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?
- 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
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.