In high school and college, Ocasio-Cortez went by the name of "Sandy Ocasio".
Ocasio-Cortez attended Yorktown High School, graduating in 2007. Ocasio-Cortez lived with her family in an apartment in the Bronx neighborhood of Parkchester until she was five, when the family moved to a house in suburban Yorktown Heights. Her father was born in the Bronx to a Puerto Rican family and became an architect her mother was born in Puerto Rico. Ocasio-Cortez was born into a Catholic family in the New York City borough of the Bronx on October 13, 1989, the daughter of Blanca Ocasio-Cortez ( née Cortez) and Sergio Ocasio-Roman.
She was reelected in the 2020 election, defeating John Cummings. She easily won the November general election, defeating Republican Anthony Pappas. She defeated Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley, a 10-term incumbent, in what was widely seen as the biggest upset victory in the 2018 midterm election primaries. On June 26, 2018, Ocasio-Cortez drew national recognition when she won the Democratic Party's primary election for New York's 14th congressional district. The district includes the eastern part of the Bronx, portions of north-central Queens, and Rikers Island in New York City. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of the Democratic Party. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( / oʊ ˌ k ɑː s i oʊ k ɔːr ˈ t ɛ z/ Spanish: born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist.