Valenzuela was born in 1984 to a Mexican-American mother and an African-American father in El Paso, Texas.

[1][2] As they weren't married, her mother, Mary Valenzuela, was not allowed to include her father on the birth certificate, and she gave her daughter her surname.

[5] In April 2019, Valenzuela announced that she would run as a Democrat in the 2020 elections for the United States House of Representatives in Texas's 24th congressional district, held by Republican Kenny Marchant.

[7] Valenzuela defeated Olson in the runoff, and faced Beth Van Duyne in the November general election.

[9] In March 2022, President Joe Biden appointed Valenzuela as the regional administrator for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), overseeing Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Arkansas; this is the same position held by Van Duyne during the Trump administration.