Lauren Wendy Sánchez, a 1987 graduate of Del Norte High School, made history as a member of Blue Origin‘s first all-female crew aboard the New Shepard rocket, which launched on April 14, 2025. The suborbital flight soared to an altitude of approximately 62 miles, reaching the Kármán line—the internationally recognized boundary of space—where the crew experienced weightlessness. Joining Sánchez on the mission were pop star Katy Perry, CBS Mornings host Gayle King, activist Amanda Nguyen, former NASA engineer Aisha Bowe, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
April 14, 2025 – Courtesy Blue Origin.
After graduating from Del Norte, Sánchez attended the University of New Mexico before studying communications at the University of Southern California. She began her broadcast journalism career at KTVK-TV in Phoenix as an anchor and reporter, later joining the syndicated show Extra as a correspondent. She then moved to Fox Sports Net, where she earned an Emmy nomination as anchor and correspondent for Going Deep, hosted Fox Sports News Primetime, and reported for The Best Damn Sports Show Period. In 1999, she returned to KCOP-TV to anchor UPN News, where her team earned an Emmy Award. That same year, she became co-host of Good Day LA and anchor for Fox 11 News at Ten on KTTV.
In 2000, Sánchez gained national attention as the runner-up in the hosting competition for Season 2 of The View. She went on to become the original host of FOX’s hit dance competition So You Think You Can Dance in 2005. In 2009, she returned to Extra as a weekend anchor and special correspondent.
A licensed helicopter pilot, Sánchez founded Black Ops Aviation in 2016, becoming the first woman to launch an aerial film and production company. Her aviation skills have been central to her work in film and television. In recognition of her achievements, she received the Elling Halvorson Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award in 2024 at the Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards.
That same year, Sánchez published her first children’s book, The Fly Who Flew to Space. Inspired by her own experiences with dyslexia, the story follows a curious young fly named Flynn who struggles in school but accidentally ends up on a journey to space.
In addition to her professional accomplishments, Sánchez serves as vice-chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, championing environmental initiatives such as the Greening America’s Cities program—a $400 million, seven-year effort to expand green spaces in underserved areas. In March 2024, she pledged $60 million toward the creation of centers focused on biomanufacturing and climate change. Later that year, she and Jeff Bezos committed another $60 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, supporting restoration efforts across 2,500 square miles in more than a dozen states.
Sánchez has been recognized by Conservation International with its Global Visionary Award for her leadership in environmental philanthropy. She is also involved with the Bezos Courage and Civility Award, which had distributed $400 million to changemakers by 2024, and supports the Bezos Day One Fund, dedicated to helping homeless families access housing and free preschool education.
Read Blue Origin launches an all-female celebrity crew with Katy Perry, Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez in the Albuquerque Journal.