section_path: Early life and education
section_name: Early life and education
paragraph_text: Early life and education
  
  Lauren Wendy Sánchez was born on December 19, 1969, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Ray Sánchez, an aviation businessman, and Eleanor Sánchez, a former Los Angeles assistant deputy mayor. Lauren describes herself as "third-generation Mexican-American". Lauren attended Del Norte High School, participating in cheerleading and student assembly, and working at The Beach water park. After graduating high school in 1987, Sánchez studied acting and speech at the University of New Mexico. She later moved to California and attended El Camino College, where she was diagnosed with dyslexia after a professor identified her learning differences. This diagnosis has led her to support the International Dyslexia Association and advocate for more inclusive educational systems. She subsequently studied communications at the University of Southern California. In 1990, she won the international Models World Magazine Cover Girl Competition.
  
  Lauren Wendy Sánchez was born on December 19, 1969, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Ray Sánchez, an aviation businessman, and Eleanor Sánchez, a former Los Angeles assistant deputy mayor. Lauren describes herself as "third-generation Mexican-American". Lauren attended Del Norte High School, participating in cheerleading and student assembly, and working at The Beach water park. After graduating high school in 1987, Sánchez studied acting and speech at the University of New Mexico. She later moved to California and attended El Camino College, where she was diagnosed with dyslexia after a professor identified her learning differences. This diagnosis has led her to support the International Dyslexia Association and advocate for more inclusive educational systems. She subsequently studied communications at the University of Southern California. In 1990, she won the international Models World Magazine Cover Girl Competition.