Vanessa, a naturalist, goes on global adventures with Caught in the Moment co-host Tristan Bayer to film endangered species and animals in rare, beautiful and time-sensitive moments.
Caught in the Moment does not mark Vanessa’s first foray into the entertainment industry. At the early age of two, Vanessa sang and danced in front of 400 people at her parents’ Playhouse Theatre in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and she’s been entertaining ever since.
Vanessa grew up in Buffalo Valley on the outskirts of Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks in Wyoming. She was raised on a dude ranch 40 miles from the nearest store, and got her first horse at age 5. A combination of cowboy naturalists and artsy theater gurus, Vanessa’s parents nurtured her desires for a career incorporating stage, screen and music mixed with her love for the wild world of animals and exotic travel. Between cooking on pack trips for her family’s Triangle C Ranch and starring in off-Broadway musicals, Vanessa found a passion for language and art.
The eldest of eight children, Vanessa forged the way for her siblings. Her experiences with her large, close-knit family became the building blocks for her unique perspective on life and contributed to her vivacious and endearing personality.
During her eighth-grade year, Vanessa traveled to Africa for a half-year trip with her grandparents. Living in a cow-manure hut with the Masaai tribe, she discovered a deep love for Third World countries and exotic adventure. It was in Africa where she caught the travel bug, and her desire to see new places has only increased with time. Vanessa began scrapbooking, journaling, sketching and painting, and even wrote children’s books. Fluent in Spanish, she taught English as a second language to Spanish-speaking children.
Vanessa became a certified naturalist with the National Forest Service, taught art classes at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and designed theater sets for multiple productions.
Vanessa has played several roles in independent films, wildlife and reality shows, and music videos. In addition, she travels the world as a freelance art and travel consultant. When she's not filming, Vanessa guides adventure tours in Brazil, Australia, Argentina, Chile, England, Japan, Costa Rica and throughout the United States. As part of the music group The SaddleRock Sisters, Vanessa, with four of her sisters, acquired a record deal with DreamWorks and recorded in London and Nashville. The SaddleRock Sisters now are creating their own label and record sassy country-rock harmonies in Wyoming.
In her spare time, Vanessa learns foreign languages, paints, creates graphic design and builds her worldwide travel company. She lives in Panama, but regularly heads to her family home in the Wyoming mountains to ride her painted pony, breathe fresh air and get back to nature.
