| NET WORTH: | $65 Million |
|---|---|
| Source of Wealth: | Television host, Actress |
| Born: | February 18, 1957 |
| Age: | 63 |
| Spouse: | George Santo Pietro (Divorced) |
| Children: | 2 |
| Birth Name: | Vanna Marie Rosich |
| Height: | 5ft. 5in. (1.67m) |
Vanna Marie Rosich is known as the hostess of the famous television game show "Wheel of Fortune", since 1982. She is an American television personality, actress, and a model.
Early Life
Vanna White was born on February 18, 1957, in Horry County, South Carolina. Her parents were Marie Nicholas and Miguel Angel Rosich. She was raised by her mother and stepfather, Herbert White Jr., after her parents divorced when she was still an infant. She followed her stepfather's name and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, after she graduated in high school. White attended The Atlanta School of Fashion and Design and worked as a model. During college, she was one of the contestants in the 1978 pageant for Miss Georgia USA. In 1978, she moved to Los Angel to pursue an acting career.
Career
White's first appearance in a game show was on June 20, 1980 as one of the first four contestants of an episode of the American television game show "The Price is Right". In 1981, she appeared as Doris in the horror movie "Graduation Day" and in the science-fiction horror-thriller film "Looker". In October 1982, she was hired as one of the three substitute hostesses for "Wheel of Fortune", and became the regular hostess of the show since December 1982. She continues to host the television game show with Pat Sajak with her contract runs until 2022. White also made an appearance in several films and shows such as the NBC television film "Goddess of Love", the television show "L.A. Law", "The King of Queens", "Simon and Simon", the 1994 comedy film "Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult", "Double Dragon", "Indecent Proposal", and more.
In 1996, White was the singer and the main narrator in the CD release of Leslie Bricusse's "Santa's Last Ride". She was honored on April, 2006, with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
White was announced by Sony Pictures Television that she will take over hosting as emcee the television game show "Wheel of Fortune" on November 2019 after Pat Sajak was hospitalized with emergency surgery. On December 2019, Pat Sajak returned to the show after his full recovery from his surgery. On an 2013 episode of Wheel of Fortune, White was presented with a Guinness World Record for "most frequent clapper" and was estimated that she clapped for about 3, 480, 864 times in 2013, since the show's 30 seasons.
White sued Samsung Electronics corporation in 1993, for using an advertisement that featured a smiling robot turning letter letters on a game show, claiming it a violation of her personality rights. White won the lawsuit and was awarded $403,000 in the damages.
Personal Life
In the 1980s, White dated John Gibson and eventually got engaged. The two never got the chance to marry after Gibson was killed in a plane crush in 1986. In December 1990, she married George Santo Pietro, a restaurant owner. White unfortunately had her first pregnancy miscarried after an episode's taping of Wheel of Fortune. The couple later on had a son, Nicholas, and a daughter, Giovanna.
She returned to South Carolina in the summer of 1980, to be with her mother's side as she battled ovarian cancer. White lost her mother later on, after battling with the disease.
Net Worth
White's estimated salary per year is $10 million. The Wheel of Fortune show tapes four days per month with six shows per day. White likes flipping apartments and uses her income to make an investment in apartment buildings. In the year 2013, she paid $1.125 million for a home located in Sherman Oaks, California, and listed it for rent in May 2020 for $20,000 per year. Currently, Vanna White has an estimated net worth of $65 million.
