Nia Sanchez

Biography

Nia Temple Booko (née Sanchez; born February 15, 1990) is an American reality television personality and former beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 2014. Sanchez represented the United States at Miss Universe 2014, where she was the first runner-up. From 2024 to 2026, she appeared in the Bravo reality television series The Valley, a spinoff of Vanderpump Rules.

== Early life == Nia Temple Sanchez was born in Sacramento, California on February 15, 1990, to David Sanchez, and Nicole Sanford. Her paternal grandfather, Wilbur Sanchez, is an American of Mexican descent and her paternal grandmother is German, while her mother is of Spanish, English, and other European heritage. Her parents divorced when she was six. When she was eight, she and her brother moved to Menifee, California with their father, and she went on to graduate from Paloma Valley High School in 2008.

== Career ==

=== 2003–2017: Pageantry === Her first beauty pageant was the Miss San Jacinto Valley, when she was 13. At 19, she won Miss Citrus Valley USA, which qualified her for Miss Turismo Latino in Ecuador in 2009.

==== Miss California USA ==== Sanchez was second runner-up at Miss California USA 2010 (as Miss Citrus Valley USA), against 132 contestants. Sanchez has also competed in and won Miss Riverside County USA 2011 and Miss Hollywood USA 2012.

==== Miss Nevada USA ==== As Miss South Las Vegas USA, Sanchez won Miss Nevada USA on January 12, 2014, at Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

==== Miss USA 2014 ====

Sanchez won Miss USA 2014 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on June 8, 2014, representing Nevada. She was crowned by the outgoing titleholder Erin Brady of Connecticut. During the final question portion of the competition, she was asked by judge Rumer Willis about the high rate of sexual assault among undergraduate women to which she replied that it is important to be able to defend yourself.