Who are America's First and Second families? Meet the Bidens and the Harrises

From parents to grandchildren, we give you a brief family history of US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris

US President Joe Biden, right, is embraced by his son, Hunter Biden, and First Lady Jill Biden after being sworn in during his inauguration on January 20. EPA

Elizabeth Warren, Democratic Senator from Massachusetts, her husband and Meena Harris, the niece of Vice President Kamala Harris, are seen before the inauguration of Joe Biden. EPA

Meena Harris, the niece of Vice President Kamala Harris, takes a selfie with Senator Elizabeth Warren and her husband Bruce Mann. Twitter/ @meenaharris

The son and daughter of President Joe Biden, Hunter and Ashley, wave as they arrive to attend his inauguration at the US Capitol. AP

Joe Biden, flanked by First Lady Jill Biden, son Hunter and daughter Ashley, is sworn in as the 46th US President. AFP

Hunter Biden and his wife Melissa Cohen, with their son, Beau Biden, after the inauguration. AFP

Hunter and Ashley Biden arrive with family members for the inaugural ceremony. EPA

Ashley Biden, daughter of US President Joe Biden, adjusts the hair of her niece, Natalie Biden, before the inauguration. AFP

Vice President Kamala Harris with her great niece, Amara Harris. Twitter/ @meenaharris

US Vice President Kamala Harris, husband Doug Emhoff, her great niece Amara, and family members walk the abbreviated parade route after US President Joe Biden's inauguration. AFP

Maya Harris and Meena Harris, the sister and niece of Vice President Kamala Harris. Twitter/ @meenaharris

Amara Harris, the great niece of Vice President Kamala Harris, poses for a picture with Hillary Clinton. Twitter/ @meenaharris

Members of Kamala Harris's family talk with New York Senator Chuck Schumer during the inauguration. AP

US President Joe Biden prepares with his family before addressing the nation during a 'Celebrating America' event at the Lincoln Memorial. Bloomberg

First Lady Dr Jill Biden, daughter Ashley Biden and family look on during the 'Celebrating America' programme at the Lincoln Memorial. AFP

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr Jill Biden watch a firework display beside family and staff members from the Truman Balcony of the White House in Washington, DC. Reuters

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden pose with their family in front of the statue of Abraham Lincoln during the 'Celebrating America' event at the Lincoln Memorial. Reuters

US President Joe Biden's grandchildren and family members attend the 'Celebrating America' inaugural programme at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. AFP

As President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn into power this week, everybody wants to know more about who's in charge of the US – and who they're related to.

Here, we break down a brief family history of the new First and Second families.

The Bidens

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr, the 46th President of the US, was born in 1942 to parents Catherine Eugenia and Joseph Robinette Sr. The oldest of four siblings, Joe, 78, was raised in the blue-collar city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and worked briefly as an attorney before entering the political arena.

Before that happened, however, he fell in love. During his junior year at the University of Delaware, he met Neilia Hunter. As he graduated in 1965 from the University of Delaware, where he studied history and political science, Biden was accepted into Syracuse University Law School, and the following year married Hunter.

Learn more about the Biden family in the gallery below:

The pair went on to have three children: Joseph "Beau", who was born in 1969; Robert "Hunter", born in 1970; and Naomi "Amy", born in 1971.

Biden was elected as a Delaware Senator aged 29, one of the youngest senators in American history, before tragedy struck, as his wife and youngest child were killed in a car accident.

Beau and Hunter, who were also in the vehicle, were seriously injured, and so Biden skipped the swearing-in ceremony for new senators, taking the oath of office from his sons' hospital room instead.

In 1977, as Biden was still working in the Senate, he married Jill, nee Jacobs. Four years later, in 1981, the couple had a child, Ashley.

As Biden's career has gone strength to strength, his family has continued to expand, with his sons having children of their own. Beau Biden had two children, Natalie and Hunter.

Hunter Biden has three daughters – Naomi, Finnegan and Maisy – with his first wife Kathleen, fathered another son called Lunden Roberts, and recently had another boy with his second wife, Melissa.

They called him Beau, after Hunter's brother, who tragically died in 2015 of brain cancer.

The Harrises

Vice President Kamala Harris – the first woman, black and Asian-American to ever take up the role – also has a sprawling, blended family backing her.

Kamala Devis Harris, 56, was born in Oakland, California, to Shyamala Gopalan and Donald J Harris. Her mother, who had emigrated from Tamil Nadu in India in 1958, was a breast cancer scientist, while her father, who arrived in the US from Jamaica in 1961, is a professor at Stanford University.

See more of the Harris clan here:

She grew up with a younger sister, Maya, 53, who had daughter, Meenakshi "Meena" Ashley Harris, in 1984.

In 2014, Harris married American lawyer Doug Emhoff, and became stepmother to his son Cole, 26, and daughter Ella, 22.

Her niece, Meena, also had children of her own with husband Nikolas Ajagu. They have two daughters, Amara and Leela, making Harris their great aunt.