The Life Of Game Show Legend Vanna White
Vanna White has been wowing television audiences for nearly four decades as the co-host of the popular game show Wheel of Fortune. In front of the camera she's known for her bright smile and glittering outfits but we don't know too much about the celebrity when she's not turning over letters on the set of the show. You might be surprised to know that the picture-perfect Vanna White has had her fair shares of ups and downs. Here is Vanna White's real life story.
Before Fame: Vanna's Early Days
A native of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Vanna Marie Rosich made her debut in this world on February 18, 1957. Her parents divorced when she was just a baby, and Vanna later took her stepfather's last name, White. After graduating from North Myrtle Beach High School, she moved to Georgia to try her hand at modeling. She also attended the Atlanta School of Fashion.
White moved to Los Angeles in 1979. Sadly, her mother died in 1980. White briefly went back home to South Carolina in order to be with her mother during this time before returning to Los Angeles. She was soon cast in several minor acting roles.
A Life-Changing Audition
Vanna's life (and television history) changed forever over Thanksgiving of 1982. She went to an audition against 200 other women and was chosen by show creator Merv Griffin to replace Pat Sajak's previous co-host Susan Stafford on Wheel of Fortune. White was a struggling waitress at the time of the audition, and later revealed how nervous she'd been.
"I wanted this job so badly. My knees were shaking; my mouth was quivering; I could hardly talk," she shared. Regardless, she must have impressed Griffin.
A Non-Speaking Role
In the early years of her career on Wheel, some people criticized Vanna White because she seemed content to be a "letter turner" who lacked much ambition beyond a non-speaking role on a game show.
Vanna laughed off her detractors in an ABC interview much later. "I get all dressed up like a Barbie doll. I go out. I give someone else's money away, make them happy, and we all go home. In show business, there’s nothing else I want to do. Is that bad?"
That Amazing Wardrobe
If you've ever tried to catch Vanna White in the same dress more than once, you're out of luck. With a wardrobe of more than 6,500 gowns worn during her time on the show, she definitely hasn't pulled any repeats on her fans.
She has confessed that it usually takes about 50 try-ons each day to select the perfect dress. To avoid any mishaps from tripping over longer gowns, she prefers shorter dresses. And as we've seen, she likes sparkles!
'Television's Most Frequent Clapper'
Although she could probably win a Guinness World Record for her wardrobe alone, Vanna's real award from the record-keeping company is for the "most frequent clapper" category.
In a press review, Guinness said that "as of Jan. 31, 2013, it was estimated White clapped at least 3,480,864 times across the show's 30 seasons. She had appeared in all but 10 of Wheel's 5,754 episodes to that point, during the show's modern syndicated run, which began on Sept. 19, 1983. That works out to an average number of 606 claps per show." That's a lot of clapping.
Her Photo Appeared On The Cover Of Playboy Magazine
Well before Vanna White was a household name, she struggled to make it big. To supplement her income, she did a lingerie photoshoot despite having serious misgivings about it. She later told Fox, "When I first moved to Hollywood, I was too embarrassed to ask my dad for rent money. I was young and I wanted to do it on my own."
Unfortunately, Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner purchased those photos after White was famous and published them in 1987. One even appeared on the cover. Vanna was embarrassed and scared for her job, but her employers and the public were very forgiving.
Life Came Crashing Down
Tragedy struck in 1986, when Vanna's fiancé was killed in a plane crash. John Gibson, 38, was a soap opera actor and exotic dancer. The couple had been together since the mid-1980s. He was flying solo in a rented plane when it crashed near Van Nuys Airport.
In 2018, White recalled this time of grief to Closer. "I was at the pinnacle of Vanna-mania when this tragically happened," she said. “The support I got from my fans was so tremendous that it made me feel like I wasn't alone.”
A New Love, And Children!
In 1990, Vanna married a restaurateur named George Santo Pietro, and the couple went on to have two children together. To fans' delight, Vanna's pregnancy was announced as a puzzle answer on Wheel of Fortune, but sadly, she miscarried soon after the announcement.
A son, Nicholas was born in 1994 and a daughter named Giovanna followed in 1997. Sadly, the marriage didn't last. Vanna and George were divorced in 2002.
A Lavish Home Complete With A Vineyard
While Vanna was married to George Santo Pietro, the two enjoyed a luxurious life at home in Los Angeles. The stunning five-acre estate, which they bought in the 1990s, even included a private vineyard as well as eight bedrooms, a gym, and a pool. Neighbors included many fellow stars like Denzel Washington and Sylvester Stallone.
After the couple was separated, Santo Pietro rented the mansion out for several years before eventually placing it on the market for $47.5 million.
Vanna Made Another Happy Announcement On Wheel Of Fortune In 2004
In 2004, Vanna again chose to announce something from her private life on the very public Wheel of Fortune. This time it was her engagement to a California businessman named Michael Kaye, who friends said was very "low-key" and a "homebody" just like Vanna.
However, a little more than a year after their announcement the engagement was broken off. The breakup was not addressed publicly by anyone in White's camp.
Taking Her Love Life Public A Fourth Time
When she fell in love again, Vanna kept it under wraps for a while. Her new romantic interest is a construction developer named John Donaldson. In a 2018 interview with Closer Today, she opened up about the new phase in her love life.
"Will we get married? I don't know," she said. "At this point, I feel like I am married. Everything is so good, there’s no reason to change anything.” In photos featuring Donaldson with Vanna's children, everyone does appear happy together.
Turning Letters Sure Pays Off!
Vanna White has said that she has no plans to retire, and we can see why. Her job turning letters on Wheel brings in an enviable $8 million each year. When you factor in the number of years and episodes she's co-hosted, her net worth jumps to a staggering $40 million.
Working on one of the most-watched shows in syndication has paid off, as have all of White's side business efforts.
Vanna Likes The Simple Life
Fame certainly hasn't gone to Vanna White's head. In fact, she's more into living simply than she is into chasing publicity. In one interview she confessed, "I'm a real down-to-earth girl. I usually spend my days without makeup, wearing tennis shoes. I love the outdoors. I love waking up early when it's quiet, going out on the balcony to hear the birds sing."
Fans might be surprised to learn that one of Vanna's favorite hobbies is crochet!
More Than Just A Hobby
Vanna's love for crochet is more than just a hobby. The craft, which was taught to her by her grandmother, is also a way for her to help others. She actually has a line of yarn out, which she developed with Lion Brand Yarn, and donates a portion of sales proceeds to St. Jude's Research Hospital.
According to Lion Brand, Vanna "has raised more than $1 million for the children’s charity. Vanna chose St. Jude’s because she feels blessed to have two healthy children of her own, and wants to help other families who are not as fortunate." She also shares her passion for crochet with daughter Giovanna, and the two model together for Vanna's yarn line.
White Sued Samsung And The Case Made It To The Supreme Court
The consumer electronics giant Samsung released a parody ad in 1988 that portrayed White as a robot. It was wearing a gown and blonde wig, and was turning letters on a set very closely resembling Wheel's. White felt that the resemblance "created confusion over whether she was endorsing their product" and that Samsung was profiting on her identity for promotional purposes.
The case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which rejected the electronics company's claim that it was protected by the First Amendment to use a parody of the TV star in its ads. White was awarded more than $400,000 in damages.
So Many Pop Culture References
Anyone who's been in the public eye for as many decades as Vanna White is sure to have inspired a bunch of pop culture references. The dictionary Merriam-Webster is debating whether to add "Vanna White" as a verb, as in, “To Vanna White means to present.”
And Rapper Nelly released a single called "Ride with Me" in 2000 that includes the line “I be on the next flight, paying cash, first class, sitting next to Vanna White.” Supposedly, Vanna and Nelly once met at a party and she asked if they'd ever been seated near each other on a plane, to which he responded, “No, it just rhymed.”
Vanna White's Grown-Up Kids
Although Vanna and George Santo Pietro were divorced in 2002, the family has remained close. White loves to share photos of her family to social media, like this holiday shot she posted to Facebook.
Today, Nicholas "Nikko" is 25 and Giovana "Gigi" is 23. A few years ago, then-19-year-old Nikko was thrust into the public eye following the revelation that he was in a relationship with a man twice his age. After some tabloid coverage, the news quieted down and by all accounts Vanna and her son enjoy a good relationship today.
Liquid Lunches?
Back in the early days of Wheel of Fortune, co-hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White were frequently faced with big gaps of time between taping while the prizes were being set up. They came up a fun way to stay occupied: heading to a Mexican restaurant across the street.
Sajak recalled these days in 2012. "They served great margaritas," he confessed on ESPN2. "So Vanna and I would go across and have two or three or six and then come and do the last shows and have trouble recognizing the alphabet. They're really good tapes to get a hold of."
A Roulette Problem?
White is known for her wholesome image, but that didn't stop one fake news site from spreading rumors about her in 2015. A site called Empire News publicized a story that Vanna had been fired for a gambling addiction, specifically roulette. They even wrote a fake quote from Wheel's director which said, "We appreciate Vanna's 32 years with us. However, her recent actions have compromised the production of this all-American favorite. The betrayal felt by viewers upon seeing her spinning around with other wheels is too great to be tolerated."
The false story continued on to say that Vanna's alleged roulette addiction was akin to a spouse's cheating. Luckily, the story was fake but it did get a lot of publicity before being put to rest.
Buy Those Vowels!
After nearly four decades, Vanna has picked up some great tips that she likes to share with contestants who appear nervous. One of those game tips is to buy vowels.
This is despite the fact that many viewers are enraged when they see contestants purchase what they believe to be "wasted" vowels (which cost $250 each). Fun fact: vowels have cost $250 each since the show hit primetime in 1983. According to schmoop, this means that "adjusted for inflation, a vowel today would cost $586.61."
Behind The Scenes
Something fans might be surprised to learn is that the cast and crew of Wheel all get to contribute to writing the show's puzzles! Instead of a room full of people who are there just to write, everyone chips in with their ideas.
Vanna is a big fan of crossword puzzles (she even works on them backstage) so she really enjoys making puzzles for Wheel. Pat Sajak says that her ideas are used all the time!
A Fan From The Beginning
Although she's now part of the show's history, Vanna White was just a fan like the rest of us way back when. And she actually wanted to audition to be on Wheel. Although it didn't pan out, she did pretty well by snagging the co-hosting gig that she's now held for almost 40 years.
This photo shows the episode of Wheel of Fortune when Pat Sajak introduced her to the audience.
A Mind-Blowing Guess
One of the most stunning moments Vanna says she's witnessed during her long run on Wheel of Fortune took place in 2014. Pat Sajak was stunned, too, and tweeted that it was "the most amazing solve in my 30+ years on the show."
A contestant named Emil De Leon was faced with a game board that was blank except two letters: N and E. To everyone's surprise, he called out "New baby buggy," which was the correct answer! A video of the moment went viral, and De Leon later explained how he was able to answer so quickly. "My parents would just sit me in front of the TV to watch it so I've been prepping my whole life."
After 9/11
America, and the rest of the world, changed forever on September 11, 2001. Vanna White and Pat Sajak were also affected. Vanna was in the Bahamas during the attacks and was supposed to fly to Miami in order to begin filming Wheel three days later. With all flights grounded, however, she was forced to find an alternate way to get there.
ABC came to the rescue and sent a trawler boat. Although the ride was rough, she and the rest of the crew eventually made it there. After all, the show must go on. Sajak later recalled that returning to the show gave them all hope that life would return to normal one day.
Making People Happy Is A Big Part Of The Job
Vanna has said that making her fans happy is her favorite part of working on Wheel of Fortune. The show has given away hundreds of millions in prize money over the decades, and some of the contestants update her after they've won big.
In 2017, Vanna told People about some of these contestants. "We had one woman [who told us] that they adopted a child. And of course they'd send the pictures [with] 'Here’s the child I adopted,'" she said. “It’s very heartwarming to see those letters come in, how it has affected so many people.”
More Than A Show, Wheel Changes Lives
Other contestants have also done incredible things with their prize winnings, says Vanna. "People pay off their student loans, they buy their first homes, they go on honeymoons, they buy cars that they've never had. So it changes a lot of people’s lives." she told People.
But many of them spend the money on others. Vanna added, “We’ve had other people who have taken the money and have started charities, or have helped organizations that help other people, not just themselves.”
Believe It Or Not, 'Vanna White' Is A Code For A Narcotic
The term "Vanna White" is code for a certain narcotic. Per Urban Dictionary, it's "pure cocaine that once sniffed makes you feel like your spinning on the wheel and it gets you so smashed that people are puzzled by your words."
If that's not bad enough for Vanna, there was a heroin ring in Chicago that was busted in 2017. The traffickers referred to themselves as the "Vanna White Line" and the FBI investigation into the criminals was code-named “Operation Wheel of Fortune.”
Vanna-Mania Is A Thing!
When Vanna White started co-hosting Wheel of Fortune, she was considered a spokesmodel since she didn't have any lines. But when she published her autobiography (aptly titled Vanna Speaks) in 1987, she sparked a giant fan frenzy that even had its own name: Vanna-Mania.
When asked to describe the phenomenon of Vanna-Mania a few years later, White was unable to. "No. No, I can't," she explained. "I think it goes back to being real and honest and down-to-earth and natural."
Speaking Of Vanna Speaks...
We've already seen that Vanna's tell-all autobiography created a new legion of dedicated fans. It's not hard to see why, as she really opened up about her life in a more candid way than a lot of other authors didn't at the time.
In Vanna Speaks, White discusses her early years (including having talks about sex with her mom), her love life, and even the way she stays so fit. Fans were enamored with her honesty about subjects that other stars don't want to address publicly.
How'd She Get That Lovely Smile?
It's mainly the result of good genes, obviously, but Vanna's fans are always curious about how she maintains her beautiful smile. It turns out that it's not ALL natural. She admits that she wore braces for a year when she was young. So did her son, Nikko.
She takes good care of her teeth, too, with regular trips to the dentist for cleanings. Vanna also gets professional whitening treatments every six months to keep coffee and red wine stains at bay. Her pearly whites look as good as ever today as a result.
For Vanna White, The Price Wasn't Right
Vanna's game show career didn't start with Wheel of Fortune, a fact that might surprise some fans. No, she first appeared on another popular show (that's still running today, too!) called The Price is Right. She was a contestant in 1980, appearing in a t-shirt that said "Get Serious."
Host Bob Barker called her out during taping, saying that she was checking herself out in the monitor -- something Vanna denies. "I wasn't looking at myself in the monitor!," she told Yahoo. "I was looking at my friend to get an answer from her!" Either way, she didn't win anything that day.
She Loves Cats!
We'll stop short of calling her a cat lady, but Vanna White really loves felines. She has two of her own, Stella and Kiki, and loves spending time with them. She also posts plenty of photos of them to social media, like this one of her cuddling with Stella.
Vanna told People, "I always had cats growing up, so it was natural for me to raise some as an adult too.” She adds that keeping cats is different in California than it was in her home state of South Carolina. "Where I live now, there's always the threat of coyotes, so you have to be a lot more careful" about letting them outdoors.
Vanna Flips Letters AND Houses
In a 2017 interview, Vanna said that she used to flip houses as a hobby. That's a side endeavor that can be pretty profitable -- as long as there are homes available for purchase!
"I'm a businesswoman. You know, I have other investments too, real estate," she said. “A long time ago, I would buy a house and flip it. But now everybody does that so I don’t do that anymore because there’s no houses out there to buy.”
The Stars Aligned For Vanna White
Born on February 18, 1957 at 2:35 in the afternoon, Vanna White is a Pisces. Her star chart at Astrotheme says this about her birth time. "The predominance of Air signs in your chart favors and amplifies your taste for relations and for all kinds of short trips, whether real (travels) or symbolic (new ideas, mind speculations)."
How's that for a spot on assessment? She's an excellent communicator and loves to travel for work and pleasure.
She's Got A Star Of Her Own
Vanna White received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 2006, when she was 49 years old. Present to watch her receive the honor were her father, Pat Sajak, Merv Griffin, and Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. Vanna's children were also there to celebrate.
In a speech, she said, "I remember my parents telling me, at the age of 10, 'You can do anything you want."' Dad, we did it!”
Vanna's Other Television Work
Vanna White is not just the co-host of Wheel of Fortune; she's also been in other television shows and movies. In 1988 she played Venus in the NBC TV film Goddess of Love. Unfortunately, the movie wasn't well-received by critics. One of them even quipped that Vanna's acting was "wheely" bad (groan).
Other credits include L.A. Law, Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Simon and Simon, The King of Queens, Full House, Married...With Children, and a slasher film called Graduation Day.
Will She Ever Retire?
Fans of the show certainly hope it won't be anytime soon, but Vanna can't co-host forever. When Pat and Vanna celebrated Wheel's 7,000th episode in 2019, she sat down for a chat with USA Today.
Vanna confessed that she never expected everything to last so long. "I thought, 'Well, this is gonna be fun, but I can't imagine it lasting that long,’ " she said. “I remember sitting in the chair next to Pat saying, ‘I wonder where we’ll be in 10 years?’ … And here it’s been 36."
Even Weird Al Has Vanna-Mania
"Weird Al" Yankovic is a singer-songwriter and satirist who has parodied some of the biggest names in show biz. Vanna White is one of them! Weird Al wrote about her in a parody of Van Halen's "Feel Your Love Tonight" for his 1987 album Even Worse.
The song includes these lyrics: "I fall down a hole and that’s when I realize... I am stuck in a closet with Vanna White... I’m stuck in a closet with Vanna White... Night after night after night after night.”
Talent Runs In The Family
Vanna White has a younger brother, Chip White, who has also tried his hand in the entertainment industry. He's a longtime producer, screenwriter, and director and has been tied to major studios like Vh1, Nickelodeon, Sony, and MTV.
He's incredibly creative and enjoys makes short films, such as one he released in 2017 called Crab Trap. Vanna, being the proud big sister she is, promoted Chip's work on her Instagram page and asked her followers to check out his work.
White Walker Vanna White On Kimmel
Always up for fun, Vanna made a surprise appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live dressed as a Game of Thrones "White Walker" in 2017. Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters was guest hosting, as Kimmel was off for the night.
The appearance was for a Halloween game called the Half & Half Halloween Pageant where viewers had to guess the mash-up characters each celebrity was dressed as. Handmaid's Snail and Marge Gimp-son also made appearances.