Meet Lauren Sánchez, Jeff Bezos’ glamorous girlfriend – the TV anchor-turned-helicopter pilot once starred in Fight Club and even bagged an Emmy award for her reporting

Jeff Bezos may be among the richest and perhaps most polarising multibillionaires in the world, but one person loves him dearly … his long-time partner Lauren Sánchez.

The 51-year-old news anchor and pilot has been thrust into the limelight due to her roller coaster romance with the Amazon founder. It all started when she was caught in the US$38 billion divorce between Bezos and his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott in 2019. Only a day after the ultra-expensive divorce had been finalised, the National Enquirer published intimate details of Bezos’ relationship with Sánchez.

Let’s take a look at the life of the woman who is dating one of the world’s richest people …

Her early life and education

Sánchez was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico to flight instructor and mechanic Ray Sánchez and Eleanor Sánchez, who also has a pilot’s license. She went on to follow in her parents footsteps, becoming a qualified helicopter pilot and later even launching her own aerial filming company, Black Ops Aviation, the first female-owned aerial film and production company.

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Sánchez also has two siblings – a brother named Michael and a sister named Elena. The TV-anchor-turned-entrepreneur always showed a keen interest in communications and media. At the El Camino College in Torrance, California, she even made it to the dean’s list and wrote for the university newspaper The Warwhoop, according to IMDB. She then attended the University of Southern California, where she majored in communications, setting her off into the media world.

Rising up the ranks in TV

Sánchez began her career as a desk assistant at KCOP-TV in LA. In a matter of a few years, she became a TV anchor and reporter for KTVK-TV in Phoenix, and then later joined Extra – a move that catapulted her to national television. A sports-lover by her own admission, she then went on to work for Fox Sports Net where she was nominated for an Emmy award for her work with sports magazine Going Deep. In 1999, she made it back to KCOP-TV as the anchor for their UPN 13 News.

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In 2005, she hosted one season of So You Think You Can Dance. From 2011 to 2017, she charmed us all as the co-host on Fox’s morning TV show Good Day LA. She’s also made minor appearances in TV shows like NCIS and Days of Our Lives and even some in successful films such as Fight Club, Killer Movie, The Day After Tomorrow, Fantastic Four, The Longest Yard and many more.

Sánchez’s good looks also landed her in People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful” issue in 2010.

Her former flames and children

The former news anchor has a son named Niko, born in 2001, with NFL tight end Tony Gonzalez. In 2005, she married famous Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell, a partner at the talent agency Endeavor. Whitesell’s celebrity clientele includes names like Hugh Jackman, Whoopi Goldberg, Jake Gyllenhaal, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, John Krasinski and Conan O’Brien. The ex-couple have a son and daughter: Evan, born in 2006, and Ella, born in 2008.

Whitesell, who was friends with Bezos, was completely shocked to learn that his wife was having an affair with the billionaire, according to US Weekly. Whitesell and Sánchez were both good friends with Jeff Bezos and Mackenzie Scott, and even shared dinner with their children in the Seattle area, where they both owned homes, reports Page Six.

Her career accomplishments

Apart from a thriving career in the world of television and entertainment, Sánchez’s most significant move was to launch her own aerial filming company, Black Ops Aviation, in 2016. The company focuses on film and television projects and allows the entrepreneur to use her skills as a licensed pilot.

Sánchez also filmed a commercial in the Bahamas and Los Cabos, Mexico, for high-end residential developer Discovery Land and ​​worked on Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke’s next film, Miss Bala, reports E! Online.

“This space is dominated by men,” the Albuquerque native shared with Hollywood Reporter. “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.” Her passion for flying has also extended to her family, with all three kids taking lessons.

In 2017, Sánchez told Hollywood Reporter that she has bigger plans in the pipeline to make the field more accessible to women who share her passion. She will be offering a scholarship through her foundation to fund flight education for two high school girls. “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,” she explains. “Working is part of my DNA. I enjoy it, and now I want to give back.”

She often shares her passion for flying and helicopters on her Instagram profile. In one post, Sánchez shared an image of her happy place and wrote, “‘Be curious, not judgmental’ – Walt Whitman. The thing I love most about flying is that it allows me to see the world from a different perspective, one filled with curiosity. Thank you @jprensena for capturing this shot of me in my happy place.”

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