Barragán was born in Harbor City, Los Angeles; she grew up the youngest of eleven siblings, raised by immigrants from Mexico in Torrance and the surrounding area, where she attended North Torrance High School and played softball. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2000 and her Juris Doctor at the University of Southern California in 2005. There, where she was part of the "Interdisciplinary Law Journal".