Heather Simonsen

Heather Simonsen is the author of three novels: the critically acclaimed Sugar House Hill, Renaissance Beauty, and Horseshoe Bay. She also wrote the authorized biography of the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, Alex Smith: The story of the University of Utah’s unlikely star quarterback. She writes monthly feature cover stories for The Salt Lake Tribune on health & science and parenting issues. She has been featured in numerous publications, most notably O, The Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, and in First for Women Magazine.

She was a spokesperson for the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay. Heather was present when Muhammad Ali lit the cauldron in Atlanta. She was responsible for selecting 100 honorary 9-11 torchbearers and learned how resilient the human spirit can be. Heather was also a torchbearer and ran with the Olympic Flame in San Antonio, Texas, the city where she grew up. Heather was a celebrated television journalist for five years at ABC-4 television news in Salt Lake City before leaving the profession to raise her kids.

Heather earned high honors as a senior fellow and a magna cum laude graduate in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. Heather earned a master of arts from Brigham Young University with a published thesis.

Heather has an identical twin sister, Holly Coyle, and three brothers. Her father, Stanley Wayment, earned his master’s degree at Stanford University and his PhD from the University of Utah. He’s a math professor at Texas State University. Her mother, Julia Wayment, is a homemaker and family history researcher. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith is her first cousin.

She is the stay-at-home mother of two beautiful children: Halle Rose and Christian. Her husband is Salt Lake City Councilman Soren D. Simonsen.  The American Institute of Architects recently named him Young Architect of the Year.  

Heather loves gourmet cooking and baking. Her favorite cooking companions, though, are her kids. She also enjoys jogging in her neighborhood and hiking in the mountains. Heather is an avid reader. To Kill a Mockingbird is her favorite book.

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