Lauren Sánchez first made a name for herself as an entertainment reporter on “Extra” and the local news program “Good Day LA.” But since 2023, Sánchez has made headlines for being engaged to Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos.
The couple, who were first linked together in January 2019, have been planning their wedding since May 2023, when the billionaire proposed with a pink diamond that he hid under her pillow.
In addition to their romantic relationship, the two also have a business partnership with Sánchez, 55, as the vice chairperson of the Bezos Earth Fund, an organization working to fight climate change and protect the environment.
Sánchez frequently posts about her work with the organization on social media. She also shares glimpses into her life as a pilot and a New York Times best-selling author.
When she's not juggling multiple professions, Sánchez is busy being a mom to her three children. She shares two kids with ex-husband and Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell, and another with retired NFL player and football analyst Tony Gonzalez. (Bezos was previously married to philanthropist MacKenzie Scott from 1993 until 2019. The pair share four children.)
Read on to learn more about Sánchez, her career as an Emmy-winning journalist and her romance with Bezos, below.
She's gearing up for her wedding to Jeff Bezos
Sánchez spoke with Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb on TODAY on Nov. 20 about preparing to tie the knot with Bezos in between philanthropic work and a tour for her children's book, “The Fly Who Flew to Space.”
“I’m getting to it right now,” she said about the wedding planning. “Very excited about it. Thinking about the dress, I have to say. I do have a Pinterest, I’m just like every other bride. So I do have a Pinterest board.”
She also reflected on how much her life has changed in recent years.
“I never thought at 54 — I’m going to be 55 (on Dec. 19) — that I’d be an author, that I’d be getting married,” she said. “Life is just beginning. When I was 20, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, life is over at 50.’
“Let me tell you: It is not, ladies,” she continued. “It is not over. It is just beginning. It just gets better and better.”
She’s going to travel to outer space
Sánchez has already done plenty of flying on Earth as a pilot, and she now plans to head to outer space as part of an all-female mission aboard a rocket and capsule developed by Bezos’ spaceflight company, Blue Origin.
She has not yet revealed which other women will be joining her on the flight or when the trip will be held, but said on TODAY on Nov. 20 that the women who will be on the flight are “all explorers.”
“When we think of women, a lot of times we don’t think of them as explorers,” Sánchez said. “We think of Magellan, Jacques Cousteau, but we’re explorers.
“And one time, Jeff actually told me that,” she continued. “He goes, ‘You know, you’re an explorer.’ And I was like, ‘What?’ He goes, ‘Yes, you’re a pilot, you like to see the world.’ And I never thought of myself as an explorer. And when he said, ‘OK, why don’t you take an incredible group of women up?’ I was like, ‘I’m picking all explorers.’ And so that they could come back and tell their story about how going to space changes them.”
Bezos flew to the edge of space on a Blue Origin rocket and capsule in 2021 as part of the first unpiloted suborbital flight with an all-civilian crew.
“It completely changed him,” Sánchez said. “He says obviously the overview effect (of Earth) had a big impact on him, but he said right before he went to space his whole family was there greeting him.”
“He said it’s easy to know if you love someone — it’s really sometimes you don’t know how much people love you. And his family, they thought, ‘Maybe we’re saying goodbye (before the flight).’ It was very impactful for him,” she shared.
She’s an Emmy-winning journalist
Sánchez is an Emmy-winning journalist and a former co-host of “Good Day LA” on KTTV and correspondent for "Extra."
She was up for a co-host position on ABC’s “The View” in 1999, but the spot ultimately went to journalist Lisa Ling. Barbara Walters personally called Sánchez to let her know she hadn’t been selected, Sánchez told The Wall Street Journal in 2023.
Sánchez says she still cherishes advice she received from Walters.
“She really helped me with my career. Not only as someone I looked up to, but really guided me when I was up for 'The View,'” she told The Wall Street Journal.
Over the years, Sánchez has made multiple appearances as a guest on “The View.”
She’s a seasoned pilot
Sánchez has long had a passion for aviation. She received her fixed-wing pilot license in the early 2010s and followed that up with a helicopter license, according to a 2023 Vogue profile.
She specializes in aerial filming and served as a consultant on Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In the past decade she founded Black Ops Aviation, which her bio on Bezos' Earth Fund website describes as “the first female-owned and operated aerial film and production company.”
Black Ops Aviation has captured footage of Bezos' Blue Origin missions and has worked on projects for commercial clients including Sony, IMG and Netflix, according to the company's website.
Sánchez has opened up about her desire to see more women in aviation.
“This space is dominated by men,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017. “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.”
She has posted photos and videos of herself piloting helicopters on social media. In one video from August, she appears to take Orlando Bloom and her eldest son, Nikko Gonzalez, on a skydiving adventure.
“I guess you could call me a helicopter mom,” she joked in the caption.
Sánchez has discussed the peace she feels when she’s in the air.
“I want to be in a helicopter all the time,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “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.’”
She has 3 children
Sánchez has two sons and one daughter. She welcomed her eldest son, Nikko Gonzalez, 23, with her ex-boyfriend, retired NFL player Tony Gonzalez, in 2001.
She also has a son, Evan Whitesell, 18, and a daughter, Ella Whitesell, 16, whom she welcomed with ex-husband Patrick Whitesell.
Nikko Gonzalez has appeared with his mom on the red carpet, including when they posed together at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit in September 2004.
Sánchez gushed about her love for her eldest child on Instagram in May.
“Really emotional day for me. My firstborn graduated from college today! 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,” she captioned a throwback photo of him as a little boy.
“I just want you to know how immensely proud I am of you for achieving this milestone,” she continued. “This is just the beginning, Nikko, and I hope you continue chasing your dreams with relentless originality. I love you so much.”
Sánchez does not tend to share her younger kids’ faces on social media, although she did share a cute throwback pic of Ella in honor of her 16th birthday in January 2024.
“In your quiet strength, you’ve grown, not with loud fanfares, but with the gentle grace of a sunrise," the proud mom wrote in the caption. "Each day, you show us the beauty of dedication and the power of quiet dreams. We love you for everything you are, and everything you’re yet to become. I love you beyond words.”
She also honored all three of her children in a Mother’s Day post in May.
“Thank you, Nikko Evan and Ella for making me a mom,” she wrote in the caption.
She has opened up about her struggles with dyslexia
Sánchez has been open about having dyslexia and how having that learning disorder shaped her throughout her life.
In April, she shared an Instagram throwback photo of herself as a little girl holding a book.
"When I see this photo I just want to give this younger version of me a hug and say it’s going to be ok," she wrote in the caption. "Growing up I didn’t know I had dyslexia. It made reading so difficult which made me feel really behind the other kids. To be blunt, I was scared."
She said when she reached community college, a professor "changed the trajectory" of her life by helping her get tested for dyslexia.
"Nothing was the same after that — I learned how to learn — and I’m forever grateful," she wrote.
In September, Sánchez shared a heartwarming video of the moment her community college teacher, Lori, who helped her get tested for dyslexia, surprised her at a book signing.
"I haven’t seen her since my college days, but her impact on my life has been immeasurable," Sánchez captioned a video of her and her professor embracing.
"Back when I struggled to believe in myself, she saw potential in me that I couldn’t see," Sánchez wrote.
She celebrates her love for Bezos on social media
Sánchez has shared sweet messages about her fiancé on Instagram.
In January 2023, a few months before they announced their engagement, Sánchez celebrated Bezos’ 59th birthday on Instagram.
“Happy birthday to the man of my dreams, who lights up my world with his laughter and kind heart,” she wrote in the caption. “You have shown me that no great love is not bravely fought for. Thank you for always being by my side and for being the most loving and supportive partner.”
She could barely contain her excitement when Bezos asked her to marry him. Speaking to Vogue in 2023 about the surprise proposal she said, “When he opened the box, I think I blacked out a bit.”
Sánchez continued to gush about her fiancé in January 2024 when she celebrated his milestone 60th birthday with a throwback photo of him as a toddler.
“Look who’s turning 60! Happy birthday, baby!” she wrote. “Today is another day where your laughter fills our home, and that smile of yours lights up every room. Wishing you an abundance of simple joys and quiet moments of happiness.”
Sánchez has also opened up about how her and Bezos’ personalities complement each other, calling her and her fiancé “the yin and the yang” in a recent interview with People.
“Sitting quietly in the afternoons is not my best quality,” she said.
“Jeff can sit and focus on something for hours, and I’m like, ‘What are we going to do? Where are we going to go?’” she added. “But we’re a good couple in that way.”
She is a published author
In September, Sánchez released a children’s book called “The Fly Who Flew to Space” about a fly named Flynn who dreams of being an astronaut.
In an Instagram post, she wrote about her dyslexia, saying that her younger self would “never have believed” she had written a book.
“I hope ‘The Fly Who Flew To Space’ will inspire kids to chase their dreams, no matter how impossible they may seem,” she said at the time.
Shortly after the book arrived, she celebrated it being named a New York Times best seller. “I hope Flynn’s journey inspires all the kids out there who struggle with learning differences. Remember, there are a thousand ways to be smart!” she wrote on Instagram.
Sánchez added, “Keep dreaming big, stay curious, and never let anything hold you back.”
She celebrated her 55th birthday in December 2024 with a girls' night
Sánchez enjoyed a girls' night to ring in her 55th birthday on Dec. 19.
She uploaded a group snap from their night out and another that appeared to show them dancing the night away on Instagram.
“How it started—how it ended,” she wrote in the caption. “What a truly magical evening. I have never felt more grateful or more loved. Thank you to everyone who reached out and wished me a happy birthday—you lit up my day in ways I can’t describe.”
At the end of the post, she wrote, “Here’s to another year around the sun, illuminated by the people who make every moment shine.”
