Cora Skinner was born in Alexandria, VA and grew up in Creston, CA, a town on the outskirts of San Luis Obispo. Growing up on a 70-acre ranch 30 miles from town, Cora was a tomboy. Her older sister and she were always outside playing, and while other girls might enter beauty pageants, Cora’s father would take her target shooting with pistols, and skeet-shooting with shotguns. Cora was involved in gymnastics, diving, dance, track and field, and cheerleading. When her sister began studying fashion design, Cora was her designated model and began to learn about the modeling world.