Alexandra was born Mar. 20, 1974 in Richmond, Va. She is the daughter of Max Alexander Holshouser (b. Sept. 2, 1949 Richfield, NC) and Helen Spear Youngblood (b. Mar. 15, 1949 Richmond, Va). Ali has one sister, Margaret Anne "Annie" Holshouser (b. Jul. 15, 1982 Raleigh, NC).
In September 1980, Ali and her family moved to Raleigh. She attended Ligon Middle School and later graduated from Enloe High School with honors and membership in the National Honor Society.
Ali attended North Carolina State University. In 1992, during her freshman year, she was honored with the Benjamin Franklin Scholarship, a 5 year scholarship for a dual degree in engineering and humanities. She was also honored with a Hoechst Celanese Engineering Scholarship and was a Semi-Finalist for the NCSU Merit Awards and Caldwell Scholarship.
Ali later decided against engineering and enrolled in the Public and Interpersonal Communication curriculum at NCSU. She was a University Scholar and made the Dean's List.
She was an active member of Mu Beta Psi, a national honarary music fraternity at NC State University.
Ali currently works for the Association Executives of North Carolina as their membership specialist.