The automobile world has always been male-dominated, although women are breaking through these ridiculous barriers on an everyday basis. If it wasn’t for Florence Lawrence, the first publicly-named female actress, turn signals may have taken many more years into coming. If Denise McCluggage did not care to be an automotive journo, Autoweek would not exist. And automobile gals like Danica Patrick, or even Amber Balcaen, of course, need no introduction.
So you see, women in automobiles have always been driven, if you’d excuse the pun, and which is why more and more car-based TV is making sure to have a gender-equal cast. There is Constance Nunes in Car Masters: Rust To Riches, Arianny Celeste in Overhaulin’, and Lauren Morrison on MotorWeek.
And then, there is All Girls Garage, running steadily since 2012 and now streaming on Hulu. Clearly, the female dominion of the automobile industry is rising, and it's one cool revolution to be part of…
So here’s where the cast of the All Girls Garage is today, and what do we know about them…
Sarah ‘Bogi’ Lateiner
Sarah Lateiner was born in Queens and raised mostly in New Jersey, although she did spend one of her high school years in Hungary, where she was called Boglárka. Later, she adopted the nickname Bogi as a shortened version of the same. Initially studying law, it was when she lost her older sister Jenny to a car accident that her interest turned towards cars and mechanics.
And this is what Lateiner is today, the long-time continuing host of All Girls Garage, as well as a mechanic, entrepreneur, and owner of Bogi’s Garage. In 2017, the first project Bogi’s Garage undertook was the building of a 1957 Chevy Montage truck with a team of 90 women, both with experience and without.
She also runs a website called GirlGangGarage.com and offers scholarships for women in the automotive field and is still the host of the show.
Cristy Lee
Cristy Lee was once a model and came on TV shows before she decided that going automobile was the way to go for her. And she was with All Girls Garage all the way till 2020 when she left under an unclear cloud.
Various media reports say that she left to cut costs, while some say she needed a much-needed break from the constant pressure. Lee also had some health issues and had to undergo an appendectomy. But she’s still very much into automobiles, as is apparent from her new show, Ride Along with Cristy Lee for Dodge Garage. Plus, she’s still very much pals with her AGG gang.
Faye Hadley
Faye Hadley is a mechanic, yes, but she’s also one sharp knife, considering she got a degree in psychology, from Harvard, at age 22. Her favorite movie is The Love Bug, rather her favorite car is from the movie, and Hadley brought back an old and dilapidated 1980 diesel VW Rabbit back to life in Herbie’s image. Although today, she loves driving her blue Toyota Supra.
When Rachel DeBarros left the All Girls Garage show, Faye Hadley was roped in, even though she runs her own repair shop: Pistons and Pixie Dust. Today she and Lateiner are the two hosts of AGG.
Rachel DeBarros
DeBarros was actually scouted by Lateiner and Lee to be part of the show, and was already a businesswoman before that, running Purple Star Media LLC, a branded video content studio as well as Wonder Spawn, a STEM brand. She was also a vlogger before the All Girls Garage happened, running a YouTube channel called Gearhead Diva, which she continues to date.
She is known to be an automobile nut since her teenage years and is unafraid to get her hands dirty. While working on the show, DeBarros was also the executive producer of the show, and she left in 2019.
Today, she runs GearHeadDiva, where she does live builds on not just automobiles, but in VR, science, tech, and the whole gamut in between.
Jessie Combs
Known as the fastest woman on four wheels, Jessie Combs was awarded the female land-speed world record by Guinness World Records in June 2020, sadly, posthumously.
On the AGG show from 2011 to 2014, Combs left to pursue her personal interests and wanted to be the fastest woman on four wheels ever. She set a record in 2013 and then broke it in 2016, In 2019, Combs crashed a jet-powered car while attempting to break a land speed record in Alvord Desert, Oregon. The front wheel of the car collapsed, ostensibly after hitting an object, at a speed of 522.783. Surviving the crash was impossible.
Later, it was determined that she truly had broken the existing 512 mph land speed record by a female and in doing so, died while doing her favorite thing. She will always be missed by the cast and the crew of All Girls Garage as well as her fans.
Sources: Instagram, Bogi'sGarage, USAToday