Kamala Harris, from McDonald's ice cream, to slick lawyer and the brink of the White House

The US election is in full swing with millions American voters deciding who will be their next President. And the race to the White House could not be tighter, if the polls and pundits are to be believed. Today, Tuesday November 5 is when the overwhelming majority will cast their vote for either the Democrats or Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump or the current VP Kamala Harris.

It comes after months of fierce, bitter campaigning by both in an election that is still too close to call. While it is not yet clear who will win the race for the White House, many in America and even over here. will be taking a keen interest in what both candidates have to offer.

If Trump wins, this will be his second term as president, having been initially elected as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 until 2021, when he lost to the Democrat's candidate and current President Joe Biden. If Harris wins, she will become the country's first-ever female president, having previously served as the first female Vice President under Biden's presidency and the first woman of colour in the position.

Love him or loathe him everyone knows who Donald J Trump is but just who is Kamala Harris.

The 60-year-old politician once worked the ice cream machine at McDonald's, and now fast forward four decades, she is the Democrat Party leader and is campaigning to be elected as the next US President. Here, we take a look back at her incredible journey.

She grew up with a single mother

Kamala grew up with her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who refused an arranged marriage and immigrated from Chennai, India, to California as a teenager. Shyamala focused on her studies and forged a career as a distinguished breast cancer researcher, the Mirror reported.

Her father, Donald J Harris, is a Jamaican-American economist and professor and met Shyamala through the civil rights movement. But after five years of marriage, the couple divorced, leaving Shyamala as the primary caregiver to Kamala and her sister Maya.

While they grew up engaged with their Indian heritage, they were immersed in Oakland's Black culture. In her autobiography, The Truths We Hold, Harris said: "My mother understood very well that she was raising two Black daughters.

"She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as Black girls and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud Black women." Shyamala sadly died from colon cancer in 2009, but her ambition and drive left a lasting impact.

"Shyamala Harris was no more than five feet tall, but if you ever met her you would think she was seven feet tall," Kamala once said on Instagram. "She had such spirit and tenacity and I'm thankful every day to have been raised by her."

She once worked the ice cream machine at McDonald's

Between her freshman and sophomore years in college, Kamala worked at McDonald's, frying fries, working the ice cream machine and staffing the cash register. But the American politician has spoken fondly about her time spent working at the fast food restaurant chain and claims her job there inspired her to support working families. Harris said she first "did fries" at the chain and worked as a cashier to help pay for her law degree at the University of California in the 1980s.

She went from being a law student to a presidential candidate

Her time at university has been described as the making of her as a politician. At college, she met activist Lita Rosario-Richardson and they bonded over growing up with single mothers and their debates with campus Republicans.

After graduating with a law degree, Kamala started out at the Alameda County District Attorney's Office and in 2003, became the district attorney - the top prosecutor - for San Francisco. She was already making firsts then, being the first woman and first Black person in the coveted role.

She then leveraged a reputation as one of the Democratic party's rising stars, and by 2017, was elected as California's junior US senator. But her presidential bid in 2020 was unsuccessful. Within a year, her campaign had died but Joe Biden propelled her back into the global spotlight.

Her husband and family life

Kamala does not have children of her own but is a step-mother to her husband Doug Emhoff's kids - Cole, 29, and Ella, 24. She is even good friends with their mother, Doug's ex-wife Kerstin Emhoff, and has said that being 'Momala' to her stepchildren is the role "that means the most" to her.

Then-Senator Harris married the lawyer in 2014 and in an interview with Elle in 2019, she explained why she has her own name for being their stepmother. "When Doug and I got married, Cole, Ella, and I agreed that we didn't like the term 'stepmum'. Instead they came up with the name 'Momala'."

If Harris wins, her husband will become the first First Gentleman of the White House. As well as being the first Jewish spouse of an American vice-president, Douglas, 60, carved out a successful career of his own, with a hot shot position as a top US lawyer.

The father-of-two began as an entertainment lawyer before becoming managing director of Venable's West Coast offices and later a partner at DLA Piper, where he earned $1.2million a year, according to reports. Once it was announced that his wife was backing Joe Biden in the 2020 US presidential election, Douglas took a leave of absence from the firm. He is also a distinguished visiting professor at Georgetown University Law Center.

It appears Douglas has taken on his duties with pride, and even called himself a "wife guy" - a slang term referring to a man who is exceptionally supportive of his wife and her career - on Twitter in 2020. During his role as the first Second Gentleman, he focused on equal access to justice and legal representation.

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