Cruz was born to a Cuban Father, Rafael Cruz, and American mother, Eleanor Darragh, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His parents, who worked in the oil business at the time, were in Calgary on business. His father, Rafael Cruz, was born in Cuba and had been fighting against dictator Fulgencio Batista alongside Fidel Castro. Rafael Cruz would later be against Castro after he became a dictator himself. He was raised in Wilmington, Delaware and in Houston, Texas. Cruz studied at Princeton University and at Harvard Law School.