Last Updated on February 11, 2023 by
Vanna White
Vanna Marie Rosich was born in Conway, South Carolina, on February 18, 1957. Joan Rosich is her mother, and Miguel Rosich is her father.
Early life
When she was a baby, her parents separated. Herbert White, Jr. was her mother’s second husband. Vanna adopted his surname. She was born and raised in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and attended North Myrtle Beach High School. She relocated to Atlanta to pursue a degree in fashion design at the Atlanta School of Fashion Design. She competed in the Miss Georgia USA pageant in 1978 while still in college. She relocated to Los Angeles in 1979 to seek a career as an actress. She was a participant in “The Price Is Right” in June 1980.
Relation with grandmother
When she was five years old, her grandmother taught her how and when to crochet. She continues to like this pastime to this day. The yarn producer Lion Brand Yarns contacted her when she spoke on the “Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” about her love of crocheting. Vanna’s Choice, her brand of yarns, was created under contract with the company. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a patron of White. To date, she has given $1.8 million to St. Jude’s. After leaving “Wheel of Fortune,” she intends to continue her charity activities.
Education of Vanna White
She excelled in her studies and was even named the “Miss Valuable Player” of her high school basketball team. White attended the Atlanta School of Fashion Design, where she studied fashion design and sewing.
Career
Vanna had a small role in the movie “Looker” but starred in the horror-thriller “Graduation Day” in 1981. White was chosen as one of three replacement hosts for “Wheel of Fortune” in October 1982. On December 13, 1982, White became the show’s permanent hostess, and she has remained the show’s lead hostess ever since.
She was chosen over 200 additional young women for the position. White and Pat Sajak continue to co-host that evening edition of the show. Her contract is up in 2022. During her time on “Wheel of Fortune,” White has worn almost 6,700 dresses, with no repetitions. Her attire from the exhibition is not hers to keep. White generally borrows clothes from designers and then returns them.
Success
On the May 24, 2013, edition of “Wheel of Fortune,” White was awarded a Guinness World Record. “Most frequent clapper” is her world record. As of January 31, 2013, she had applauded at least 3,480,864 times during 30 seasons. “Wheel of Fortune” records six episodes every day, which means White and Sajak will only be on set four times per month. “Just Shoot Me,” “Married With Children,” “The King of Queens,” & “The A-Team” are among the television shows in which she has appeared.
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Vanna White net worth
Vanna White has an estimated net worth of $85 million of dollars. She is an American television famous lady, model, & actress. She is most known as the hostess of the lengthy game show “Wheel of Fortune” and the puzzle-board turner. Vanna’s net worth of $85 million puts her $15 million ahead of her founder Pat Sajak (net worth of $70 million). The discrepancy is partly due to property investments undertaken with her estranged husband, George Santo Pietro, a real estate developer and restaurateur.
Vanna White’s annual “Wheel of Fortune” compensation is $10 million, but as we’ll see later in this piece, it’s not even her primary source of income. Every year, she and Pat Sajak earn more money licensing their images to casino gambling machines than they already do from the game show itself.
Suit Against Sony
Vanna successfully prosecuted Samsung Electronics for a commercial in 1993 after the firm ran a commercial featuring a smiling robot turning characters on a game show. White claimed that the firm was exploiting her image without her consent. Vanna miraculously prevailed in the lawsuit, and it was given $403,000 in damages after multiple appeals.
Personal Life
Vanna White had only $1,000 when she left North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to achieve her dream of becoming a star. She waited tables and posed while still in college in Atlanta and in her initial periods in Los Angeles when she was striving for fame and money. Vanna dated “Playgirl” centerfold and Chippendales dancer-turned-actor John Gibson throughout the 1980s. They were engaged in the 1980s, but Gibson was murdered in an aircraft crash in 1986 until they could marry. She went to South Carolina briefly in the summertime of 1980 to be there for her mother, battling ovarian cancer. Her mother died as a result of the sickness.
In December 1990, Vanna married George Santo Pietro, the proprietor of a restaurant. Santo Pietro was conceived into a wealthy Beverly Hills family. In the early 1980s, he opened his first restaurant. He stepped up with the most effective sushi restaurant named Sushi-Ko, which became a celebrity hangout. Nicholas was birthed in 1994, & Giovanna, nickname Gigi, born in 1997, were their two children. In November 2002, White & Santo Pietro separated.
Investing in real estate
In Mulholland Estates, a private neighborhood, George Santo Pietro and Vanna Santo Pietro once lived. They lived in the same house as Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson. Their model home is 15,000 square feet and is located in a gated community called Beverly Park.
This house was the couple’s home until they divorced in 2002. After their divorce, both rented the house for $175,000 a month for several years. Their listing for the mansion in 2017 was $47.5 million.
They owned a home in the neighborhood as well. In the end, both properties were sold separately. Second lot was purchased for $22 million. As of June 2020, the original parcel of Vanna’s mansion sold for $19.3 million.
