Nia Sanchez Biography
Nia Sanchez (full name: Nia Temple Sanchez) is an American model, and television presenter born on 15 February, 1990. She is an beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 2014. She is also the first contestant from Nevada to be crowned Miss USA.
On January 25, 2015, Sanchez represented the United States in the Miss Universe 2014 competition and placed 1st runner-up. Sanchez attended Paloma Valley High School in 2008
Nia studied jazz and ballet for five years. She also visited Kenya at the age of 17. She also spent time working as a nanny in Europe after her high school graduation. Sanchez had visited 12 countries around the world before becoming Miss Nevada USA. Sanchez spent three months of the year serving on a mission in Mexico.
Nia was crowned as Miss Nevada USA by Chelsea Caswell on January 12, 2014, at Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall at University of Nevada, Las Vegas when she was Miss South Las Vegas USA. She won the title on her first attempt.
Nia Sanchez Age
Nia Temple Sanchez was born on February 15, 1990 in Sacramento, California, U.S. She is 29 years old as of 2019.
Nia Sanchez Family
Sanchez was born to David Sanchez, a military veteran born in a military base in Germany, and mother Nicole Sanford, who was born in a military base in Iran. Her paternal grandmother is German while her paternal grandfather, Wilbur Sanchez is Mexican. Her mother is of Spanish, and other European mixture.
Nia’s parents divorced when she was 6 years old and she then briefly lived in a women’s shelter with her mother. At eight years old, Sanchez and her brother (David, Jr.), moved to Menifee, California with their father.
Nia Sanchez Daniel Booko | Nia Sanchez Husband
She began dating actor Daniel Booko before she won Miss Nevada USA. In October 2014, she proposed to Sanchez on a private terrace in New York City. The couple then got married on October 17, 2015, in Temecula, California.
Nia Sanchez Miss USA | Miss USA 2014 Nia Sanchez
She represented Nevada at Miss USA 2014 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was later crowned as the winner by outgoing titleholder Erin Brady of Connecticut on June 8, 2014.
During the competition’s final question portion, she was asked by judge Rumer Willis about the high rate of sexual assault among undergraduate women to which Sanchez responded that it is important to be able to defend yourself.
Sanchez was the first Miss Nevada USA contestant to win Miss USA and also the fourth Hispanic to win Miss USA after Laura Harring in 1985, Lynnette Cole in 2000, and then Susie Castillo in 2003. This was the first time since Miss USA 2007 that the contest had not been held in Nevada.
Nia Sanchez Controversy
A carpetbagger controversy arose regarding her claimed Nevada residence after winning Miss USA. She reportedly created a paper trail to establish her eligibility to compete in Miss Nevada USA after failing to win Miss California USA in 2010, 2011 and 2012. She had worked at Disneyland until November 2013 and had become Miss Nevada USA in January 2014.
This is despite the competition rules state that Miss Nevada USA eligibility requires six months residency in the state as evidenced by two documents from “voter ID or registration card, tax return, school records, employment documents, telephone bill, utility bill, bank statement, credit card statement or lease/deed.”
She is reported to have spoken with Miss Nevada USA pageant director Shanna Moakler to determine the minimum eligibility requirements. Sanchez is represented by AC Talent Agency, which has Las Vegas and Los Angeles offices, but is also listed as based in Los Angeles.
She has stated that she owns a home in Las Vegas and listed herself as based in Los Angeles as a marketing ploy due to the types of opportunities available in Los Angeles relative to those available in Las Vegas
Nia Sanchez Taekwondo
Sanchez began practicing taekwondo when she was eight years old. She is a fourth-degree black belt in taekwondo. Sanchez was the first Miss USA ever featured on the cover of Tae Kwon Do Times Magazine.
Nia Sanchez Disney
Sanchez was a Disney Princess at Hong Kong Disneyland where she worked for seven months in 2012. She has played as Cinderella, Princess Aurora, Belle, and Snow White. Sanchez frequently shares photos in her Disney costumes on her Instagram page. She left Disney to focus full time on pageants.
Nia Sanchez Miss Universe
She represented the United States at Miss Universe 2014 which was held January 25, 2015, at the U.S. Century Bank Arena on the site of the Florida International University in Doral, Miami, Florida.
She finished as 1st runner-up to Paulina Vega of Colombia. Her first-runner up placement on Miss Universe is the highest achievement of the United States since Olivia Culpo won Miss Universe 2012.
Nia Sanchez Say Yes To The Dress | Say Yes To The Dress Nia Sanchez
Nia went for shopping of her wedding dress at Kleinfeld’s on Say Yes To the Dress. It is a Manhattan-based bridal salon that is arguably the world’s finest.
Nia Sanchez Wedding Dress
Sanchez chose a convertible Pnina Tornai for a traditional ball gown look at the ceremony turned curve hugging silhouette at the reception.
