The Stunning Transformation Of Cristy Lee
Cristy Lee may have made a name for herself as one of the most prominent women in motorsports and automotive television, but her professional portfolio goes well beyond cars and motorcycles. "When I graduated high school, moving into college trying to figure out what my career path is going to be, I went from everything from being a cosmetologist and a makeup artist to going into the radiology program at Halifax Medical Center. I was all over the place," she told Goss.
Lee ultimately didn't do any of those things, but she has worked in several fields during her decades-long career — and she's been extraordinarily successful in each of her professional pursuits. From a graveyard radio shift that eventually led to live reporting for ESPN and a stint in property flipping that served as the foundation for hosting her own HGTV shows, Cristy Lee has not only amassed an incredibly impressive resume but she's also blazed a trail for women in traditionally male-dominated industries along the way.
Cristy Lee was a toddler when her automotive passion began
Cristy Lee's interest in all things automotive began when she was just a toddler. Raised in Daytona Beach, Florida by a father who owned an auto shop and tinkered with cars and motorcycles in their home garage, Lee's earliest memories involve motor oil, wrenches, and the sound of growling engines. During a 2021 interview with Authority Magazine (via Medium), the television personality said she was a "total tomboy" and fondly recalled "joy rides on my dad's dirt bike, where I sat behind the gas tank as a toddler, with my tiny hands resting on the handlebars while my father puttered around the yard."
While motor vehicles were her dad's primary interest, Lee was also majorly influenced by his general love for do-it-yourself projects. On her website, she describes a greenhouse her father designed and built as the setting for some of her oldest memories. Lee was following in her father's footsteps as soon as she was taking steps of her own — she told Authority Magazine that she had more fun building her childhood dollhouse than she did playing with it. That inherited love for both automotive and building construction followed her through her formative years to adulthood, where she would go on to make a career out of both passions.
At 18 years old, Cristy Lee bought her first motorcycle
With her dad's personal and professional interest in motor vehicles, as well as NASCAR's influence on the Daytona Beach area, Christy Lee's passion for cars and motorcycles only grew stronger as she grew older. "I was the kid that was begging my dad for a shifter car when I was eight years old," Lee told Goss. When Lee was in high school, many of her friends started riding motorcycles, and she began riding as a passenger. After she was in an accident while riding on the back of a friend's bike, Lee decided to take the plunge and buy her own motorcycle so she could feel in control of her riding experience.
Once she had a bike of her own, Lee developed an even more fervent appreciation for motorcycles and cars. She likened the experience to a domino effect, telling Goss, "The streets start to become a little boring, so you go on the race track. Then, you take your bike on the track, and there are [things] you need to do to a street bike to modify it to make it better on the track." Thus, Lee went from a casual rider to a full-blown hobbyist, and in a matter of years, her zeal for the automotive and motorsports industries would bleed into her professional life as well.
Cristy Lee juggled her studies with real estate flipping
In 2005, Cristy Lee moved from Daytona Beach, Florida to Detroit, Michigan to invest in real estate. She began buying properties and flipping them for profit using the construction skills her father taught her. She balanced this business endeavor with waitressing to pay the bills and online schooling to finish her associate's degree.
During her conversation with Goss, Lee recalled the favorable condition of Detroit's housing market at the time. She said she could buy a property for about $6,000, renovate with budget buyers in mind, and sell for around $60,000 — not a lucrative turnaround, but still a hefty return on investment. Lee told the outlet, "It was more about creating affordable, clean, functional, quick housing for people in the city than creating these luxurious, highly designed types of homes. That's not what the city needed."
Cristy Lee took a hiatus from property flipping during the Great Recession
When the housing market crashed in the late 2000s, Cristy Lee was forced to pivot from property flipper to landlord. She initially kept the houses she originally intended to sell, renting them out with the hope that the market would soon turn around, but she ultimately parted ways with the properties — and the real estate industry as a whole. While many would view this as a serious setback, Lee took it in stride. She spoke to Goss about her ability to adapt in her professional life, going so far as describing it as a longstanding preference.
"I've always been the person who's been interested in a lot of different things," Lee explained. "I've always been a hard worker and I've always held lots of different jobs ... That's something that carried through high school and college as well, having multiple different jobs and working in different fields." Before landing on real estate, Lee toyed with the idea of pursuing cosmetology, dance, and even radiology, so when real estate was no longer a viable option, she didn't let it deter her from entering a new industry.
In 2008, Cristy Lee's lifelong dancing hobby led to her breakthrough radio gig
In addition to being a petrolhead as a kid, Cristy Lee grew up dancing. Even after her cross-country move, she found ways to stay involved with the dance community. The entertainment multi-hyphenate auditioned for the NBA's Detroit Pistons dance team in 2006, and she landed a spot on the squad. After she started dancing for the NBA, Lee also joined the dance team for the Ignition, Detroit's major indoor soccer league club. The sports team gigs led to an opportunity to co-manage a production company that provided entertainment in casinos, and that led to Lee's first job as an emcee.
Lee then auditioned to be a spokesperson for a rock-and-roll radio station in the area, ultimately securing the year-long position. This eventually led to a solo air shift that entailed reporting on traffic, weather, and sports. With sports reporting radio experience under her belt, Lee applied for an in-arena hostess position with the NHL's Detroit Red Wings, and ever the hustler, she landed that job, too. The hockey hostess gig was Lee's first on-camera job, and it was a pivotal moment in her entertainment career. She told the Detroit Metro Times, "Everything just kind of took off from there, transitioning into motorsports pit reporting, and the rest is history. It's all been a path to get me to where I am right now."
Cristy Lee began her automotive TV hosting career in 2012
Cristy Lee worked as an in-arena hostess for the Detroit Red Wings for several years before she married her broadcasting experience with her lifelong love of motorsports. Lee told Goss, "Back when YouTube was the only digital platform out there for content, I reached out to a company that was going around and doing interviews at the race track with professional motorcycle racers and hit them up and was like, 'Hey you guys are great, but you'd be better with me.'" They could only offer her $3 and a free sandwich, but Lee didn't mind. She hired her own camera operator, performed trackside interviews, produced videos, and attracted sponsors to back the content, all while networking with her next career move in mind.
"The next step for me was to get face time with people who work at the production trailer for the TV network," Lee told Goss. "I got a job with SPEED TV because I made myself visible. I knew who to talk to. I made my name known." Lee has since worked as a motorsports host and pit reporter covering the X Games, MotoGP, MotoAmerica, American Flat Track, Arenacross, Nitro Rallycross, Superbike World Championship, Off-Road truck racing, and Monster Jam for networks including ESPN, NBCSN, FOX, ABC, and CMT.
Cristy Lee broke into the wider world of entertainment in 2017
In 2017, Cristy Lee transitioned from live motorsports reporting to hosting an automotive-themed reality television show called "All Girls Garage." Produced by the MotorTrend network, Lee and co-stars Sarah "Bogi" Lateiner and Faye Hadley used their mechanic knowledge and skills to repair a variety of cars and motorcycles. Often addressing complex and extensive vehicular issues, Lee, Lateiner, and Hadley set out to prove women are just as capable as men when it comes to automotive restoration and repair.
While the show began in 2012, Lee didn't join the cast until its sixth season. She led the women's auto garage program for two years before exiting "All Girls Garage" in 2019. The television personality went on to co-host MotorTrend's "Garage Squad" from 2019 to 2020, leading the show's mission to help everyday people with unfinished project cars complete their prized restorations.
Cristy Lee filmed an automotive TV show with Ant Anstead in 2021
Cristy Lee's television career soared to new heights in 2021 when she joined "Wheeler Dealers" star Ant Anstead for "Celebrity IOU: Joyride." The Discovery+ spinoff of "Property Brothers" Drew and Jonathan Scott's "Celebrity IOU" saw Lee and Anstead collaborating with A-list stars to design and build a customized dream car for a loved one close to each celebrity. Lee gushed about the show while chatting with Authority Magazine, telling the outlet, "Ant and I combine our experience and expertise on everything four-wheels to build and restore classic cars, modern cars, and one-of-a-kind rides, to celebrate people who have been integral to each celebrity guest's lives and instrumental in helping them get to where they are today."
The mini-series followed Lee and Anstead's transformative automotive projects with stars including Mary J. Blige, Tony Hawk, James Marsden, Octavia Spencer, Danny Trejo, and Renee Zellweger. After wrapping the show, the "All Girls Garage" alum told Authority Magazine, "Working with each celebrity has been an absolute blast."
Cristy Lee attributed her TV hosting success to her radio background
From regularly interviewing prominent motorsports figures to hosting television shows alongside some of the entertainment industry's biggest stars, Cristy Lee has come a long way from her radio traffic reporting days. Despite how high she's climbed, Lee hasn't forgotten her humble beginnings. During her chat with Goss, she attributed her television success to her radio days. "I think it was a great way to start a broadcasting career because it gave me a great appreciation for every opportunity that I had after that," Lee said.
She explained how impactful it was to be surrounded by professionals whose work ethic was founded on a genuine love for the industry versus people who were simply playing the game to garner fame and fortune. The entertainment multi-hyphenate told the outlet, "There weren't any silver platters. ... Nobody was there because they were looking for a great paycheck or they were the next big hit. It was passion. That foundation and work environment were really strong, and I'm glad that that's where I got to start. I'm grateful for my time there."
Cristy Lee is proud of her self-built career
Cristy Lee has reflected on her lengthy broadcasting career and the long list of accomplishments she's amassed — and how every success she has achieved is due to her own passion, hard work, and determination. The do-it-yourself philosophy she learned as a child from her father stuck with her beyond simply executing physical projects — Lee has also become an expert DIY-er when it comes to chasing professional opportunities. "If I want something, I will make myself go to the top. ... I had no problem reaching out to companies and soliciting my brand and getting exposure and talking to the right people," the television personality told Goss. "Networking is huge. I had no problem doing any of that just to get ahead and get bigger opportunities."
Lee emphasized the importance of taking the initiative to build her career from the ground up rather than crossing her fingers and waiting for opportunities to land on her doorstep. "I have not sat back at all in my career and waited for anything to come to me," she told Goss. "I was doing cold e-mails left and right. Anybody and everybody. I was taking anything that I saw that could be an opportunity that could get me more exposure and more camera time and more experience." For Lee, that hustler mindset paid off in spades.
Now an industry veteran, Cristy Lee advocates for women to enter traditionally male-dominated fields
From the purchase of her first motorcycle in 2002 to her start in the motorsports and automotive industry in 2012, Cristy Lee was taking up space in the male-dominated world long before there was any push to welcome women into the fold. Though the number of women expressing interest in motorsports and working in automotive jobs has boomed in recent years, there's still a long way to go to achieve true gender equality in this particular field — and Lee is a passionate advocate for making that happen.
The trailblazer's website reads, "In what was once considered a historically male-dominated industry, Lee said it's beautiful to see such an abundance of women working in automotive, as well as trades industries in general. She is part of a collective group of women empowering one another, offering advice and inspiration." Her message to fellow female gearheads continues, "Lee urges women to go after their most passionate endeavors. She believes women can do anything they put their heart and mind to, and Lee is here to show women they are capable."
Cristy Lee returned to real estate with her first solo HGTV hosting gig in 2022
Over a decade after exiting the real estate industry due to the Great Recession of 2007-2009, Cristy Lee made her return to property flipping in a major way. HGTV brought the television personality onboard to host her first solo series "Steal This House" in 2022. Of the sensational opportunity, Lee told Heavy, "Real estate's been a part of my life for a long time. And, you know, I'm excited to be able to take something that I had been passionate with and share that with more of my fans and hopefully some new HGTV fans."
The premise of the show was to work with home buyers to purchase low-cost properties and invest the bulk of their budget into renovations, strategically spending to create a stunning dream home tailored to each client's style and needs. The philosophy mirrored Lee's early flipping days, allowing her to flex her budget-savvy design and renovation muscles again. In addition to hosting the HGTV series, Lee is also credited as an executive producer.
Health problems in 2023 forced Cristy Lee to take a break from television
In 2023, Cristy Lee ended up in the emergency room with debilitating pain and pressure in her head. What she originally thought was a severe migraine or sinus infection turned out to be the unexpected diagnosis of two major thyroid conditions: Graves' disease and thyroid eye disease. Months after her diagnosis, Lee opened up about the harrowing battle to get the autoimmune diseases under control.
"I've always been a strong person, but this broke me," she confessed in an emotional Instagram post in August 2023. Lee shared some of the symptoms she experienced, including "severe pain and swelling, impaired vision, zero mobility, facial changes, [and] light sensitivity," along with images of the physical manifestations of the two diseases. Lee underwent steroids, a chemotherapy-like treatment specifically for the eyes, double orbital decompression surgery, and thyroid removal surgery, which led to the post-pathology discovery that she also had thyroid cancer.
A year after her diagnosis, Lee opened up about her journey during a January 2024 interview with the Detroit Metro Times. "I was basically forced to take a step back from everything, but I'm excited to take a step forward and get back to the things I like doing," Lee confessed.
In 2024, Cristy Lee announced she was married
In an exclusive January 2024 interview with People, Cristy Lee announced she had tied the knot with her longtime boyfriend, John Hawkins, in November 2023. Like Lee, Hawkins is a petrolhead who works as a senior business process engineer for General Motors — so an automotive-themed wedding was an easy choice for the pair. They were wed at Michigan's Packard Proving Grounds, a historic 17-acre property designed in 1927 by architect Albert Kahn for the Packard Motor Car Co.
"We took one look at the Packard Proving Grounds and we were like, 'This is it. This is the place. This is perfect for us,'" Lee told People. "It just oozed automobilia and history and had this amazing retro, eclectic car vibe. We fell in love with it on the spot." The couple played up the automotive theme with vintage car and motorcycle decor, including "bride and groom" motorcycle helmets, a vintage Craftsman toolbox as their card box, and Hawkins' 1950 Chevy 3100 parked in the reception hall.
While vacationing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in December 2022, Hawkins proposed to Lee. Prior to their engagement, the couple had been dating for eight years.