Loading AI tools
American news anchor (born 1969) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lauren Wendy Sánchez (born December 19, 1969) is an American journalist, author and philanthropist who gained fame as an entertainment reporter and news anchor. She is a licensed pilot and founder of Black Ops Aviation. In 2023 she became engaged to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Lauren Sánchez | |
|---|---|
Sánchez in 2023 | |
| Born | Lauren Wendy Sánchez December 19, 1969 Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Spouse | |
| Partner(s) | Jeff Bezos (2019–present; engaged) |
| Children | 3 |
She has been a guest host on The View, co-host on KTTV Fox 11's Good Day L.A. and anchor on the Fox 11 News at Ten, and anchor and special correspondent on Extra. Sánchez has also been a regular contributor on shows including Larry King Live, The Joy Behar Show and Showbiz Tonight.[1]
Sánchez serves as the vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, and her philanthropy focuses on fighting climate change, protecting nature, and supporting low income and homeless families and early childhood education. In 2024, Sánchez released her debut children's book, The Fly Who Flew to Space, which became a New York Times bestseller.
Sánchez began her career as a desk assistant at KCOP-TV in Los Angeles. She also held positions as an anchor and reporter at KTVK-TV in Phoenix before joining the syndicated entertainment show Extra as a reporter. From there, Sánchez moved to Fox Sports Net, where she earned an Emmy nomination as anchor and correspondent for the sports magazine Going Deep, served as an anchor for Fox Sports News Primetime and later was an entertainment reporter for FSN's Best Damn Sports Show Period.
In 1999, Sánchez returned to KCOP-TV to anchor UPN News 13,[2] where her team won an Emmy Award.[3] In 1999. Sánchez was co-host on KTTV Fox 11's Good Day LA and anchor on the Fox 11 News at Ten.[4] She was the runner-up in the nationwide hosting competition during season 2 of The View in February 2000. The position was ultimately given to Lisa Ling. In 2005, Sánchez became the original host of FOX's popular dancing competition So You Think You Can Dance. Sánchez left the show after one season to have her second child. In 2009, Sánchez returned to Extra as weekend anchor and special correspondent. Sánchez continues to occasionally work on Good Day LA, Extra and other TV shows.
Sánchez was featured in People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful" issue in 2010 and Us Weekly's "Hot Bodies" issue.[5][failed verification]
In 2016, after learning to fly at age 40 and getting her pilot's license, she founded Black Ops Aviation, the first female-owned aerial film and production company.[6] Sánchez focuses on film and television projects which allow her to use her skills as a licensed pilot.[7] In 2024, she received the Elling Halvorson Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award at the Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards for her expertise as a helicopter pilot and aviation businesswoman.[8] She anticipated flying to space in early 2024 with an all-female crew on board a New Shepard rocket,[9] but as of January 2025[update] that has not happened.
In 2024, Sanchez released her first children's book, The Fly Who Flew to Space, a story about a fly named Flynn who doesn't do well in school but is curious about life and accidentally gets stuck in the cockpit of a rocket that heads into space. The story is inspired by Sanchez' life and her struggles with dyslexia.[10] It debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list on September 29, 2024.[11]
Sánchez is the vice-chairperson of Bezos Earth Fund, and helped promote their Greening America's Cities initiative, a seven-year $400 million commitment to help create and enhance greenspaces in underserved communities.[12][13] In March 2024, she pledged to donate $60 million to create centers that would focus on biomanufacturing and climate change.[14] In October 2024, Sánchez and Bezos pledged $60 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to enable the restoration and improved management of 1,600,000 acres (2,500 square miles) of land across more than a dozen states.[15] Sanchez was also honored by American nonprofit environmental organization Conservation International with its Global Visionary Award for her commitment to supporting pressing nature issues.[12] Sánchez is part of the Bezos Courage and Civility Award which as of 2024 has granted $400 million to philanthropists.[16][17][18] She also works with the Bezos Day One Fund, which helps homeless families with housing and free preschool education.[19] Sánchez makes trips across the United States–Mexico border with This is About Humanity, an organization dedicated to providing support for separated and reunified families at the border.[20] She was honored by the organization at their annual fundraising event in 2023.[21]
Lauren Wendy Sánchez was born December 19, 1969 to a second-generation Mexican-American family in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[22] Sánchez was unaware she was living with dyslexia until she was in college, when a professor noticed and offered to help her get diagnosed.[23] Sánchez's experience with dyslexia inspired her to advocate for educational systems that support all types of learning, and she has been a public supporter of the International Dyslexia Association.[24]
Sánchez's son Nikko was born in February 2001. His father is former National Football League tight end Tony Gonzalez.[22]
In August 2005, she married Patrick Whitesell, a Hollywood agent and founding partner of Endeavor talent agency.[25] Their son Evan was born in 2006 and their daughter Ella was born in 2008.[26][27]
In 2018, Sánchez had an extramarital affair with businessman and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos while they were both married.[28] In January 2019, Bezos and his wife MacKenzie Scott released a joint statement that they would be getting divorced after 25 years together.[29][30] In February 2019, Bezos published a blog post alleging that National Enquirer publisher American Media, Inc. had attempted blackmail and extortion in connection with Bezos's affair with Sánchez.[31] In April 2019, Bezos' divorce was finalized,[32] and Sánchez and Whitesell filed for divorce,[33] which was finalized in October 2019.[34] In 2020, Sánchez was commonly described as Bezos' girlfriend.[35][36][37] On May 22, 2023, Sánchez and Bezos became engaged.[38]
Sánchez has also made cameo appearances in films and television series, including in the following:
| Year | Title |
Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Fight Club | Channel 4 Reporter | Credited as W. Lauren Sanchez |
| 2003 | Hollywood Homicide | Chopper Newscaster | |
| 2004 | The Day After Tomorrow | International Newscaster | |
| Cellular | News Anchor No. 2 | ||
| 2005 | Fantastic Four | KCOP / KTTV reporter | |
| The Longest Yard | Herself | ||
| 2006 | Akeelah and the Bee | Reporter | |
| Zoom | Reporter | ||
| 2007 | Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer | Fox News reporter | |
| 2008 | College Road Trip | News anchor | |
| Killer Movie | Margo Moorhead | ||
| 2010 | The Big Picture | Layla | |
| 2011 | We Bought a Zoo | TV Anchor | |
| 2012 | Celeste and Jesse Forever | News reporter | |
| 2013 | White House Down | Reporter | |
| 2015 | Ted 2 | Boston Newscaster | |
| 2017 | Girlfriend's Day | Newscaster | |
| 2024 | The Trainer |
| Year | Title |
Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Babylon 5 | Newsanchor | Episode: "Epiphanies" |
| 2001 | Girlfriends | Anchorwoman | Episode: "A Full Court Conspiracy" |
| 2002 | The Agency | Newsanchor | Episode: "Finale" |
| 2005 | Eve | Aramanda De La Cruz | Episode: "Brit Better Have My Money" |
| 2008 | Dirt | Entertainment Anchor No. 1 | Episode: "Dirty, Slutty Whores" |
| Gotham Tonight | Lydia Filangeri | 3 episodes; web series that served as a prequel to The Dark Knight | |
| 2010 | NCIS | NCIS Agent Sanchez | Episode: "Double Identity" |
| Days of Our Lives | Cece Chavez | 2 episodes | |
| 2014 | Rake | News Anchor No. 1 | Episode: "Serial Killer" |
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
