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 Sanchez, former Los Angeles assistant deputy mayor, and Ray Sanchez, an aviation businessman in Albuquerque. Sanchez 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. Aside from her anchoring/reporting duties, she is also the host of the FOX program, So You Think You Can Dance. She was one of the finalists to host the women's talk show The View.
Sanchez has also made appearances in the films: The Longest Yard, Fantastic Four, The Day After Tomorrow, and Fight Club.
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. Sanchez was engaged to NYPD Blue actor Henry Simmons until their split in 2003. She married talent agent Patrick Whitsell in a star-studded (guests included Whitsell 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 has taken a bit of heat in the L.A. media. Ron Fineman, a media reporter with his own website, has been relentless in his pursuit of the truth behind Sanchez's college credentials, finding that she 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 LA TV news anchor two years in a row. 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.
