Former California prosecutor and senator is seeking to become the the first African-American-Indian woman president.
Harris is , supports marijuana legalisation, is against corporate donations and has openly featured people of colour as part of her campaign to 'lift voices' to 'fight' President Trump. But she has also copped criticism for being a 'tough on crime' .
Here's everything else you need to know about the charismatic presidential hopeful, who at 54, has attracted comparisons to Barack Obama.
1. Her mother was a doctor who mentored students of colour
Harris' mother, Indian immigrant , was a pioneering scientist and active in the civil rights movement. The daughter of a diplomat, Shyamala moved to the US from India at 19 to pursue studies at Berkeley, graduating with a PhD in nutrition and endocrinology at age 25.
Shyamala, who passed away in 2009 at age 70, reportedly mentored dozens of students of colour during her time working as a breast cancer researcher.
"Dozens of students populated her lab through the years. Often of colour and the first in their families to pursue careers in science, these students eagerly sought Shyamala's mentorship, which often stretched beyond the lab to encompass lessons in life. Whether helping a student negotiate the UC bureaucracy, find an affordable apartment, or enjoy a home cooked meal, Shyamala was there," according to
Shyamala was not far from Kamala's thoughts when she announced her candidacy:
"Thinking of my mother today. She was smart, fierce, and my first campaign staffer — and I dearly wish she was here with us for this moment. Her spirit still drives me to fight for our values," she tweeted.
2. Her mother had a 'love' marriage
In a for Immigrant Heritage month last year, Kamala shed insight into her mother's life as an Indian immigrant and the tradition-breaking path she paved for herself. Instead of moving back to India after finishing school, Shyamala stayed in America after falling in love with , a Jamaican international student who went on to become an economics professor at Stanford.
The pair divorced when Kamala was aged seven, after having two daughters: Kamala in 1964, and Maya in 1967. Kamala says the marriage was a brave act for a young woman on her own in a foreign country.
"She went against a practice reaching back thousands of years, and instead of an arranged marriage, chose a love marriage. This, an act of self-determination, made me and my sister Maya. And – like millions of the children of immigrants before and since – it made us Americans.”
3. Her sister Maya is also a lawyer
Kamala's sister Maya Lakshmi Harris is working as a lawyer and television commentator and is a former policy adviser to Hillary Clinton. She's also not above giving sisterly shout-outs on Twitter.
4. She went to historic all-black college Howard University
Harris studied political science at the historic all-black college Howard University in Washington DC, before going to study law at the University of California. Founded post-civil war in 1867, Howard has produced America's most prominent black intellectuals like first Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall, poet Langston Hughes, writer Toni Morrison and Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Harris visited her former university after she announced her candidacy on the birthday holiday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King.
5. She's authored a picture book
Source: Supplied
"And when she looked around, she was amazed to find them everywhere! In her family, among her friends, even down the street–there were superheroes wherever she looked. And those superheroes showed her that all you need to do to be a superhero is to be the best that you can be."
