Gabriel Ocasio-Cortez

Gabriel Ocasio-Cortez (born November 25, 1992) is an American activist, advocate, and musician. He is known for his advocacy on behalf of the Deaf, hard of hearing, and LGBTQ+ communities, and for founding artist's collective turned advocacy organization the Deaf Collective. He has worked in homelessness services and as a realtor. He was named to the Dazed100 in 2021 and the Out100 in 2025. He is the brother of U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Biography Ocasio-Cortez was born in The Bronx on November 25, 1992, but moved with his family just a couple of years later to Yorktown Heights, New York. He was born to Sergio Ocasio-Roman, an architect who was born to a Puerto Rican family, and Blanca Ocasio-Cortez (née Cortés Rivera) who was born in Puerto Rico. At the age of 15, he woke up finding that he'd lost half of his hearing. That same year, he began studying realty law to help protect their family home from foreclosure after his father's death. At the same time, he began struggling with the idea of coming out as gay, due to what he called "a very valid fear... that I would be rejected from my house."

He attended Long Island University, where he studied art and psychotherapy. but has since become a consultant focused on supporting the unhoused.

Prior to 2018, he nominated his sister, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to run for Congress, After his sister's election, though, he faced threats, including potential bombs, and became unable to show open houses due to this.

In November 2020, he founded Deaf-centric arts collective the Deaf Collective, which emphasized supporting Deaf and queer art. He has since emphasized continuing to work on this with other entertainment companies and publishers.

He also hosts raves, and has emphasized ensuring that they are also accessible to the hearing impaired. During these raves, he frequently discusses activism. and a follow-up warning that these viral lies could cause significant real harm. Snopes also debunked it, pointing out the two sites that created the rumor were satire sites that stated explicitly nothing they say is true.

He has emphasized that, in his opinion, "housing is a human right".

He was named to the Dazed 100 in 2021 and the Out100 in 2025.