Lauren Wendy Sánchez (born December 19, 1969) is an American media personality who gained fame as an entertainment reporter and news anchor. She has been a guest host on ''The View'', co-host on

KTTV KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV ou ...

Fox 11's ''

Good Day LA ''Good Day L.A.'' is an American morning television news and entertainment program airing on KTTV (channel 11), a Fox owned-and-operated television station in Los Angeles, California, owned by the Fox Television Stations subsidiary of Fox Corpo ...

'' and anchor on the Fox 11 ''Ten O'clock News'', and anchor and special correspondent on ''

Extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

.'' Sánchez has also been a regular contributor on shows including ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles ...

'', '' The Joy Behar Show'' and ''

Showbiz Tonight ''Showbiz Tonight'' is a defunct American entertainment news program that aired from February 20, 2005, until February 6, 2014, on HLN. ''Showbiz Tonight'' was hosted by A. J. Hammer at CNN New York at the time of its cancellation. The show r ...

''.

Career

Sánchez began her career as a desk assistant at

KCOP-TV KCOP-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox outlet KTTV (channel 11). Both station ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. She also held positions as an anchor and reporter at KTVK-TV in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

before joining the syndicated entertainment show ''

'' as a reporter. From there, Sánchez moved to

Fox Sports Net Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...

, where she earned another Emmy nomination as anchor and correspondent for the sports magazine ''Going Deep'' and entertainment reporter for FSN's '' Best Damn Sports Show Period''. In 1999, Sánchez returned to KCOP-TV to anchor UPN 13 News, where she won an Emmy Award. Sánchez also landed the entertainment reporting gig for FOX 11's 10 p.m. news on KTTV in L.A. 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 Lisa J. Ling (born August 30, 1973) is an American journalist, television personality, and author. She is currently the host of '' This Is Life with Lisa Ling '' on CNN. Previously, she was a reporter on Channel One News, a co-host on the ABC da ...

. In 2005, Sánchez became the original host of FOX's popular dancing competition ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and ha ...

''. 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 ''

'', ''

'' and other TV shows. Sánchez was featured in

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

magazine's "50 Most Beautiful" issue in 2010 and

Us Weekly ''Us Weekly'' is a weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to American Media Inc ...

's "Hot Bodies" issue. In 2016, she founded Black Ops Aviation, the first female-owned aerial film and production company. Sánchez now focuses on film and television projects which allow her to use her skills as a licensed pilot of airplanes and helicopters.

Personal life

Lauren Wendy Sánchez was born to a second-generation Mexican-American family in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sánchez has a son, Nikko, born in 2001, from her relationship with former NFL

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

Tony Gonzalez Anthony David Gonzalez (born February 27, 1976) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, he is the NFL's all-time leader ...

. In August 2005, she married

Patrick Whitesell Patrick Whitesell (born February 4, 1965) is an American businessman and executive chairman of Endeavor, an entertainment and media agency. He joined the Endeavor Talent Agency as a partner in February 2001, where he was a member of the company ...

, a Hollywood agent and founding partner of Endeavor talent agency."Dance Host Sanchez Weds Hollywood Agent"
''

''. August 24, 2005. Sánchez has a son and daughter with Whitesell: Evan, born 2006, and Ella, born in 2008. In February 2019,

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

founder

Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ''né'' Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor, investor, and commercial astronaut. He is the founder, executive chairman, and former preside ...

published a blog post alleging that ''

National Enquirer The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years. The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays sources for tips, a common practice in tabl ...

'' publisher American Media, Inc. had attempted blackmail and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

in connection with Bezos' alleged affair with Sánchez. In April 2019, Sánchez and Whitesell filed for divorce, which was finalized in October of that year. In 2020, Sánchez was commonly described as Bezos' girlfriend.

Filmography

Sánchez has also made cameo appearances in films and television series, including in the following:

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Lauren 1969 births American film actresses American infotainers American reporters and correspondents American sports announcers Living people Television anchors from Los Angeles Participants in American reality television series People from Albuquerque, New Mexico Women sports announcers American television personalities of Mexican descent American women television journalists American women aviators Whitesell family 21st-century American women American actresses of Mexican descent