Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos participate in the Vanity Fair 2025 Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, California. Christopher Polk/Variety/Getty Images
Lauren Sánchez will marry Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos. But who is the pilot and journalist winner of an Emmy Lauren Sánchez prize – and how did she move from local news to the ends of space?
Born in New Mexico in 1969 and created in California, Sánchez studied at El Camino College and later at the University of Southern California. According to the website of his soul mater, at the time it was known as Wendy Sánchez.
He began his career as a speaker at KTVK-TV in Phoenix and began to appear on the “Extra” news program, was co-host of “Good Day La” and was the original host of the dance competition competition series “So You Think You Can Dance”.
At 40, Sánchez became a licensed helicopter pilot – a chase inspired by his father, a flight instructor. In 2016, he founded Black Ops Aviation – the first air film production company detained by a woman. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the company advised on Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” movie.
“I had my job, had a career and then found a vocation,” he told the publication. “I loved entertainment and loved filming, so I managed to combine it all.”
The 55-year-old woman is also vice president of Bezos Earth Fund and is dedicated to “combating climate change and nature protection, as well as early childhood education, programming and housing support”, according to the fund’s website.
In 2025, Sánchez was one of six passengers that were thrown into space by the Blue Origin NS-31 of Bezos, in a brief 10-minute trip.
According to Blue Origin, she “united the mission” and personally selected travel companions, including journalist Gayle King, singer Katy Perry and the researcher and violation survivor Amanda Nguyen. Sánchez also worked with Monse luxury fashion house to draw new flight facts for the mission.
Sánchez said that the view of space was not the one he expected.
“The earth seemed so – so calm,” he said. “And when we look at her, we think,” We’re all together in this. “
Sánchez is also the author of a children’s book, “The Fly who flew to space,” published in English and Spanish in 2024. The book tells the story of a fly named Flynn that travels to space and returns with a new commitment to the planet – a narrative that Sánchez described to People as “a metaphor for curiosity and the search for dreams.”
Sánchez has three children: one son, Nikko, with former NFL player Tony Gonzalez; and Evan and Ella with ex-husband Patrick Whitesell, an entertainment sector executive. In a 2023 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Sánchez said he has a close relationship with Gonzalez and his wife, describing them as his “best friends.”
Sánchez and Bezos, 61, made public their relationship in 2019 after Bezos announced their divorce from his 25 -year -old wife, Mackenzie Scott. The couple was engaged in May 2023.
In January, Sánchez accompanied bezos in the second inauguration of US President Donald Trump. During the ceremony, the couple was sitting next to Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
