Beryl Christie Harris is known today primarily as the paternal grandmother of Kamala Harris. Unlike her granddaughter, Beryl lived most of her life outside public attention, and only fragments of her story appear in genealogical records and family photographs.
What follows is a summary of what can be reliably stated about her background and family role.
Early Life And Family Background
Beryl Christie Harris was born in Jamaica, with most genealogical sources placing her birth sometime in the late 19th century, likely before 1900. Public databases such as Geni list a wide birth range, but given that her son Donald J. Harris was born in 1938, it is reasonable to assume Beryl was born decades earlier.
She was married to Oscar Joseph Brown Harris, and available records suggest the couple remained together throughout their lives. There is no indication that she remarried or divorced.
Specific details about her education, occupation, or daily life have not been preserved in public records.
Later Years And Death
The exact date of Beryl Christie Harris’ death is not publicly documented. One of the few visual records of her comes from a family photograph taken in 1990, showing Beryl with her granddaughter Kamala. In that image, she appears elderly, suggesting she passed away sometime after that period.
Beyond this, no official death certificate or burial record is widely cited online.
Her Son: Donald J. Harris
Beryl Christie Harris was the mother of Donald J. Harris, a Jamaican-born economist who later became a professor in the United States. He is best known publicly as Kamala Harris’ father.
Donald Harris was born in 1938 in Jamaica and later pursued an academic career, eventually teaching economics at Stanford University. His intellectual background and Jamaican heritage played a role in shaping Kamala Harris’ upbringing and worldview.
Her Granddaughter: Kamala Harris
Beryl Christie Harris is often mentioned in connection with Kamala Harris’ rise in U.S. politics. Kamala Harris has spoken publicly about the women in her family, including her grandmother, as formative figures in her early life.
Kamala Harris was born in 1964 in Oakland, California, to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother. She attended Howard University and later earned her law degree from UC Hastings College of the Law.
In 2020, she made history by becoming:
- The first woman Vice President of the United States
- The first Black Vice President
- The first Vice President of South Asian descent
Before that, she served as Attorney General of California and as a U.S. Senator from 2017 to 2021.
Why Beryl Christie Harris Is Remembered
Beryl Christie Harris did not live a public life, and very little documentation of her exists outside family context. Her relevance today comes from her place within a family that later became part of political history.
She represents a generation whose lives were rarely recorded in detail, particularly for Caribbean women of her era. The limited information available reflects that historical reality rather than a lack of importance.
What We Can Say With Certainty
- She was born in Jamaica, likely before 1900
- She was married to Oscar Joseph Brown Harris
- She was the mother of Donald J. Harris
- She was the grandmother of Kamala Harris
- She was alive at least until 1990, based on photographic evidence
Beyond that, much of her life remains undocumented.
