Sheynnis Alondra Palacios Cornejo is a Nicaraguan model born on 30 May 2000, in Diriamba, Nicaragua to mother Raquel Cornejo
She was the first Nicaraguan to win Miss Universe and the first to win one of the Big Four international beauty pageants.
Palacios was educated at La Salle Managua Pedagogical Institute in Managua.
Palacios enrolled in the Central American University in Managua, graduating with a bachelor's degree in mass communication in 2022.
In order to pay for her education, Palacios made and sold buñuelos with her mother and maternal grandmother, for which she was bullied at school.
In her youth, Palacios suffered from anxiety attacks, which later inspired her to adopt mental health awareness as her pageant platform.
Prior to becoming Miss Universe, Palacios was working as a model, television presenter, and journalist in Nicaragua, and presented a show called "Entiende tu mente".
Palacios entered the pageantry industry in 2016, after being crowned Miss Teen Nicaragua 2016.
She later took a break from pageantry until returning to compete in Miss World Nicaragua 2020, which she went on to win