Lauren Sánchez and Nina Garcia on the Power of Kindness
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Lauren Sánchez is taking Spanish lessons, and her kids are learning how to speak the language, too. This is a continued effort from Sánchez to further embrace her Mexican American heritage as she works to increase visibility for Latinas. “It’s important that we use our voices, and demand a seat at the table,” she says.
The helicopter pilot, mother, author, philanthropist, and former journalist is using her voice to bring awareness about separated and reunified families at the U.S.-Mexico border and has spent time with the nonprofit This Is About Humanity. She is also an advocate for new educational programs, like the network of tuition-free preschools she is helping to build in under-resourced communities through the Bezos Academy.
Earlier this year, Sánchez, along with fiancé Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and executive chairman, awarded actress and activist Eva Longoria with a Courage and Civility Award. Longoria plans to use the award—a sum of $50 million to give to philanthropic organizations of her choosing—to further uplift the Latin community. “I want to surround myself with people who are really making a difference in this world,” Sánchez says of the award.
To celebrate the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month, Sánchez speaks with her friend and ELLE editor-in-chief Nina Garcia about their Latin heritage, how she and Bezos bring their cultures to their home, and her new book The Fly Who Flew to Space, coming September 10.
Nina Garcia: What was it like being a third-generation Latina growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with two Mexican American parents?
Lauren Sánchez: It was amazing. But the one thing I think I really missed out on is my grandmother, Elsie, and mother spoke Spanish all the time. The biggest regret I have is not being able to speak fluent Spanish. My mom [didn’t teach me because she] told me she didn’t want me to have an accent, because she thought that would hurt me. Now I am taking Spanish lessons, and my kids are taking lessons, because it’s something I crave.
My grandmother was one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen. She was a housekeeper, and she was a manager at a restaurant. She let me work there every once in a while. I got my work ethic from her. My mom also worked extremely hard, so I would spend the night at my grandmother’s a lot.
NG: Elsie was the powerhouse.
LS: She was a powerhouse, and she would wake me up at five in the morning. I would sleep in the back of her car while she went to her first house to clean. Then she went to the restaurant around 7 A.M. That’s when I would get dressed for school. Before I went to school, she’d let me pour the coffee in customers’ cups. I’d get a nickel tip. It was a really incredible experience, because I saw this woman who was married, but who was just determined to make a living for herself, no matter what. I remember one day, I was in a house and I was helping her clean, and she taught me how to do laundry. When she was teaching me, I was like, “I don’t know if I want to be a housekeeper,” and she said, “No. This is a great job. You get to make someone’s life easier.” That’s how she looked at life. That spirit is in me.
NG: Jeff’s father is Cuban American. You’re Mexican American. Do you bond through your respective cultures?
LS: We bond and we clash in the best possible way. We live in Miami now, and his dad, Mike, comes over. They make churros on Sunday for the kids. I’m sitting there, and they only want to put sugar on them. I’m like, “No, no, no, no. You need to put sugar. You need to put cinnamon. Where’s the chocolate sauce? I’ll put Tajín on it.” It’s very interesting how they’re both just like, “Simple, Lauren. Simple.” It’s little things like that.
NG: What people also don’t understand is that we are not a monolith. Cubans have very different traditions than Mexicans, than Venezuelans, than Colombians. Yet there are a lot of similarities.
LS: We celebrate Día de los Muertos together every Thanksgiving. A tradition we have is that everyone makes a dish [in memory of] of someone who has passed away. Then, that night, we all sit around the table, and everyone talks about the dish that they brought and what that person represented to them. It’s one of my favorite things to do every year.
NG: I spent an evening with you and Jeff at your annual Courage and Civility Awards. This year, you gave $50 million to Eva Longoria. At ELLE’s Women in Hollywood event last year, which you attended, she spoke so passionately about bringing more Latinas and women in front of and behind the cameras, and she encouraged everyone in the audience to hire more women and more Latinas. How do we make that happen?
LS: Your event was so inspiring. All of those Latinas up there—Jennifer Lopez, America Ferrera, Eva—were speaking from their hearts. When Eva said that [at Women in Hollywood], I was like, “Oh my gosh. She’s so inspiring. She’s such an incredible human.” That speech, advocating for empowering Latinas and increasing women’s representation, really affected me.
She has a relentless commitment to making a significant impact through her foundation and her advocacy. She’s talking about getting the vote out right now; she’s supporting civic engagement with Latinos. She does these things called listening tours where she hears from Latinas directly about what the issues are that we really care about. I think her point is, as she says, “We’re tired of the candidates and parties telling us what we care about,” so she’s out there hearing directly from the Latinas about the issues that matter to them.
NG: I know that you have a children’s book coming out, The Fly Who Flew to Space. What inspired this book?
LS: I grew up dyslexic. I sat in the back of the class and was really quiet. I just wanted to get a C; I just wanted to get through class. I went to a community college, and all I ever wanted to be was a journalist. I went to this journalism class, and I never raised my hand. The teacher, Lori Medigovich, came up to me and said, “Do you want to write for the school paper?” I was like, “Oh, no. I can’t write.” She said, “Well, do me a favor, write on this, but don’t worry about punctuation or spelling. Just write, and don’t be embarrassed. I don’t care if you can’t spell ‘school.’ Just write.”
I wrote this paper, and she came to me, and she said, “You’re not dumb. You just can’t spell. I want you to get tested for something, and it’s called dyslexia.” She got me the test, and [after my diagnosis], I went from barely getting Cs in a community college, to earning a 3.8 GPA, to then going to the University of Southern California and becoming a journalist. That experience inspired me to advocate for educational systems that support all types of learners—I could have gotten left behind easily if it wasn’t for that one teacher.
My book is about this little fly. It’s a fly who is really bad in school, but is really curious and wanders off into this space company that’s right down the street from her school. She accidentally gets stuck in a rocket, and she sees the world. When she sees Earth from space, she says, “Oh my God. I want to save the planet, because it’s so beautiful,” and she comes back down, and she’s this little astronaut now. I just want kids to know that it’s okay if they’re struggling in school. Just be curious, wonder, and you’re going to be fine. Just because you learn differently, it doesn’t mean you’re less capable.
The Fly Who Flew to Space by Lauren Sánchez
amazon.com
$16.96
NG: I also want to talk about aviation, because I know that it is of great interest to you, and you yourself pilot a helicopter. Where did the fascination with aviation come from?
LS: It’s the one thing my kids think is cool. Let me tell you, trying to impress teenagers is very difficult.
NG: Tell me about it.
LS: My dad and my mom were both pilots. They had day jobs, but they would take me to the airport when they would go flying. My dad was a flight instructor, but I knew nothing about aviation. I just kind of watched the planes go by. At 40, I told my dad, “I want to learn how to fly.” He helped me find a flight instructor, and I started taking flying lessons. My dad was a huge role model for me. He encouraged me to chase that passion. A pivotal point for me was when I had to get in the plane by myself. The first time I flew solo, I was like, “I can do this on my own. I’ve got this,” and that kind of changed my perspective on life, seeing the world from that point of view.
NG: Have your kids also shown interest in flying?
LS: My son, right now, is about to solo in a helicopter right after the summer. I’m super excited for him, but I’m also very nervous.
NG: I’m sure your dad felt the same way.
LS: I didn’t realize that. My dad would watch me solo, and when I landed, I would see beads of sweat on his face.
NG: Something that I have noticed about you is this joy for life and curiosity. Who did you get that from? You’re just very open, you’re positive, you’re generous.
LS: I think I’ve always been curious. At this point in my life, I feel like it’s my mission to illuminate other people. I’m in the position to do it, and I take it extremely seriously. I get it from my grandmothers. My other grandmother, from my dad’s side, Nana, would bake bread for the nurses and doctors. She would bring bread to the hospital, because she knew they had late shifts, and she would bring me with her. [Giving is] in my family.
NG: Lauren, being a journalist, did that prepare you for the increased visibility you have now?
LS: I’ve been on television since I was 24, so I’ve been in the media like that. Now I have a different opportunity. Some people can be really mean, and some people can be really nice. We have to be able to work together. Slinging these attacks against people, it gets attention, but it’s not going to make real and impactful change. Jeff and I have the Courage and Civility Awards, and it is really to amplify voices that are not just being courageous, but being civil. We really need that right now in this country.
NG: A lot of attention goes into what you’re wearing. How do you approach fashion now?
LS: I love fashion, and I love the Latin culture. I dress very Latin. Think of Sofía Vergara. Think of Salma Hayek. I really just kind of remain committed to expressing my true, authentic self through fashion, and some people really love it, and some people really hate it, and that’s okay.
NG: You need to celebrate yourself, and there is no doubt in me that you do. That’s the way it should be. You have such a drive and a will to do good, and I so admire and respect that. We need to celebrate more women like you.
LS: And celebrate all Latinas.
A version of this story appears in the October 2024 issue of ELLE.
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