She Emhoff, Kamala Harris ’stepdaughter, has signed with IMG Models after a striking appearance at the January 20 inauguration.
Emhoff, 21, is the daughter of Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, and his first wife, Kerstin, a film producer.
A fine arts student at the Parsons School of Design in New York City, which specializes in textiles, Emhoff had held conversations with the agency since her stepmother’s career pushed her into the spotlight.
His Miu Miu coat and viral eyebrows at Mike Pence sealed the deal: by the day of the inauguration he had about 50,000 followers on Instagram and a week later the total had surpassed 300,000.
Ella Emhoff, pictured alongside her father Doug at the opening, has signed with IMG Models
Pence’s 21-year-old eyebrow went viral after the moment was captured on camera
Emhoff now joins the ranks of Gigi Hadid, Kate Moss, Gisele Bundchen and Alek Wek.
His signing comes on the day of Amanda Gorman, the 22-year-old young poet who performed at the inauguration.
“It’s no longer about shape, size or gender,” said Ivan Bart, president of IMG Models.
‘She communicates this moment in time. There is a joy and a joy that emanates.
She said her response upon seeing her at the opening was, “Wow, she’s communicating fashion.”
Emhoff, with her unconventional appearance and her 18 tattoos (including a cow, a vase, bacon and eggs, as well as several she made herself during the closing), said Bart’s approach was recovering, even though he had been devoting himself to modeling smaller agent.
“I was quite surprised when it all happened with IMG because when I was younger, I never saw it as part of my timeline,” he told The New York Times.
“Like someone who, like many young girls, had self-confidence issues, it’s intimidating and terrifying to get into this world that’s focused on you and your body.”
Amanda Gorman, the young laureate poet, represented at the inauguration, also signed with IMG
Gisele Bundchen (left) and Gigi Hadid are among the famous faces who will be part of the IMG formation
She said she was encouraged by the diversity of models working today and the opportunity to be “part of that change.”
Bart told the newspaper that he noticed Emhoff raising funds for Harris during the presidential primary.
Emhoff joins Alek Wek at IMG Models
“I noticed her as soon as she walked in the door,” he said.
He said that during the summer, they started talking about the possibility of him joining IMG.
They got a call Zoom and she showed him her loom and some of her knitwear.
Emhoff has often spoken of her strong family unity, with her 26-year-old brother Cole, parents and Harris, whom she refers to as “Momala, the world’s greatest stepmother.”
The brothers, christened with jazz legends John Coltrane and Ella Fitzgerald, name their father Doug.
Prior to the inauguration, she told the New York Times that she hoped her father would start knitting, “like me.”
Her mother tweeted the news of her deal with IMG, saying, “MAMA very proud (but nervous)! She will stay true to her cheeky person with all our support.
Emhoff said, “Obviously I have a bigger platform now and I’m happy to share a lot of things that really matter to me and that I can do well.”
She said she was “excited to do things like wear fun clothes” and “bring some Bushwick to the realm of high fashion.”
He also hoped to raise funds for knit artists.
“There are a lot of people who need a lot of help,” he said.
“If I can do something to help with that, I want to, and I think this opportunity will be really beneficial for that.”