Harris was born at Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in Oakland, California. She is Tamil Indian American and Jamaican American. Her parents are Shyamala Gopalan Harris (Chennai-born native Tamilian) and Donald Harris. Both Shyamala and Donald Harris studied at the University of California, Berkeley. Harris’ parents divorced in 1971, and in 1976, Harris moved to Canada with her mother and sister. Harris went to college at Howard University in 1986, and got a degree in political science.