Lauren Sanchez shared an inspiring message with her Instagram followers in recognition of World Dyslexia Day, including an unexpected throwback photo while discussing the challenges she faced during her childhood.

Since she’s been in the limelight, Sánchez has not been shy about sharing details about her journey with the learning difference. 

The 55-year-old uploaded a video on Instagram this Wednesday, featuring a young Lauren sitting at a desk in the back of a classroom with an open book in front of her.

Sánchez looked adorable as she sported a short bob with full fringe and a patterned t-shirt. 

In the sweet photo, she had a smile on her face, and appeared to be about six or seven years old at the time. 

‘That’s me in the back of the class, smile on, praying I wouldn’t get called to read,’ Sánchez wrote in white text over the top of the video. 

The clip also included some crucial facts about dyslexia, including the fact that it affects one in five children.

‘My brain didn’t fail, the playbook did,’ the journalist, who married Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos in June, typed in an emotional caption. 

‘Dyslexia sharpened my big-picture thinking and grit, then the right support changed everything,’ she continued.

‘Parents: if your child is working twice as hard to look like they’re keeping up, it’s time to ask about screening.’

In the comments section, many of the star’s celebrity fans wrote how inspired they were by her.

‘Little darlin sending out a very important message,’ wrote Kathy Hilton.

Singer Jewel typed, ‘I can’t with your sweetness in this photo!!!’

‘Bravo. It’s important,’ producer David Geffen agreed.

According to the International Dyslexia Association, dyslexia is a ‘language-based learning disability,’ which can pose difficulties while reading and writing.

Sometimes, it can also affect spoken language.

In a 2024 interview with Michael Strahan on Good Morning America, Sanchez revealed that her dyslexia was undiagnosed throughout her childhood as she promoted her own children’s book, The Fly Who Flew To Space.  

‘It’s for the eight-year-old self me, who really felt dumb,’ Sánchez said during the interview.

‘I sat in the back of the class. I was just quiet. They kind of pushed me along in public school, and I kept going,’ she explained.

‘I really, really wanted to be a journalist, it’s all I wanted to be, and I thought, I can’t write, it was horrible.’

It was only when she went to college that a teacher helped her to get tested for the learning difference.

She recalled the moment when she was able to better pursue her dream job thanks to the help of the teacher, who asked her to write for the school paper.

‘I said, “I can’t really write,”‘ the brunette beauty recalled.

‘[The teacher] said, “Just write without thinking about spelling or punctuation.”‘

At that point, Sánchez became teary eyed and had to pause to get control of her emotions before she continued: ‘Every time I talk about this, I get emotional.’

The former journalist added: ‘I don’t remember what the story was about. She literally looked at me after I turned it in, and she was like, “You are not dumb, you just can’t spell,” and she got me tested for dyslexia.

‘This was community college teacher who took an interest in me. I went from a 2.0-[GPA] student.’

Sánchez transferred to University of Southern California in 1992, which she attended for two years while working as a desk assistant at the LA-based news company KCOP-TV.

In 1994, she left to school to pursue her career as a reporter full time after she was offered a job at KTVK in Phoenix, Arizona.

In the years that followed, she moved around quite a bit – working briefly for Extra before heading to Fox Sports Net.

Sánchez then went on to host Good Day LA for six years before starting her own aerial film and production company called Black Ops Aviation.

She also served as the host on the first season of So You Think You Can Dance, and contributed to Larry King Live, The Joy Behar Show, and Showbiz Tonight over the years.