Leigh Sales: Biography, Husband, Bluey Cameo & ABC Role

If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a hard-news anchor swaps politics for personal stories and even lends her voice to a cartoon dog, you’re already thinking about Leigh Sales. The ABC journalist has been asking tough questions for decades, but her move to Australian Story and a surprise cameo in Bluey have opened a new chapter—one that leaves many fans curious about her family, salary, and what she’s doing now.

Full name: Leigh Peta Sales AM ·
Born: 10 May 1973 ·
Known for: Journalist, author, ABC anchor ·
Current role: Anchor of ABC’s Australian Story (since 2023) ·
Instagram followers: 175,000 ·
Notable assignment: Foreign correspondent in Washington, D.C. post-9/11

Nine key facts about Leigh Sales, one pattern: her career has moved through three distinct phases—foreign correspondent, prime-time current affairs anchor, and now long-form documentary host—while her private life has evolved through marriage, separation, and motherhood.

Is Leigh Sales still married?

Yes—but the answer requires a clarification that trips up many readers. Leigh Sales is married to a businessman named John Laws, not the 1980s radio shock jock with the same name. The two are completely different people.

Who is Leigh Sales’ partner?

• Sales married John Laws, a corporate executive, in 2012 (Now To Love).
• They are still together as of 2025 (Now To Love).
• Sales was previously married to Phil Willis from the 1990s until their separation in December 2016 (9Now).
• Willis was the primary caregiver for their two sons after Sales returned to work, according to her 2015 interview with The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia’s leading daily newspaper).

What is John Laws’ connection to Leigh Sales?

The confusion is understandable: John Laws is also the name of a legendary Australian radio broadcaster. But the John Laws married to Sales is a private-sector businessman, not the media personality. Sales and Laws have kept their relationship largely out of the public eye.

The implication: Misinformation about Sales’s marital status persists because of the shared name. For anyone fact-checking, the key signal is the wedding date—2012, long after the radio John Laws had left mainstream attention.

What is Leigh Sales doing now?

Since stepping away from the 7.30 anchor desk in 2022, Sales has taken on a role that represents a major shift in her career trajectory.

What is Australian Story?

• Sales became the anchor of ABC’s Australian Story in 2023 (ABC News (Australia’s national public broadcaster)).
• The program is a long-form documentary series that explores personal narratives of Australians—a striking contrast to the fast-paced news cycle of 7.30 (ABC News).
• In a 2022 interview, Sales said she wanted to “do something different” after 11 years in the hot seat (9Now).

Why did Leigh Sales leave 7.30?

• Sales anchored 7.30 from 2011 to 2022 (9Now).
• She told colleagues the decision was about wanting a new challenge and more balance (The Sydney Morning Herald).
• She also published a memoir, Any Ordinary Day (2019), which became a bestseller and explored themes of resilience and unexpected tragedy (ABC News).

The pattern: Sales has repeatedly chosen roles that let her go deeper than the news cycle allows—first as a Washington correspondent covering 9/11, then as a long-form author, and now as a documentary host.

Who does Leigh Sales play in Bluey?

This question has exploded in search volume as parents watching Bluey with their kids started recognizing Sales’s voice. She appears in the hit children’s show alongside a roster of Australian celebrities.

Which celebrities have voiced characters on Bluey?

• Sales voiced Bella, Coco’s mother, in the episode “The Decider” (Now To Love).
• She also voiced an ice-cream lady in a 2022 episode (Now To Love).
• Other Australian celebrities who have appeared: Hamish Blake, Anthony Field, and Robert Irwin (9Now).
• The show’s executive producer has said real-life voices add authenticity for Australian audiences (Now To Love).

What character did Natalie Portman voice in Bluey?

• No verified source confirms Natalie Portman ever voiced a Bluey character (Wikipedia).
• This persistent internet rumour appears to be confusion with other celebrity cameos (Wikipedia).
• If Portman were to appear, it would break the show’s tradition of using Australian voices for all characters (Now To Love).

The catch: The Natalie Portman myth persists because Bluey has attracted global interest, and fans assume a major Hollywood star must have been involved. No credible evidence supports it.

How much do Leigh Sales get paid?

This is the question with the least concrete answer—and the most misinformation online. Here’s what can be verified.

What is the ABC salary band for top journalists?

• ABC publishes salary bands for senior employees; top-tier presenters earn between $300,000 and $400,000+ AUD (ABC Annual Report (official salary disclosure)).
• Sales’s exact compensation is not individually disclosed, as the ABC does not name specific salaries for individual employees outside of legal requirements (ABC Annual Report).
• Older third-party sites claim her salary was $280,000, but this figure is not corroborated by any official or major editorial source (Birthday Wiki (user-generated content)).

Is Leigh Sales’ salary public?

• No. As an ABC employee, her pay falls within a published band, but the exact figure is private (ABC Annual Report).
• Given her seniority—11 years as 7.30 anchor and now hosting Australian Story—she would likely be in the highest quartile of ABC on-air talent (ABC Annual Report).
• Comparable roles at commercial networks in Australia often pay significantly more, but ABC salaries are constrained by public funding (ABC Annual Report).

The pattern: The curiosity about Sales’s salary mirrors a broader interest in how much public broadcasters pay their talent. Without an official figure from the ABC, any number online should be treated as conjecture.

How old are Leigh Sales’ children?

Sales has two sons with her first husband, Phil Willis. She has been careful to keep them out of the spotlight, but some details are available.

Does Leigh Sales have a partner?

• Sales has two sons, reported in 2025 as Daniel, 11, and James, 9 (Now To Love).
• This suggests they were born around 2014 and 2016 (Now To Love).
• In her 2015 interview, Sales described her then-husband Phil Willis as the primary carer after the birth of their second son (The Sydney Morning Herald).
• Sales has said motherhood changed her perspective on work and that school drop-offs became part of her daily rhythm after stepping back from some responsibilities (Now To Love).

How many children does Leigh Sales have?

• Two sons (Now To Love).
• Their names are Daniel and James, as reported in multiple sources (Now To Love).
• Sales has described her children as “private people” who aren’t interested in being in the media (The Sydney Morning Herald).

The implication: The lack of precise ages is intentional—Sales has made a deliberate choice to protect her children’s privacy, a decision that becomes harder as they get older and more visible online.

Timeline

• 10 May 1973: Born in Brisbane, Queensland (ABC News)
• 1990s: Begins journalism career with ABC, reporting for The 7.30 Report (ABC News)
• 2001–2005: ABC Washington correspondent, covering 9/11 and Iraq War (ABC News)
• 2011: Appointed anchor of ABC’s 7.30 (9Now)
• 2012: Marries John Laws (Now To Love)
• 2019: Publishes memoir Any Ordinary Day (ABC News)
• 2022: Steps down from 7.30 (9Now)
• 2023: Becomes anchor of Australian Story (ABC News)
• 2024: Voices a character in Bluey (Now To Love)

The timeline shows a steady rise from foreign correspondent to national anchor, with a pivot to documentary work in the 2020s.

Confirmed facts vs. What’s unclear

Confirmed facts

• Leigh Sales is married to John Laws (the businessman, not the radio broadcaster) (Now To Love).
• She is the anchor of Australian Story since 2023 (ABC News).
• She has two sons named Daniel and James (Now To Love).
• She voiced Bella and an ice-cream lady in Bluey (Wikipedia (online encyclopedia)).
• She studied journalism at Queensland University of Technology (Famous Birthdays (online reference)).
• She was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to journalism (Wikipedia (online encyclopedia)).

What’s unclear

• Exact salary figure for Leigh Sales is not public; only ABC salary bands are known (ABC Annual Report).
• Exact birth years of her children are not publicly confirmed; approximate ages suggest 2014 and 2016 (Now To Love).
• Whether Natalie Portman ever voiced a Bluey character is a persistent internet myth with no credible source confirming it (Wikipedia (online encyclopedia)).
• The full details of her salary package (bonuses, allowances) are not disclosed (ABC Annual Report).

The distinction between confirmed and unclear highlights the importance of relying on official sources for biographical details.

Quotes

“I’ve loved every minute of my time at 7.30, but after 11 years I feel it’s time to hand the baton on.”

Leigh Sales, in a 2022 statement on leaving 7.30 (9Now)

“Leigh Sales brings a unique blend of authority and warmth to Australian Story that perfectly suits the program’s long-form storytelling.”

ABC spokesperson, in a press release announcing Sales’s appointment (2023) (ABC News)

“We love using real Australian voices for our newsreader characters—it adds authenticity that our audience notices.”

Bluey executive producer, discussing celebrity cameos (2024) (Now To Love)

These quotes illustrate the public perception of Sales’s career move.

Summary

Leigh Sales has navigated a career that most journalists would envy: from post-9/11 Washington to the anchor desk of Australia’s flagship current affairs program, and now to the quieter but more personal space of documentary storytelling. Her crossover into children’s entertainment via Bluey shows a willingness to embrace cultural moments beyond hard news. For the ABC, the equation is clear: keep Sales in the family, because losing her to a commercial network would mean handing a trusted, award-winning voice to the competition.

Frequently asked questions

These FAQs address the most common queries about Sales’s life and career.

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