What Did Lauren Sánchez Bezos Do Before She Was Famous?

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It's fair to say that Lauren Sánchez Bezos isn't interested in being a mere trophy wife. Since walking down the aisle with one of the richest men in the world, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, she has been busying herself as a New York Times best-selling children's author, an environmental advocate, and, in a bid to give things back, a keen philanthropist. Let's not forget that along with Gayle King and thanks to a little help from her other half, of course, the New Mexico native also became the first ever female journalist to journey into deep space! In fact, you could say that after meeting Bezos, she was never the same again.

While Sánchez Bezos may not have had the bank balance to pursue such avenues before meeting her multibillionaire husband, she still managed to make a name for herself in several different fields. From high school cheerleading and Hollywood cameos to helicopter piloting and hosting prime-time talent shows, here's a look at what the socialite did before marrying into money.

Whether it's celebrating his "goofy" sense of humor or gushing over his corporate strategies, the oft-shady Lauren Sánchez Bezos has fast become her husband Jeff Bezos' biggest cheerleader. But did you know that back in her teenage years, the socialite spent much of her extracurricular time literally shaking pom-poms?

Yes, while studying at Del Norte High School in her Albuquerque, New Mexico, hometown, Sánchez Bezos was an invaluable member of its cheerleading squad. But it wasn't just on the field where the future TV reporter, who also joined the student assembly, fraternized with the footballers. She also dated several, too. "She could pretty much get who she wanted," one such player, Ian Smelser, told The Times.

But this popularity with the school's star athletes also caused a problem with some of her fellow cheerleaders. "Boys found Wendy attractive and the girls were either drawn to her or pushed away — mostly out of jealousy," Smelser went on to add. Of course, Sánchez Bezos' lengthy relationship history includes several professional footballers such as NFL star Anthony Miller and the father of her first-born son Nikko, veteran tight end Tony Gonzalez.

Although Lauren Sánchez Bezos never has to worry about putting food on the table ever again, it was a very different story growing up in her Albuquerque, New Mexico, hometown. In fact, during a 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the philanthropist claimed that she 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," Sánchez Bezos explained about her rise from rags to riches. "Working is part of my DNA. I enjoy it, and now I want to give back." Indeed, in order to get a little bit of extra pocket money, the future TV host took a part-time job at local water park The Beach.

It's not known exactly how long Sánchez Bezos worked there, or exactly what her role entailed. But we do know that it was the scene of one of her first heartbreaks. Yes, while speaking to The Times, former boyfriend Tom Wade revealed that they split up at The Beach. But he still had nothing but good things to say about the individual he knew as Wendy: "So many high school girls, especially if they're dating the football star, can't handle the conversation ... But I remember having lots of in-depth conversations with Wendy about my dreams and aspirations, and she would truly listen."

In 1989, the oft-tragic Lauren Sánchez Bezos applied for a flight attendant position with Southwest Airlines. But her ambitions of spending her workdays thousands of feet up in the air were quashed when she was informed that she was just slightly over the 115-pound target weight.

Speaking to Wall Street Journal Magazine several decades later, Sánchez Bezos revealed that as an 18-year-old, she was 6 pounds too heavy to join the airline. And she also admitted that if she could go back in time, her dreams would focus on taking the pilot's seat instead. Of course, the former reporter had the last laugh when she got the chance to fly higher than nearly every human in history.  

Indeed, the New Mexico native further proved her head for heights when she famously joined the likes of Gayle King and Katy Perry aboard the all-star Blue Origin flight into space in 2025. "I looked out of the window and we got to see the moon," Sánchez Bezos said (via BBC News) immediately after the expedition, which was funded by her husband Jeff Bezos. "Earth looked so quiet ... It was quiet, but really alive."

After studying acting at the University of New Mexico, Lauren Sánchez Bezos decided that her talents might be best served in the realm of fact rather than fiction. Indeed, the environmental advocate went on to further her education at two other universities before stepping out into the big wide world.

Sánchez Bezos first graduated from El Camino College with a degree in journalism. According to the institution's official website, she also contributed to the student newspaper, The Union, during her time there, when she went by the name of Wendy Sánchez.

Sánchez Bezos then transferred to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, having earned a place in its communications program. It was a move engineered by a professor who helped her to discover she had dyslexia. "I've taught thousands of students, but Lauren was memorable because she seemed so driven," the professor, Lori Medigovich, later told Vogue. "Lauren knew exactly what she wanted to do." She also gained some valuable work experience at Los Angeles' KCOP-TV as an intern during her studies.

Lauren Sánchez Bezos is renowned for her sense of style, particularly since her relationship with one of the world's richest men, Jeff Bezos, boosted her wardrobe budget beyond most fashionistas' dreams. And it turns out that she's always been able to work it.

Indeed, in 1990, Sánchez Bezos was crowned the victor of the Models World Magazine Cover Girl Competition. "Win­ning the cover of Models World Mag­a­zine has been the high­light of my mod­el­ing ca­reer," the then-unknown told The Albuquerque Journal at the time. "I have never been so ex­cited or so in­spired to stretch and grow."

"One of the things that makes me hap­pi­est is com­bin­ing my goals of mod­el­ing with keep­ing my­self in ex­cel­lent phys­i­cal con­di­tion," added Sánchez Bezos, whose recent dramatic transformation has caused quite a stir. But the future star got more than just a glossy magazine cover. Her triumph also inspired the Albuquerque City Council and Governor Garrey Carruthers to christen the date of March 16 "Wendy Sánchez Day."

You might not be aware that Lauren Sánchez Bezos had ambitions of becoming a movie star before pivoting to journalism. Yes, in her late teens, the New Mexico native studied speech and acting at her home state's main university. And although this didn't lead to an instant Hollywood career, she did eventually get to apply what she'd learned.

In 1997, Sánchez Bezos appeared in an episode of "Babylon 5." The role wasn't exactly a stretch: She played a network TV reporter. However, she must have impressed various casting directors because she later landed similar roles in the likes of David Fincher's cult classic "Fight Club," disaster movie "The Day After Tomorrow," and the first of many big-screen iterations of the Fantastic Four.

Sánchez Bezos had been required to flex her acting muscles a little more in several other roles, though. She was given actual character names in slasher horror "Killer Movie," psychological thriller "The Big Picture," and prequel web series "Gotham Tonight." And in 2010, she added soap opera star to her resume with two "Days of Our Lives" appearances as roving reporter Cece Chavez.

As the wife of one of the wealthiest men in the world, Lauren Sánchez Bezos may now be more likely to grace the news headlines than report on them. But for a good two decades, the socialite was a regular face on Los Angeles TV news desks.

Indeed, Sánchez Bezos started her career at KCOP-TV, the same network where she had interned, as a desk assistant. She later moved in front of the camera at Phoenix's KTVK-TV as an anchor before going national with a reporting role on showbiz show "Extra."

Proving her versatility, Sánchez Bezos then transferred to Fox Sports News, anchoring its prime-time slot and serving as a correspondent on its magazine show "Going Deep." The New Mexico native also lent her talents to KTTV Fox 11's Good Day LA and UPN News before making a move to the Big Four. "When I first became a reporter, I did it because there was no one else I thought that looked like me," Sánchez Bezos told "Extra" (via Page Six) about her career motivation.

Lauren Sánchez Bezos has had the chance to make several acceptance speeches over the years. In 2024, she was presented with theElling Halvorson Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award for her work with her aerial film production firm, Black Ops Aviation. And a year later, she was honored with the Global Gift Women Empowerment Award for her advocacy for climate and social justice. But you might not know that she also emerged victorious at one of the TV industry's biggest nights of the year.

Indeed, Sánchez Bezos was first recognized for her reporting talents at the Emmy Awards during her time with Fox Sports Net, picking up a nomination for her work on magazine show "Going Deep." And then in 2001, she and the rest of her UPN News 13 team at KCOP-TV went one better by winning a coveted statuette for LA's best daily news program longer than 35 minutes.

Not everyone was so enamored with the latter, however. In a scathing review for the Los Angeles Times, Howard Rosenberg wrote, "A wag on the Internet swears he once heard glossy Sánchez pronounce the silent 'p' in 'corps' and the silent 'p' in 'coup.' I'm not interested. I'm diverted by the teleprompter being reflected in her lips."

Lauren Sánchez Bezos has graced several glossy magazines since she started dating the second-richest man in the world, most notably two striking photo shoots for Vogue. First, there was the 2023 issue, in which she and Jeff Bezos posed in the front seat of a truck, and then in 2025, she was given the honor of a front cover, having just walked down the aisle in what was billed as the wedding of the year. However, her first taste of the newsstands centered on a very different demographic.

Indeed, in 2003, Sánchez Bezos was crowned America's Hottest News Anchor in a publication geared toward Latino men, Open Your Eyes (OYE). The children's author, who at the time was working as the UPN News 13 anchor for KCOP-TV, even happily posed for the feature in an outfit slightly more revealing than allowed on television. 

"Newscasters just aren't supposed to be this hot," came the introduction for the 10-page piece (via Los Angeles Times). "It's downright distracting. How's a man supposed to pay attention to what's going on in the world when the news anchor looks like she belongs on the Big Screen or — better yet — the Victoria's Secret catalog." Here's a look at her best and worst looks yet.

In 2005, Lauren Sánchez Bezos made the step up from reporting on showbiz to becoming a showbiz personality in her own right when she was appointed the host of the inaugural season of "So You Think You Can Dance." Unfortunately, her prime-time gig didn't exactly run smoothly.

The reviews for the talent show were particularly scathing, and much of the ire was directed toward Sánchez Bezos. Entertainment Weekly described her as "a woman who seems to have received the equivalent of Botox injections for both her voice and her personality — that is to say, she's so smoothly void of edge that it's creepy." Variety, meanwhile, essentially described her as inessential, also noting the excruciatingly embarrassing moment when she mistook a contestant's boyfriend for her dad!

Sánchez Bezos' time on the show was brief, too. She was replaced by British presenter Cat Deeley for the second season, with Nigel Lythgoe allegedly claiming that this was due to the fact she'd gotten pregnant with her second child. Understandably, the journalism graduate was left enraged by the reasoning, although Fox bosses argued that the head judge's explanation was only a joke.

Despite the fact that both her mother and father have been pilots, Lauren Sánchez Bezos decided to forgo the world of aviation until she reached the age of 40. And never one to do things by halves, she fully committed to life in the sky.

Indeed, firstly, Sánchez Bezos started flying lessons with a California instructor who soon discovered that his work wouldn't be as straightforward as he thought. "I said, 'The only thing I know is to stay away from the propeller,'" Sánchez Bezos recalled to People about her introduction to helicopters. "He goes, 'OK, we have a lot of work to do here.'" Of course, she soon picked it up and eventually acquired her piloting license, no mean feat considering that only 3% of pilots in the field are women.

In fact, Sánchez Bezos dreams of inspiring more to take the leap. "I just think that growing up, women don't see a lot of female aviators," she added, "And so I hope women might see me as a pilot and say, 'Hey, I want to do that!' It's really an incredible experience, and I love it."

In addition to appearing as a news reporter in several films, Lauren Sánchez Bezos has graced the screen in a more action-packed capacity. Indeed, although you might not be able to spot her, the socialiteflew aircraft for an episode of procedural "9-1-1" and Gina Rodriguez thriller "Miss Bala."

Perhaps most impressively, Sánchez Bezos also gave Christopher Nolan the benefit of her flying expertise on his Oscar-winning World War II picture "Dunkirk." And her efforts were all undertaken under the umbrella of Black Ops Aviation, whose launch in 2016 made her the first female aerial film production firm owner in the field.

Sánchez Bezos was mentored in the art of Hollywood-friendly air navigation by Steve Safford, head of production company Studio Wings, and now has her own Santa Monica Airport hangar, which hosts an Astar 350B helicopter she's named Whiskey Whiskey alongside a Cirrus plane.