Then-Sen. Kamala Harris takes a question during a town hall meeting at Canyon Springs High School on March 1, 2019 in North Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller, Getty Images)
Vice President Kamala Harris has had quite the rise over the past decade or so: From San Francisco’s district attorney and California’s attorney general, to the Golden State’s senator and now our second in command, right behind President Joe Biden.
Harris is 58 years old.
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Not only is she the United States’ first female vice president, but she’s the first Black person, and first person of South Asian descent, to serve as VP.
In fact, when Latinx Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor swore her in, Harris’ hand rested on the Bible that belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court justice.
(It’s worth mentioning: Sotomayor pronounced Kamala’s name incorrectly at the inauguration. So if you’re chatting with your friends about Harris this weekend, just note that “Kamala” should be like “comma-la”).
We thought we’d take a look through the Getty Images library for old photos of Harris, to see just how far she’s come in her career.
In this 2006 photo, then-Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and Kamala Harris, who at the time was the San Francisco District Attorney, pose for a photo. (WireImage for Conde Nast media group)Then-San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris speaks to supporters before a "No on K" news conference Oct. 29, 2008 in San Francisco. The ballot measure Proposition K seeks to stop enforcing laws against prostitution. (Getty Images)Then-San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris attends the "Choose Or Lose Your Toys" event at the Obsolete Gallery on Nov. 3, 2009 in Venice, California. (Getty Images For Obsolete)Then-San Francisco district attorney and Democratic candidate for California Attorney General, Kamala Harris, arrives at a campaign rally with California Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown at the Los Angeles public library on Nov. 1, 2010 in Los Angeles., California. (Getty Images)Then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris speaks onstage at the Public Counsel's William O. Douglas Award Dinner held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 18, 2011. (Getty Images)Shown from left to right, here is Lance Bass, Jason Binn and then-Attorney General of California Kamala Harris as they pose at an event on Oct. 1, 2011 in New York City. (WireImage)Then-California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris speaks at the California Democrats State Convention in San Diego on Feb. 11, 2012. (Corbis via Getty Images)Co-Chairs of the Rules Committee, then-California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, present a report during day one of the Democratic National Convention at Time Warner Cable Arena on Sept. 4, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Getty Images)Then-California State Attorney General Kamala Harris appears at the Gay Pride Parade on June 30, 2013 in San Francisco. (Getty Images/FilmMagic)Left to right are U.S. Senator of New York Kirsten Gillibrand, then-Attorney General of California Kamala D. Harris and Yahoo News Global Anchor Katie Couric, as they speak onstage during "Disrupting Politics" at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on Oct. 9, 2014 in San Francisco. (Getty Images For Vanity Fair)Then-attorney Douglas Emhoff, at left, and then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris attend the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 22, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. (FilmMagic)Then-Sen. Kamala Harris speaks to Fatima and Yuleni Avelica, whose father was deported, before a news conference on Capitol Hill on March 28, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)Then-Sen. Kamala Harris listens during a Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing concerning threats to the homeland, Sept. 27, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Kamala Harris listens to witnesses during a hearing about the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The hearing was held on Capitol Hill on March 14, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)Then-Sen. Kamala Harris, at left, plays with 18-month-old Hawa Tembe, whose mother is an immigrant from Mozambique, during a news conference on immigration in front of the U.S. Capitol on May 23, 2018. Harris, joined by other female Democratic congressional members, held a news conference "to show support for immigration and refugee policies that protect the rights and safety of women and children." (Getty Images)U.S. Senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker speak on the second day at the National Town Hall for the 48th Annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation on Sept. 13, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)Then-California Sen. Kamala Harris reads to her audience at a signing event for her children's book "Superheros Are Everywhere" at Barnes & Noble at The Grove on Jan. 13, 2019 in Los Angeles. (Getty Images)Then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris fields questions at the Asian and Latino Coalition at the Iowa Statehouse on Feb. 23, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. Harris spoke about immigration policy, college tuition and gun control, amongst other topics. (Getty Images)Then- Sen. Kamala Harris is introduced at the "Conversations that Count" event during the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit at The Mirage Hotel and Casino on March 1, 2019 in Las Vegas. Harris was campaigning for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president. (Getty Images)Then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, greets the crowd at the She The People Presidential Forum at Texas Southern University on April 24, 2019 in Houston. (Getty Images)Then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris addresses the crowd at the 2019 South Carolina Democratic Party State Convention on June 22, 2019 in Columbia. (Getty Images)Left to right: (At the time), Democratic presidential candidates former tech executive Andrew Yang; South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg; former Vice President Joe Biden; Sen. Bernie Sanders; Sen. Kamala Harris; and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand take part in the second night of the first Democratic presidential debate on June 27, 2019 in Miami. (Getty Images)Democratic presidential hopeful and then-Sen. Kamala Harris orders food at Taqueria La Juanita on Aug. 9, 2019 in Storm Lake, Iowa. She was on a five-day river-to-river bus tour across Iowa promoting her "3AM Agenda" to Iowans. (Getty Images)Supporters of then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris rally outside of the 2019 Iowa Democratic Wing Ding at the Surf Ballroom and Museum on Aug. 9, 2019 in Clear Lake, Iowa. (Getty Images)Senate Democrats, including then-Sen. Kamala Harris, participate in a moment of silence to honor George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement in Emancipation Hall of the U.S. Capitol on June 4, 2020. (Getty Images)Then-Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris interacts with viewers via a video conference on the third night of the Democratic National Convention from the Chase Center, Aug. 19, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Getty Images)A Biden 2020 campaign flag is draped on the back of an SUV while a screen projects then-Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris during a drive-in watch party for the virtual Democratic National Convention hosted by the Massachusetts Democrats at Suffolk Downs on Aug. 19, 2020 in Boston. (Getty Images)Then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, his wife Dr. Jill Biden, Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff raise their arms on stage outside the Chase Center after Biden delivered his acceptance speech on the fourth night of the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 20, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Getty Images)Then-presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden, along with his running mate, former Sen. Kamala Harris, arrive to deliver remarks at the Alexis Dupont High School on Aug. 12, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Getty Images)Then-U.S. President-elect Joe Biden fist bumps newly sworn-in Vice President Kamala Harris after she took the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021. (Getty Images)Kamala Harris is sworn in as U.S. Vice President by Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor as her husband Doug Emhoff looks on, at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021. (Getty Images)
We know there will be many more photos in her future.
This story was first published in 2021. It has since been updated.
