Nia Temple Booko (née Sanchez; born February 15, 1990) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 2014. Sanchez represented the United States at Miss Universe 2014, where she finished as first runner-up.

Early life

Nia Temple Sanchez was born in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

in February 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, which she entered when she was 13; at 19, she won Miss Citrus Valley USA, which qualified her to take part in the Miss Turismo Latino competition in Ecuador in 2009.

Miss California USA

Sanchez first competed in Miss California USA 2010 (as Miss Citrus Valley USA), and was second runner-up out of 133 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 was crowned as

Miss Nevada USA The Miss Nevada USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Nevada in the Miss USA pageant. While Nevada did well in the early years of the Miss USA pageant, they only placed once from 1987 to 2000. This s ...

by Chelsea Caswell on January 12, 2014, at Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall at

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...

Miss USA 2014

Sanchez won Miss USA 2014 in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, on June 8, 2014, representing Nevada. She was crowned by the outgoing titleholder

Erin Brady Erin Joyce Brady (born November 5, 1987) is an American tv host, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 2013. She then represented the US at Miss Universe 2013 in Moscow, Russia, on November 9, where she placed in the Top 10. Brad ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. During the final question portion of the competition, she was asked by judge Rumer Willis about the high rate of

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

among undergraduate women to which she replied that it is important to be able to defend yourself.

Miss Universe 2014

Sanchez represented the United States at Miss Universe 2014 which was held January 25, 2015, at the U.S. Century Bank Arena at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

in Doral, Miami, Florida and finished as first runner-up to Paulina Vega of

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

2018–present: Media roles

She hosted the documentary film ''Budget or Baller'' (2018) and co-hosted '' Miss Teen USA 2019'' with Tim Tialdo. In January 2024, she launched a podcast called ''Hold My Crown with Nia Sanchez.'' On March 19, 2024, she began appearing in

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...

's reality television series '' The Valley'' (2024), a spin-off of '' Vanderpump Rules.'' The series follows the lives of five couples as they navigate parenthood, family, businesses and relationships. In May 2024, ''The Valley'' was renewed for a second season, with the entire cast returning.

Personal life

Sanchez is a fifth-degree black belt in

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

, which she began practicing when she was 8 years old. She was the first Miss USA ever featured on the cover of '' Tae Kwon Do Times''. She also studied jazz and ballet for five years. After her high school graduation she spent time working as a nanny in Europe, and spent three months serving on a mission in Mexico. She acted in the roles of various Disney princess characters at Hong Kong Disneyland where she worked for seven months in 2012. Sanchez married actor

Daniel Booko Daniel Paul Booko is an American actor and model. He is known as a main cast member on the Bravo (American TV network), Bravo reality television series ''The Valley (TV series), The Valley''. Career He has had roles in ''The O.C'', ''Hannah Mo ...

on October 17, 2015, in

Temecula, California Temecula (; , ; Luiseño language, Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and was Municipal corpora ...

. Together they have three children. In 2024, the Bookos announced they are expecting their fourth child. On 5th June 2025, they welcome their fourth child a girl.

Filmography

References

External links

Miss USA 2014 - Photos from 1st Press Conference

Meet the new Miss Usa Nia Sanchez
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Nia 1990 births Living people Miss USA 2014 delegates Miss USA winners Miss Universe 2014 contestants Actresses from Sacramento, California American actresses of Mexican descent American people of German descent American people of Spanish descent American female taekwondo practitioners People from Menifee, California People from Henderson, Nevada People from Las Vegas American television personalities American beauty pageant winners American beauty pageant contestants 21st-century American sportswomen