Alexis Bledel

Bledel was born in Houston, Texas to Nanette (née Dozier), who worked as a gift processor and flight attendant, and Martin Bledel.[1][2] She has a younger brother, Eric.[3] Her father was born and raised in Argentina.[4][5] Her paternal grandfather, Enrique Einar Bledel Huus, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and was of Danish and distant German descent; Enrique was Vice President of Coca-Cola Latin America and the Coca-Cola Inter-American Corporation. Bledel's paternal grandmother, Jean (née Campbell), was originally from New York, and had Scottish and English ancestry.[6][7][8] Bledel's mother, Nanette was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, at the age of eight; Nanette was raised there, and in Mexico City.[9][10] Of her parents' upbringing in Latin America, Bledel has stated "It's the only culture my mom knows from life, and my father as well, and they made the decision to raise their children within the context they had been raised in".[2][9] Bledel grew up in a Spanish-speaking household, and did not learn English until she began school; she considers herself Latina.[2][11]

Bledel attended Catholic St. Agnes Academy in Houston, as well as Baptist and Lutheran schools.[12] Her mother encouraged her to try community theater to overcome her shyness.[13] As a child, Bledel appeared in local productions of Our Town and The Wizard of Oz.[14] She was scouted at a local shopping mall and given work as a fashion model. She went to Page Parkes Center for Modeling and Acting and attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for one year