Kamala Harris’ stepdaughter Ella Emhoff lands IMG modeling contract

Emhoff is excited to be a part of 'change' in the industry

Jan 29, 2021

When her stepmother Kamala Harris became the first Black female Vice President, Ella Emhoff went viral on Twitter thanks to her show-stopping inauguration outfit. Now the 20-year old has landed a contract with the modeling agency.

Thursday, IMG, the international agency that represents numerous modeling heavyweights like Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Karlie Kloss, Miranda Kerr, and Gisele Bündchen, tweeted, “NOW REPRESENTING: #EllaEmhoff!”

Ella Emhoff thegrio.com — In this screenshot from the DNCC’s livestream of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Ella Emhoff, stepdaughter of Kamala Harris, addresses the virtual convention on August 19, 2020. (Photo by DNCC via Getty Images) (Photo by Handout/DNCC via Getty Images)

“Ella communicates this moment in time,” IMG Models president Ivan Bart told the New York Times. “There’s a cheekiness and a joy she exudes.”

On January 20, Emhoff, the daughter of second gentleman Douglas Emhoff and stepdaughter of VP Harris, turned heads during the inauguration while rocking an embellished Miu Miu coat and custom burgundy Batsheva dress. Bart explained that when he saw her he thought, “Wow, she’s communicating fashion.”

“I was pretty surprised when everything with IMG was happening because when I was younger, I never saw that as being part of my timeline,” the senior at Parsons School of Design in New York said on a call from her home in Brooklyn.

NOW REPRESENTING: #EllaEmhoff! pic.twitter.com/1j0dwK8nDy
— IMG Models (@IMGmodels) January 28, 2021

Even though she dabbled in modeling for the last year with a much smaller agent, IMG was still a totally unexpected blessing.

“As someone who, like a lot of young girls out there, had self-confidence issues, it is intimidating and scary to go into this world that is hyper-focused on you and the body,” she admitted. But then she explained that it made her be more open to taking a leap of faith and taking stock of the diversity of models working currently in the spotlight.

That made her excited to be “part of that change,” and embrace being a creative person with “really weird tattoos and kind of a funky haircut.”

“What she wore and who she was that day was in line with the person I met,” Mr. Bart said of the young woman who refers to the Vice President as her ‘Momala’. “That’s why everyone noticed her.”

As for her family’s initial reservations about her entering the cut throat world of modeling, Bart assured, “We will be very careful and think strategically about opportunities that align with her position and aspirations.”