The news that 92-year-old Rupert Murdoch is engaged to be married for the fifth time hasn’t just sparked the predictable jokes, it has raised questions about his future bride, a 66-year-old former dental hygienist-turned San Francisco socialite and model and radio personality from California’s Central Valley.
Up until Murdoch’s announcement, Ann Lesley Smith was relatively unknown outside of Modesto or of Christian and conservative broadcasting circles. Her claim to fame in those circles was as the widow of Chester Smith, a wealthy Modesto-based TV mogul and former country singer who died in 2008.
“We’re both looking forward to spending the second half of our lives together,” says the 92