It’s a great day for the creators of Wheel of Fortune, as the long-running show has been chosen to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Vanna White has been the letter-turning hostess of the game show since 1982, and she is still the beloved host to date! Here’s what you need to know about her in Vanna White’s wiki.
Vanna White’s net worth will leave you wide-eyed, and it’s all thanks to the very entertaining Wheel of Fortune. The hostess, who has been on our TV screens for more than 35 years now, came into the industry looking to become an actress, but she struck gold with the TV show.
Get the scoop on the show’s hostess right here.
A Dream to Make It Big
Born as Vanna Marie Rosich on February 18, 1957, Vanna White’s age is 60. White’s parents, Joan Marie and Miguel Angel Rosich, divorced when she was a child, and her mother had re-married.
White took her step-father’s last name, and she grew up in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Herbert Stackley White Jr. was a real estate agent, and he looked after White like his own daughter.
Vanna White always knew she wanted to make it big in the entertainment industry. A 21-year-old White participated in the Miss Georgia pageant in 1978. She didn’t win that year, but great things were ahead of her.
In 1980, White was a contestant on a game show named The Price Is Right. She was among the first four contestants of the show.
After Susan Stafford quit as host of Wheel of Fortune, White was given the opportunity to become a standby hostess of the show. She was welcomed as a host by Pat Sajak in 1982, and she has been on the show ever since.
White and Sajak hosted the show for over three decades, and along the way, received many accolades. Both got their Hollywood Stars, and White even imprinted her hands in the Disney’s Hollywood Studios Theme Park.
Vanna White released an autobiography titled Vanna Speaks! in 1987. The book takes the reader on her inspiring journey to the top.
In 2006, when she received her Hollywood Walk of Fame, White had said, “I remember my parents telling me, at the age of 10, ‘You can do anything you want.’ Dad, we did it!”
Vanna White became a household name, and roles for TV and movies also began coming in. White has done some interesting work in Hollywood, which included playing the role of Venus in the TV movie, Goddess of Love, as well as cameo appearances in shows like Full House, The King of Queens, and Simon and Simon.
Guinness World Records has named Vanna White as “television’s most frequent clapper.”
Vanna White’s Husband
White began dating John Gibson, who was a Chippendales dancer-turned actor. But in an unfortunate plane crash, Gibson was killed.
In 1990, Vanna White married her husband George Santo Pietro, who was into the restaurant business. She announced her pregnancy on the show in an answer that revealed, “Vanna’s Pregnant.” But, a short while after the episode, she suffered a miscarriage.
White and her husband then welcomed their first child Nicholas in 1994, and then even had a baby girl Giovanna in 1997. But the couple couldn’t save their marriage, and they split in 2002.
In 2004, news broke out that Vanna White was engaged to Micheal Kayne, a businessman. However, the couple never got married.
White’s Life of Fortune
In a lawsuit settled with Samsung Electronics, White was given $403,000 for damages after the company released an ad. The ad campaign had a robot turning letters on a game show, and this struck White. She claimed that her personality was violated, and after losing the case in the lower courts, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit judged in favor of the host.
Vanna White’s salary is $8.0 million annually, and her net worth is estimated at a whopping $40.0 million.
