Ella Emhoff: Who is IMG's latest model?

Ella Emhoff appeared in the livestream of the 2020 Democratic National Convention in August

Ella Emhoff, the stepdaughter of new US Vice-President Kamala Harris, has landed herself a modelling contract.

The IMG modelling agency announced on Thursday it had signed the 22-year-old, a week after she caught the attention of the world at the inauguration.

"Ella communicates this moment in time," IMG president Ivan Bart told The New York Times. "There's a cheekiness and a joy she exudes."

She joins inauguration poet Amanda Gorman in being on IMG's books.

The agency also boats the likes of Kate Moss, Gigi Hadid and Gisele Bündchen on its roster.

Emhoff is the daughter of Vice-President Harris's husband Doug Emhoff and his first wife, film producer Kerstin Mackin.

Why is she suddenly in the spotlight?

L-R: Doug Emhoff, Vice-President Kamala Harris, Cole Emhoff and Ella Emhoff, at President Biden's inauguration

Emhoff went viral online with her head-turning outfit and playful performance, as her stepmother and President Joe Biden were sworn in.

According to Vogue, Emhoff's inauguration dress, which was designed by Batsheva Hay, "perfectly married her signature Brooklyn quirk with the solemnity of the occasion".

"Her jewel-encrusted Miu Miu coat made it clear that she wouldn't be hewing to any outdated notions of what a White House-adjacent young woman should dress like," the fashion magazine added.

Emhoff was seen on camera waggling her eyebrows as she sat behind former Vice-President Mike Pence, a moment which proved to be a hit with viewers.

Her mother later tweeted to explain that Ella was in fact directing the look at her, but that didn't stop the clip going viral.

So much so that her Instagram followers jumped from 50,000 to more than 300,000 in less than a week.

Emhoff's social media channel shows her humorously modelling a tote bag on her head; as well as her newly-created patchwork uniform she said she wears inside during lockdown.

She can also be found modelling a matching green knitted hat, bikini and bag combo, while proudly displaying her natural arm-pit hair.

Earlier this week, The Times said: "Emhoff is a member of the woke generation. Scrolling through her public Instagram account shows that she crochets her own clothes; doesn't shave her armpits; and has several tattoos."

"Other posts implore her followers to wear facemasks and to stay inside. Emhoff might be new to the political sphere, but she may yet make use of her new platform - and she could certainly be an asset to Harris, a link to the priorities of a demographic that's seeking change on a grand scale. At the very least, she might shake up the wardrobes at the White House."

'The First Daughter of Bushwick'

Emhoff has been labelled as "The First Daughter of Bushwick" [a cool area of Brooklyn, New York], thanks to her millennial hipster penchant for DIY knitting and sticker tattoos.

"I guess there is kind of some anticipation about what we're going to put out there in terms of fashion," she told Vogue, referring to the new occupants of the White House and their families.

Emhoff, who is named after jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, is currently studying fine arts at Parsons School of Design in New York, specialising in textiles.

After she was signed to IMG, her mother Kerstin Mackin tweeted: "Very proud (but nervous) MAMA! Ella will stay true to her cheeky self with all of our support."

By all accounts, she has an excellent relationship with her stepmother too, who she and her brother affectionately call "Momala".

"To my brother and me, you'll always be Momala," Emhoff said last August during an appearance at the Democratic National Convention, which was streamed online.

Writing in Elle in May 2019, Vice-President Harris said:."They are brilliant, talented, funny kids who have grown to be remarkable adults.

"I was already hooked on Doug, but I believe it was Cole and Ella who reeled me in."

In an interview with The Oprah Magazine earlier this year, the politician explained that she took her time before meeting the kids, as she wanted to make a good impression. When she eventually did, she took a tin of cookies that were tied neatly with a bow.

"I was determined not to insert myself in their lives until Doug and I had established we were in this for the long haul," said Vice-President Harris.

"Children need consistency; I didn't want to insert myself into their lives as a temporary fixture because I didn't want to disappoint them. There's nothing worse than disappointing a child."

Emhoff now joins Gorman at IMG, the young poet who also caught viewers' attention at President Biden's inauguration.