Game Shows Wiki
in: Hostesses, Contestants, Models,
and 5 more

Vanna White

Sign in to edit
Vanna White
Vanna White 2020
Name: Vanna Marie Rosich-White
Born: February 18, 1957
Birth Hometown: North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Occupation: Hostess, Actress, Activist
Years active: 1980-present
Known for: Co-hosting Wheel of Fortune

Vanna White (born Vanna Marie Rosich on February 18, 1957) is the longtime hostess/co-host of TV's Wheel of Fortune. Vanna's first appearance as a hostess on Wheel of Fortune began on December 13th, 1982, and she is still active with the show.

Early Career[]

She was a struggling actress during the 1970s and in 1980 was a contestant on The Price is Right but never made it out of Contestants' Row. It seemed like her career was nothing but a dead end, until she learned that producers were holding auditions for the new letter turner on Wheel of Fortune by her friend Janet Jones (aka Mrs. Wayne Gretzky). The letter turning job was formerly occupied by Susan Stafford. On a whim, Vanna tried out for that job thinking that she may or may not get it; on her audition, however, Vanna was a nervous wreck, quivering & shaking, but producer/creator Merv Griffin saw through the nervousness and hired her for the job partnering with current host Pat Sajak. Vanna's first show was on December 13, 1982. Her popularity heightened thanks to the nighttime version and she has stayed with the show ever since.

Personal Life[]

  • Vanna is a proud native of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The town's welcome sign includes its claim to being her hometown. In May 2025, Wheel aired a segment of Vanna returning to North Myrtle Beach and her favorite sites including Painter's Ice Cream which named a "Vanna Banana Split" in her honor. (An extended behind-the-scenes version was posted to the show's YouTube account.)
  • Vanna White survived the devastating losses of her mother Joan Marie Rosich, and then-boyfriend John Gibson. She had been married for 11 years to restaurateur George Santo Pietro. From that marriage, Vanna is the mother of two children Nicholas & Giovanna (named after Vanna & George). Plus when not turning/touching letters on the puzzle board...
  • Vanna is also an expert crocheter and now has her own line of yarn called "Vanna's Choice" by Lion Brand Yarn.

Trivia[]

  • Vanna is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the most frequent clapper on television, averaging 720 claps per show, and clapping more than 28,000 times a season.
  • Most video game releases based off Wheel have her as host of the show instead of Pat Sajak until the Wii and Nintendo DS versions in 2010 and Wii U, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions in 2012 which both had her and Sajak as host and co-host respectively just like the show itself. She has even played the game herself (for charity) twice.
  • In the 80s & 90s Vanna was the spokeswoman for Spring Air mattress.
  • Vanna has also made guest appearances on several TV shows, and at one time she starred in her own NBC TV movie called Goddess of Love where she played Venus, a Roman goddess of love struggling to survive in modern-day LA. The TV film was a target against critics, but it was loved by viewers who made it one of the most watched that night.
A Clue's Solution Vanna White Goddess of Love
  • In 1993, Vanna sued Samsung Electronics, claiming her rights were violated after the company used a parody of her in its ads. The company countered, saying their use of the parody of her was protected under the 1st Amendment right to free speech, but the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Vanna, where she was rewarded $403,000 in damages.
  • Vanna has actually held the hosting position three times. The first time was when she was introducing the then new daytime host of Wheel, Rolf Benirschke. The second time was during a bonus round while Pat had laryngitis and Pat did the letter turning. The third time was December 2019 when Pat Sajak recovered from the surgery he had.
  • Vanna returned to The Price is Right (more specifically The Price is Right 50th Anniversary Special) as a special guest to present an item up for bids on September 30, 2021, 41 years after her contestants row appearance from 1980.
  • Upon Pat Sajak's retirement in 2024, Vanna is the longest-tenured active host in US Game Shows.

Show hosted[]

Shows appeared[]

Gallery[]

References[]

Links[]

YouTube Video[]

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.