- Born
- Birth nameVanna Marie Rosich
- Height1.68 m
- Vanna White was born Vanna Marie Rosich in Conway, South Carolina, to Miguel Angel Rosich, and Joan Marie Rosich. Her father disappeared from her life shortly after her birth. When her mother married Herbert White, who raised her Vanna adopted her stepfather's last name in the process. The family moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where Herbert White became a successful real estate broker/owner of White's Realty.
As a young adult, Vanna moved west to pursue a career where her attractive appearance and pleasant personality would be appreciated.
She quickly befriended other aspiring actresses in Hollywood, and met the love of her life: John Gibson. Four years after Vanna won her spot on Wheel of Fortune, she and John were engaged, and within months of the engagement John was killed in a private plane crash.
In 1985, Tracy Vaccaro, and Jessie Eastland took Vanna to dinner in Studio City, California. Tracy's former boyfriend: restaurateur George Santopietro was also on the guest list. Five years later George and Vanna were married. On May 15th, 2002 they were divorced. They have two children together. At this writing (2017) Vanna White remains the letter turner on one of the most successful game shows in television history: Wheel of Fortune.- IMDb mini biography by: Unknownian
- SpouseGeorge Santopietro(December 31, 1990 - May 15, 2002) (divorced, 2 children)
- Children
- ParentsMiguel Angel RosichJoan Marie Nicholas-RosichHerbert White Jr.
- RelativesHerbert "Chip" White III(Sibling)
- Best known for turning the letters on the game show Wheel of Fortune (1983)
- Blonde hair
- Although she has been on Wheel of Fortune (1983) regularly for 37 years, she did not host an episode until December 9, 2019, when regular host Pat Sajak took a three-week hiatus to recover from surgery. Before that, White and Sajak switched places for a single bonus round in 1996 when Sajak had laryngitis.
- She was one of the first four contestants on an episode of The New Price Is Right (1972) in 1980. She did not get out of Contestant's Row.
- When she auditioned for Wheel of Fortune (1975), it was with 200 other women to replace Susan Stafford. It came down to her and a brunette, Vicki Iovine, who was also her friend. Merv Griffin selected her because he liked her chemistry with Pat Sajak and because he liked the way she turned letters.
- Favorite TV game show other than WoF is Jeopardy! (1984).
- In 1992, she was recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as "Television's Most Frequent Clapper". Averaging 720 claps per episode, she puts her hands together more than 28,800 times per season.
- I enjoy getting dressed as a Barbie doll.
- [on her job on Wheel of Fortune (1983)] It's not the most intellectual job in the world, but I do have to know the letters.
- I smoked some pot with the two wilder girls and came home with such an intense case of the munchies that I ate an entire meatloaf.
- [her Playboy photos] I did these lingerie shots and from the moment I said I would do them, I thought, "I shouldn't be doing this, but I'm not going to ask my dad for money, so I'm just going to do it!" Once I got "Wheel of Fortune" and some fame, Hugh Hefner then bought those pictures. He's the one who put me on the cover of the magazine. I didn't do it for Playboy.
- Never do anything you don't want to do. Listen to your instincts and follow them.
- Gypsy Angels (1990) - $12,000
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