Lauren Sánchez

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Wendy Lauren Sanchez (b. December 1969 in Albuquerque, New Mexico) is a news anchor, entertainment reporter, and media personality. She is the daughter of Eleanor Sánchez, former Los Angeles assistant deputy mayor, and Ray Sánchez, an aviation businessman in Albuquerque.

Contents 1 Career 1.1 Film appearances 2 Personal 3 Criticism 4 External links

[edit] Career

Sánchez began her career as a desk assistant at KCOP-TV in Los Angeles. She has also held positions as an anchor/reporter at KTVK-TV in Phoenix and with the syndicated entertainment show, Extra. She then moved on to Fox Sports Net where she served as a correspondent for the sports magazine, Going Deep. Then, she joined KCOP-TV where she anchored UPN 13 News. She is also the entertainment reporter for KTTV's 10 p.m. news program, and as an occasional fill-in on KTTV's morning show, Good Day L.A. Aside from her anchoring/reporting duties, she was also the original host of the FOX program, So You Think You Can Dance. Due to her pregnancy, Lauren Sánchez didn't return as host for the second season. Cat Deeley, one of the leading television hosts in the UK, was named to host the second season. In 1999, Sánchez was one of the finalists to co-host the women's talk show The View. She has also served as an entertainment reporter for FSN's Best Damn Sports Show Period.

[edit] Film appearances

Sanchez has also made appearances in the films: The Longest Yard, Fantastic Four, The Day After Tomorrow, Akeelah and the Bee, and Fight Club.

[edit] Personal

Before majoring in Communications at the University of Southern California, Sanchez served as a writer on the El Camino College Warwhoop. She has a son (born in 2001) from a previous relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez. Before that, she was engaged to football player Anthony Miller. Sanchez was also engaged to NYPD Blue actor Henry Simmons until their split in 2003. She married talent agent Patrick Whitesell in a star-studded (guests included Whitesell clients Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Hugh Jackman) $2 million dollar wedding in September 2005. She is also frequently photographed at parties and annually participates in a large birthday party with her friends in Los Angeles.

Sanchez gave birth to a son, Evan on June 22, 2006 at 11:30 a.m. at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California.

[edit] Criticism

Sanchez has taken a bit of heat in the Los Angeles media. Ron Fineman, a media reporter, has been relentless in his pursuit of the truth behind Sanchez's college credentials, finding that she did not graduate from USC, as claimed. She also has a history of mispronouncing names and words and of making suggestive sexual comments on the air. His readers have voted her Most Annoying Los Angeles TV News Anchor two years in a row. Readers to various web sites have referred to Lauren as "Rocks" Sanchez because of her intelligence (or perceived lack of). During her tenure at Fox Sports, sports radio hosts would play clips of her broadcasts and dedicate time to mocking her presentation (one example was a discussion of Greg Maddux being one of the best pitchers of his era, and her mixing things up by saying he was one of the best pitchers of his E.R.A.). Sanchez is often criticized for her presentation style, which some say is too casual for the news, although others say that the target audience for the newscast is younger people more receptive to her dress and mannerisms, and that ratings in the 18-49 demographic have increased since she took over anchoring duties for that newscast, though her newscast is still in last place in that demographic and overall.

[edit] External links

• Lauren Sanchez at the Internet Movie Database
• Los Angeles News Team - Bio
• Ron Fineman's ON THE RECORD on Sanchez and USC