Vanna White is someone you might not notice behind host Pat Sajak at first when tuning into the popular game show “Wheel of Fortune,” but her earnings from the show certainly command front and center attention!
How much is Vanna White paid a year?
Vanna has been turning (and now lighting up) letters for contestants for since 1982.
Vanna White posing with Pat Sajak and his daughter Maggie Sajak outside Craig’s restaurant in West Hollywood on January 9, 2020
Wheel of Fortune is America’s longest-running syndicated game show and its popularity doesn’t appear to be waning, which is great news for White.
According to ABC News, she earns an eye-popping $4 million per year for her dazzling hostess role on the show.
How did Vanna White get her job?
Vanna didn’t set out to be a game show darling-she came from humble beginnings. Born in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, she was raised by her mother and a stepfather, Herbert White Jr., whose last name she took as her own-White.
White’s birth father, Miguel Angel Rosich, and her mother, Joan, divorced when she was only an infant.
Vanna wanted to be an actress, a dream that didn’t come true in exactly the way she envisioned. White was first a model and pursued her education at The Atlanta School of Fashion and Design.
After participating in the Miss Georgia pageant in 1978 (she didn’t place), she packed up and moved to LA to pursue her dream of acting, but fate would send her in a different direction.
Vanna White starred as Venus in Goddess of Love, a 1988 American made-for-television fantasy film
White first appeared on another beloved game show known as “The Price is Right,” but not as a showcase hostess, but rather a contestant. She never made it on stage but that she loved the thrill of being on TV and the excitement of the game show atmosphere.
Vanna went on from this experience and landed a few small parts in the movies “Looker,” “Graduation Day,” and “Double Dragon,” and some up and coming TV shows such as “Married With Children,” “L.A. Law,” and “Full House,” but never became a regular or the featured star in any of them.
Vanessa White starred in “The Test,” the fifteenth episode of season seven on Full House
White’s lucky break came when she was asked to fill in as a guest host on The Wheel of Fortune in October 1982 and by that December she was signed on as the permanent hostess. As of today, her contract on The Wheel of Fortune extends to May 2022.
Is Vanna White still married?
Vanna’s personal life has been rocky with heartbreak, several engagements, and one failed marriage.
In the early 1980’s White was engaged to a Playgirl centerfold named John Gibson. Gibson, who was also a Chippendale’s dancer, was later killed in a plane crash.
White then married a well- known restaurant owner named George Santo Pietro in 1990. The couple went on to have two children, Nicholas, born in 1994, and Giovanna, born in 1997, who make frequent appearances at tapings of the show.
George Santo Pietro and Vanna White during 16th Carousel of Hope Presented by Mercedes-Benz to Benefit the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes on October 11, 2014, in Beverly Hills, California
Vanna sadly lost her first child to a miscarriage in 1992 after announcing her pregnancy on the show in a puzzle. She and her husband divorced in 2002.
Vanna was engaged after her marriage ended but it never evolved into marriage. In 2004 she got engaged to businessman Michael Kaye, but that relationship ended in 2006.
Since 2012, she has been in a relationship with John Donaldson, who works as a contractor.
John Donaldson (R) and his girlfriend Vanna White at the 16th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball on June 3, 2017, in Los Angeles, California
“He is kind, understanding, and lets me be me,” she told Closer Weekly in a 2017 interview.
“The biggest surprise to my fans is probably how simple I live in real life. 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.”
Vanna White’s 1987 Playboy cover
White’s public persona pretty much represents exactly who she is in real life. The closest she has ever come to a scandal was when some lingerie pictures she posed for pre-Wheel fame were published in Playboy magazine in 1987.
She reportedly posed for the racy photos to pay her rent instead of asking her father for money. The magazine is still available on Amazon.
She had been friends with Hugh Hefner, the Playboy empire mogul, up until the time he decided to put her on the cover of that famed issue of Playboy. That decision ended their friendship.
She asked him not to publish those photos due to her blossoming career on The Wheel of Fortune, because she was afraid it would ruin her-the move by Hefner actually helped her career by boosting her popularity.
“I did something I shouldn’t have done,” she told Fox News in 2017. She remembered “going on ‘Johnny Carson’ and saying, ‘I’m so sorry … I made a mistake, I’m sorry and I just hope I don’t lose my job over it.’”
Vanna White’s hobbies are crocheting and real estate
In her free time, Vanna’s hobbies are very ordinary and unlikely to draw any unwanted attention to the star. She picked up crocheting very early on in her life from her grandmother and continues the hobby to this day.
The American television personality even has her own brand of yarn called Vanna’s Choice and has been asked to endorse several crochet books over the years.
Vanna White with her children Nikko Santo and Gigi Santo Pietro
Another interest of White’s is real estate-which she gained second- hand knowledge from by watching her stepfather, Herbert White, Jr, a real estate broker, secure deals in for many many years. Vanna is known to invest in apartment buildings and “flip” houses to make a profit.
Did Pat Sajak and Vanna White ever date?
Over the years there has been much speculation on whether Vanna White and Pat Sajak ever had a romantic relationship. Sajak, who has been married twice, is currently married to his second wife, Lesly Brown since 1989. They share two children, Patrick and Maggie.
The hosts of Wheel of Fortune Vanna White (L) and Pat Sajak are honored by Gray Line New York’s Ride Of Fame Campaign in Central Park on May 23, 2012, in New York City
In a 2019 interview with Fox News, Vanna stated, as she has over the four decades they have spent working together, that she and Pat are nothing more than good friends.
She stated that they have only ever “had one fight,” and that was over her putting ketchup on her hot dog, something which Sajak personally finds distasteful.
How many times does Vanna White clap?
Vanna’s long-standing career on The Wheel of Fortune has made her famous in another arena-The Guinness Book of World Records for clapping!
White is always seen clapping for each contestant as they spin the wheel and buy the vowels-based upon all her appearances it was estimated that Vanna claps on average 606 times per show. That is a lot of clapping and she has gained much-deserved notoriety from her enthusiasm.
Does Vanna White wear a dress more than once?
And what about her fabulous wardrobe? Her dresses are full of sparkle and glitz and she has never worn one more than once. Vanna gets to personally select her own gowns and has worn a whopping 6,500 of them.
She only has about ten minutes to change in and out of her beautifully selected gowns in between tapings which are done six shows a day, four days a month. Unfortunately, the gowns are not hers to keep-she returns them after each taping.
What is Wheel Of Fortune star Vanna White’s net worth?
Vanna White has stood the test of time in television-not many people in the industry can boast a 35- year career on the same show, in the same character.
She has made her way into our homes and our hearts with her sweet “girl next door” personality that is as real in life as it is on screen.
With her unwavering popularity, we will no doubt be seeing plenty of Vanna White touching letters and clapping for excited contestants on The Wheel of Fortune for many years to come. Most analysts believe her net worth is around $70 million.
Does Vanna White have a star on the Walk of Fame?
Yes, she was honored with the 2,309th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7018 Hollywood Boulevard on April 20, 2006. Johnny Grant, Honorary Mayor of Hollywood, presided over the ceremony.
Guests at the ceremony included Wheel of Fortune’s creator Merv Griffin, Pat Sajak, and Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek.
Alex Trebek, Merv Griffin and Pat Sajak joined Wheel of Fortune co-host Vanna White at a ceremony to honor her with the 2,309th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 20, 2006
Vanna White Facts
| How much is Vanna White's net worth? | $70 million |
|---|---|
| Full Name: | Vanna Marie White (born Vanna Marie Rosich) |
| Born: | February 18, 1957, in Conway, SC |
| Husband: | George Santo Pietro (m. 1990–2002) |
| Kids: | Gigi Santo Pietro and Nikko Santo Pietro |
| Weight: | 105 lbs / 48 kg |
| Feet/Shoe Size: | 7.5 (US) |
| Height: | 5’6″ (167 cm) |
| Nationality: | American |
| Source of Wealth: | Wheel of Fortune |
| Ethnicity/Race: | Spanish and mixed European |
| Was Vanna White a contestant on The Price is Right? | Yes, she was a contestant on The Price is Right in 1980. Unfortunately, she didn’t win anything on the iconic game show. |
| Is Vanna White a robot? | No, she is not. However, Vanna sued Samsung Electronics in 1993 over its use of an advertisement in the October 1988 issue of Smithsonian magazine featuring a robot turning letters on a game show. |
Credit: Instar / WENN / Adriana M. Barraza / Jody Cortes / PNP / Nikki Nelson