Artist and model Ella Emhoff under the political spotlight

The stepchild of United States, Vice-President Kamala Harris has been getting more scrutiny after 2021's Inauguration Day

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NEW YORK - "How can you be 'childless' when you have cutie pie kids like Cole and I," Ella Emhoff, United States' Vice-President Kamala Harris' stepdaughter, posted on Instagram over the summer.

The 25-year-old was responding to years-old criticism by American Senator J.D. Vance, the Republican candidate for vice-president.

In an interview on Fox News, he once claimed the country was run by "childless cat ladies" such as Ms Harris, who had no stake in its future.

It was a rare moment of entering the political fray for Emhoff, who has not shied away from the spotlight since Ms Harris took office, but has largely made a name of herself far from the Beltway.

A textile artist and knitwear designer by profession - and a fixture in the New York fashion world and the city's downtown scenes - Emhoff is, to some, a person of fascination who may seem a bit out of place when the cameras pan to her in a group of Washington Democrats.

To others, she is a familiar face at runway shows and parties, who just happens to have Secret Service in tow.

Some who encounter her in New York are surprised to learn she has any connection to the Vice President.

Liz Chick, founder of ReCreate Collective, a creative space in Brooklyn, reached out to Emhoff in 2024 to ask if she was interested in hosting her knitting club, Soft Hands, at the venue.

She knew Emhoff as a model and an artist with almost a half-million followers on Instagram, but was missing one key biographical detail.

When she sent the flier she had made for the knitting event to her partner, "he was like, 'You're doing an event with Ella Emhoff?' And I was like, 'How do you know who Ella Emhoff is?'" she said.