Meet Wheel of Fortune co-host Vanna White: she appeared on American Idol with Ryan Seacrest, set to replace Pat Sajak on the game show – but how did the former model get her big break in TV?
A fixture on America’s television screens for over four decades, Vanna White is best known for her iconic role as the co-host of the NBC and CBS game show Wheel of Fortune.
As the show enters its 42nd season in 2024, the 67-year-old remains a vital and beloved part of the Wheel of Fortune family.
Here’s what to know about her.
Vanna White began her career as a model
White was born Vanna Marie Rosich in South Carolina. Her birth father disappeared from her life when she was an infant, and she was given the surname of the stepfather who raised her, per IMDB.
Her path to stardom began when she moved to Los Angeles in 1979 – the year she turned 22 – to pursue a career in modelling, per the Los Angeles Times. At this point, White already had experience of competing in the Miss Georgia USA pageant in 1978.
Her first appearance in a game show was in 1980, when she was a contestant on The Price is Right. “I didn’t win a doggone thing,” she remarked ruefully on the show’s 50th anniversary special in September 2021.
She was plucked from obscurity to co-host Wheel of Fortune
White’s big break came when she attended a 1982 taping of Dance Fever, a musical variety show created by the late media mogul Merv Griffin, who also owned Wheel of Fortune. “I knew one of the dancers on that show and I said, ‘Hey, can you introduce me to somebody here? I hear they’re looking for a replacement on Wheel of Fortune. I would love to audition,’” White recalled in a May 2018 interview with The Believer.
What is Vanna White’s net worth?
White’s success on Wheel of Fortune has translated into an impressive net worth. As of March 2024, she is estimated to have a staggering US$85 million in assets, per Celebrity Net Worth – which also states that her salary is a whopping US$10 million per season, although TV Line shares a much lower estimate of around US$3 million.
Who is Vanna White’s long-time partner?
White’s partner since 2012 is John Donaldson, who owns his own construction company. According to a June 2023 interview with People, White remembers being instantly attracted to Donaldson, with the two hitting it off at their first meeting at a friend’s barbecue.
White says their relationship is a harmonious one. “He’s easy, and he lets me be me, and I let him be him,” she told People, describing Donaldson as the male version of herself.
White has a grown-up son and daughter with her ex-husband, film producer George Santo Pietro, to whom she was married from 1990 to 2002.
- As a plucky 20-something, White took her chances by asking for an audition to co-host Wheel of Fortune, after she attended a taping of another Merv Griffin show – beating out 200 other candidates
- The one-time The Price is Right contestant – who ‘didn’t win a doggone thing’ – has never looked back from her 1982 debut on Wheel, and is now worth a reported US$85 million