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In photos: The rise of Kamala Harris, our country’s first woman of color to serve as vice president

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)
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-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)
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)

We know there will be many more photos in her future.

This story was first published in 2021. It has since been updated.