Who is Kamala Harris’ much older ex, former mayor Willie Brown – and did they have an affair? The vice-president was 29 when she met a then 60-year-old Brown, who also acted in The Princess Diaries
- Kamala Harris’ relationships have come under increased scrutiny since Joe Biden endorsed her to run for president – including the fact that she dated former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown
- Critics suggest she wouldn’t be where she is today without the help of ‘California power broker’ Brown, who’s also appeared in several Hollywood films including The Godfather and The Princess Diaries
In late July, Brown gave an interview to UK newspaper The Times, which put to him the criticism that Harris owed her career to him after he helped appoint her to several well paying boards in the 90s, giving her a leg up to where she is now. “I don’t think she owes her career to me,” he told the publication. “I think talent is what got her where she is. And she has been through the chairs: DA [district attorney], attorney general, US senator and now vice-president. That’s an indication that she had to be talented.”
The Times notes that Harris was 29 when she met then-60-year-old “California power broker” Brown in the 1990s. The source adds that the relationship lasted about two years, and Brown was separated from his wife at the time.
Here’s what we know about Willie Brown, Kamala Harris’ influential ex:
Willie Lewis Brown Jr is a former mayor of San Francisco
Brown, who is now 90, has had a game-changing career in politics. According to The California State University, he served as the first African-American mayor of San Francisco from 1996 to 2004.
Per his bio on Britannica, he came from a poor background in rural Texas before moving to San Francisco where he made a name for himself in law and politics. He was also the first African-American speaker of the California State Assembly, per the same source.