VP is married to fellow attorney Doug Emhoff. They first met through a mutual friend on a blind date back in 2013 before marrying in 2014.
Love you Madam Vice President-elect!
— Doug Emhoff (@DouglasEmhoff) November 9, 2020
❤️🇺🇸 https://t.co/ylIAe0LP9s
Does Kamala Harris have any children?
Kamala Harris does not have any children of her own, but she is step-mother to two adult children, Cole, 26, and Ella Emhoff, 21, from her husband's previous marriage.
The children refer to her as Momala.
What has Joe Biden said about Kamala Harris?
Joe Biden has praised Kamala as “smart, she’s tough, she’s experienced, she’s a proven fighter for the backbone of this country”.
On the first day she was announced as his running mate he said: “Kamala knows how to govern. She knows how to make the hard calls. She’s ready to do this job on day one.”
In his victory speech, Mr Biden said he would be “honoured” to be serving alongside Ms Harris.
When will Kamala Harris be sworn in?
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a history-making event in which the first black, South Asian and female vice president will take her oath of office from the first Latina justice.
Ms Harris chose Ms Sotomayor for the task.
She will also use two Bibles for the swearing-in, one of which belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the first black Supreme Court justice.
The vice president-elect said in a video posted to Twitter that she viewed Mr Marshall as "one of the main reasons I wanted to be a lawyer", calling him "a fighter" in the courtroom.
And this will be the second time Ms Sotomayor takes part in an inauguration.
She swore in President-elect Joe Biden as vice president in 2013.
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