Little-Known Facts About Lauren Sanchez

Lauren Sanchez is best known as the fiancée to the second-richest man on the planet, with chatter about her and Jeff Bezos' much-anticipated wedding leading to a number of debunked rumors. And while she may now exist in the public spotlight, Sanchez has had plenty of life experience before she became well-known. In fact, some might not know just how humble her origins were. Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1969, Sanchez told The Hollywood Reporter about her upbringing saying, "We came from nothing. I used to sleep in the back of my grandmother's car when she would go clean houses, and I've been fortunate enough to have a career."

Her latest highly-publicized endeavor is leading an all-female space expedition on one of her husband's Blue Origin rockets that will, according to a press release, "challenge their perspectives of Earth, empower them to share their own stories, and create lasting impact that will inspire generations to come." Sanchez revealed a star-studded team of fellow crew members, including Katy Perry, Gayle King, Amanda Nguyen, Aisha Bowe, and Kerianne Flynn. And while her most recent pursuit has certainly been generating a lot of high-profile buzz around her, there are lots of lesser-known details that have shaped Sanchez into the star-reaching woman she is today.

After graduating from the University of Southern California, Lauren Sanchez moved to Phoenix, Arizona to work as a local news anchor before eventually getting a job hosting the nationally broadcast show "Extra." In a nod to her Mexican-American heritage, Page Six reported that she told "Extra" years after working there that, "When I first became a reporter, I did it because there was no one else I thought that looked like me." The outlet also reported that Sanchez was the host for Fox's first season of "So You Think You Can Dance," but in a controversial though disputed report, claimed that she was replaced because she was pregnant.

But Sanchez eventually became a household face for Los Angelenos as she co-hosted "Good Day LA" from 2011 until 2017. She also has a lengthy list of on-screen credits including portraying a newscaster in such films as "The Day After Tomorrow," "Ted 2," and "We Bought A Zoo." And as a nod to some of the tenacity that has motivated her from little-known to well-known, TMZ reported that after auditioning and failing to be a co-host of "The View" back in 2000, Sanchez was finally brought on to the show to serve as a co-host 14 years later. It makes for a quaint and impressive origin story culminating into the lavish life Sanchez lives now.

While everyone might know Lauren Sanchez as a soon-to-be astronaut, one detail people might not know about her childhood is that flying has always been in her blood. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sanchez's father, Ray Sanchez, worked as a flight instructor and mechanic who helped rebuild planes. She told the outlet that, "I was always in the hangar growing up but knew nothing about flying." In fact, before she decided to fly planes, Sanchez had dreams of being a flight attendant. The Daily Mail reported that those dreams were dashed when she applied to be a stewardess and was told she was overweight at only 121 pounds. 

The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Sanchez began learning to fly planes when she was an anchor and eventually got her license and began flying in 2011, but she later decided she wanted to learn how to fly helicopters, which proved to be a different and difficult beast, telling the outlet, "You go to school for a year, take a test, then you do a check ride — you go up with an instructor, and they take you through the emergency procedures." She added, "If you lose your engine, he turns off the throttle, and you have to get down. It's like life. It's good if everything goes right, but if s*** hits the fan, can you survive?" 

After receiving her helicopter license, Sanchez founded Black Ops Aviation, which the The Wall Street Journal reported as the first female-owned and operated aerial film and production company. Using her aviation knowledge, the company specializes in aerial filming, with Sanchez having worked as a consultant on Christopher Nolan's 2017 WWII epic "Dunkirk" as well as with "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwick on her 2019 film "Miss Bala."

Sanchez told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017 that the aviation space "is dominated by men," then adding, "But there's nothing physical about flying a helicopter. You can be 5-foot-1 or 6-foot-4. There's no reason more women aren't in this." In fact, Sanchez feels more at home in the sky than on the ground, telling the outlet that, "I want to be in a helicopter all the time. Life can be so chaotic with so much going on. Lift off and you're in an energy space that no one else is in. It's calming. When I'm up there, I'm completely satisfied. I'm like, 'This is where I need to be.'" Then, in a small twist of fate, Jeff Bezos, who is also a helicopter pilot, hired her company to film his Blue Origin rocket launches. And according to The Wall Street Journal, it was in their helicopter rides together that their romance blossomed. While it might sound like a fated meeting, there are some red flags that Bezos and Sanchez's relationship might not last.

Lauren Sanchez has also inspired children by writing about aviation. Adding to her long list of credentials of what she does for a living, Sanchez wrote "The Fly Who Flew To Space" and told People that "I'm so humbled by it, and I'm so thrilled my kids get to see me do this because they encouraged me to write this for years and I finally made it happen." Sanchez discussed her struggles in school, with poor grades being affected by undiagnosed dyslexia. But once she was diagnosed, Sanchez said that her grades jumped and she was able to transfer to the University of Southern California. Sanchez told People, "Never in a million years did I think a dyslexic kid from Albuquerque would ever be an author."

And given that the book is about a fly who accidentally gets stuck in a rocket and sent into outer space, Sanchez clearly put a lot of herself into the book. In fact, she told People that the book was directly inspired by a time when Sanchez was flying with her kids, who noticed that a fly had been trapped inside with them, leading the kids to worry that it was separated from its family. But it left Sanchez to wonder, "I don't know, she gets to see the world from a completely different perspective." It's all very cute — although it has also rustled up some idea-theft legal drama.

The boy who made Lauren Sanchez a mom is now all grown up and hitting the runway. Sanchez had her first son, Nikko Gonzalez, with former boyfriend and former NFL tight end Tony Gonzalez. Nikko is now 24 years old and has made a name for himself as a model, with Business Insider reporting that he walked a menswear runway for Dolce & Gabbana at the 2024 Milan Fashion Week. In photos, Nikko can be seen wearing an all-black tuxedo, black shoes, and a matching short V-neck shirt accessorized with a large golden brooch. And don't worry, mom didn't miss Nikko's big day. She later posted a video of his walk on Instagram with a caption that read, "Just a proud mama. It was such a gift to watch my son [Nikko] walking the runway for @dolcegabbana in Milan. Congrats, my love."

2024 was a big year for Sanchez to show support for her Nikko, with him also graduating from college the same year. She took to Instagram to commemorate the moment by captioning a number of childhood photos of Nikko and writing, "My heart is overflowing with pride for this incredible young man. It seems like yesterday your dad and I were carrying you in our arms." I must be quite the feeling to watch her little boy grow up and turn into a big deal — just like his mom.