The history-making Democrat will take the role after Andrew Cuomo resigned over harassment claims.
Ms Hochul will take over as the top politician in the fourth most populous US state in just two weeks' time.Described by her predecessor as "smart and competent", the 62-year-old is a centrist Democrat from the Buffalo area of New York state.
One of six children, she gained an undergraduate degree from Syracuse University, and a law degree from Catholic University of America. From there, she started off working as an aide on Capitol Hill and worked in local positions before being elected to Congress. In 2008, the governor-to-be caused controversy when serving as the Eerie county clerk, after she opposed then-governor Eliot Spitzer's plan to give drivers' licences to undocumented immigrants. She walked back on the comments 10 years later, stating, "it is a whole different era out there".