Vanna White, an American television personality, model, and actress, is one of the highest-paid actresses in the American TV industry, best known for her role as the hostess and puzzle-board turner on the long-running game show “Wheel of Fortune.” Her net worth is estimated to be $70 million, making her one of the wealthiest TV personalities.
Born as Vanna Marie Rosich on February 18, 1957, in Conway, South Carolina, she adopted her stepfather’s surname, White, after her parents’ divorce. She pursued a career in fashion and design in Atlanta after high school and later moved to Los Angeles in 1979 to pursue an acting career. Before gaining fame, she participated in the Miss Georgia USA pageant in 1978 and appeared as a contestant on “The Price Is Right” in June 1980.
Vanna’s personal life has seen its share of ups and downs. She dated actor John Gibson during the 1980s and got engaged to him, but he tragically died in a plane crash. She later married restaurant owner George Santo Pietro in 1990 and had two children, Nicholas and Giovanna. However, the couple divorced in 2002. Vanna was also engaged to businessman Michael Kaye from 2004 to 2006. Currently, she is in a relationship with contractor John Donaldson.
Her career breakthrough came when she became the hostess of “Wheel of Fortune,” which catapulted her to fame. In addition to her television work, she published her autobiography “Vanna Speaks!” in 1987, which became a best-seller. She also starred in the NBC television film “Goddess of Love” in 1988.
For her long tenure on “Wheel of Fortune,” Vanna White earned a Guinness World Record for the most frequent clapper, having clapped over 3,480,864 times during the show’s 30 seasons as of January 31, 2013. She appeared in almost all episodes of the show’s modern syndicated run, which started on September 19, 1983, missing only 10 episodes out of 5,754.
Apart from her earnings from “Wheel of Fortune,” Vanna White is also a successful businesswoman with various lavish properties in the country, contributing to her substantial net worth.