She’s The Daughter Of Academic Immigrants

Now that we’re on the topic of Harris’ past, we think it’s the perfect time to delve deeper into her background. She was born in Oakland, California, on October 20, 1964, to immigrants Shyamala Gopalan, a medical researcher from India, and Donald Harris, an economics professor from Jamaica.

The couple, who were active in the civil rights movement, met in the early ‘60s while working on their doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley. Knowing her mother and father’s profession, it seems like Harris was always meant to achieve great things in her life. However, her path wasn’t in academia like theirs were.