Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

October 13, 2024

Fast Facts
Background
Career Timeline
Why We Love
Surprising Facts
FAQs

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was born on October 13, 1989. She is also known by her initials “AOC.” She is an American politician and activist and has been the Democratic Party’s representative for New York’s 14th congressional district since 2019. Her district includes the eastern Bronx, parts of north-central Queens, and Rikers Island in New York City. She defeated a 10-term incumbent Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley, in what was widely regarded as the biggest upset victory of the 2018 midterm election primaries. In November, she easily defeated Republican Anthony Pappas in the general election and was re-elected in 2020, defeating John Cummings. We are right here to help you celebrate her special day.

Fast Facts

Full Name:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Nickname:

Sandy Ocasio, AOC

Birth date:

October 13, 1989

Age:

Zodiac Sign:

Libra

Height:

5' 5"

Relationship Status:

In a relationship

Background

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was born on October 13, 1989, into a Catholic family in the New York City borough of the Bronx, the daughter of Blanca Ocasio-Cortez and Sergio Ocasio-Roman. Ocasio-Cortez lived in an apartment in the Bronx neighborhood of Parkchester with her family until she was five years old when the family moved to a house in suburban Yorktown Heights. In high school and college, she went by the name Sandy Ocasio. Her father died of lung cancer in 2008 during her sophomore year in college.

After college, Ocasio-Cortez returned to the Bronx and worked as a bartender and waitress to assist her mother, who was facing foreclosure on their home. She later founded “Brook Avenue Press,” a now-defunct publishing company that specialized in books that portrayed the Bronx in a positive light. Ocasio-Cortez has also worked for the “National Hispanic Institute,” a non-profit organization. She also worked as an organizer for Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign during the 2016 primary season. She drove across America after the election, stopping in places like Flint, Michigan, and the “Standing Rock Indian Reservation” in North Dakota. After visiting North Dakota, she received a phone call from Brand New Congress, which was looking for progressive candidates. Ocasio-Cortez has credited Jabari Brisport’s unsuccessful City Council campaign with restoring her faith in electoral politics, running as a socialist candidate, and the Democratic Socialists of America as an organization.

Her campaign was featured on the cover of “The Indypendent,” a free monthly newspaper published in New York City. She was also featured in Michael Moore’s 2018 documentary “Fahrenheit 11/9.” Ocasio-Cortez is the United States Congress’s youngest member. Her first congressional speech was the most-watched Twitter video of a House member on “C-SPAN.” Ocasio-Cortez is widely regarded as one of the most prominent politicians in the U.S. She has been heavily discussed on “Fox News” and “Fox Business” every day since her inauguration in January 2019, with 3,181 mentions in 42 days.

Career timeline

2011

The Graduation from College

Ocasio-Cortez earns a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations and economics from Boston University.

2016

The Role in Bernie Sanders Campaign

Ocasio-Cortez works as an organizer for Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign during the 2016 primary season.

2017

The Launch of Her Congressional Campaign

Ocasio-Cortez launches her campaign while working as a waitress and bartender at Flats Fix, a taqueria in New York City's Union Square.

2018

The Resounding Victory

She receives 57.13 percent of the vote (15,897) to Crowley's 42.5 percent (11,761), defeating the 10-term incumbent by nearly 15% points.

2020

The Twitch Stream Host

Ocasio-Cortez hosts a "Twitch" stream of the social deduction game "Among Us," alongside fellow congresswoman Ilhan Omar and a slew of established streamers including Pokimane, Hasan Piker, DrLupo, and Mxmtoon.

Why We Love Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

She loves gardening
Ocasio-Cortez revealed in an Instagram video that she had won a four-foot-square community garden plot in a raffle. She never hides her awe and keeps all of her followers up to date on what is growing in the urban community garden.
She is a social media maven
Ocasio-Cortez came to the House of Representatives with a sizable social media following. She is so popular on social media that her colleagues appointed her to teach them social media lessons upon her arrival in Congress.
She is a goalgetter
Although the death of her father put her family in a financial crisis, this did not stop her from setting big goals. She even started her campaign while working as a waitress. What's there not to love about this determined woman?

5 Surprising Facts

She is well known for her lipstick
She is well-known for her use of red lipstick, by the U.S. cosmetics brand “Stila Cosmetics.”
There is an asteroid named after her
Ocasio-meteoric Cortez's rise to power has been dubbed "meteoric," but the youngest congresswoman in US history has an asteroid named after her.
Her brother kick-started her career
Gabriel, Ocasio-Cortez’s younger brother, put her name forward to “Brand New Congress,” a progressive organization looking for promising young newcomers to run for office.
Her first speech set records
Ocasio-Cortez's first speech as a member of Congress received over a million views in less than 13 hours.
She is a devout catholic
Ocasio-Cortez was raised Catholic and wrote an article about how her Catholic faith influenced her views on the justice system.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez FAQs

What does Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stand for?

She supports a progressive platform that includes workplace democracy, Medicare for All, tuition-free public college, a federal jobs guarantee, a Green New Deal, and the abolition of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.