Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

official photo of Ocasio-Cortez, c. 2018

Place of Birth: The Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: October 13, 1989

Ethnicity: Puerto Rican

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, nicknamed AOC, is an American political activist, educator, community organizer, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York, since January 3, 2019.

She is the daughter of Blanca (Cortez) and Sergio Ocasio-Roman.

She was raised Catholic.

Alexandria has said:

One of the things that we discovered about ourselves is that a very, very long time ago, generations and generations ago, my family consisted of Sephardic Jews… [I know this from] doing a lot of family trees in the last couple of years.

She also added:

As is the story of Puerto Rico, we are a people that are an amalgamation… We are no one thing. We are black; we are indigenous; we are Spanish; we are European.

She has roots in the Canary Islands.

Alexandria’s paternal grandfather was named Sergio Ocasio (the son of Gumersindo Ocasio Valentin). Gumersindo was born in Guayama, the son of Estanslao Ocasio and Leonor Valentin.

Alexandria’s paternal grandmother was Thamar Neirida Román Torres (the daughter of Eleuterio Isaac Román González and María Amparo Torres Pérez). Thamar was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Eleuterio was the son of Victor Román Campos and Abdona González Betancourt. María was the daughter of Nicomedes Torres Martínez and Dominga Pérez Maldonado.

Sources: Genealogy of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (focusing on her father’s side) – https://www.geni.com

Alexandria’s paternal grandmother, Thamar Neirida Román Torres, on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Alexandria’s paternal great-grandfather, Eleuterio Isaac Román González, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Alexandria’s paternal great-grandmother, María Amparo Torres Pérez, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org