Vanna White

Vanna White (born Vanna Marie Rosich on February 18, 1957) is the co-host of Wheel of Fortune, best known for her role as the letter-turner (letter-toucher since February 1997). She has been with the show since late 1982, and first appeared as a temporary co-host after original co-host Susan Stafford left. White's first "official" episode was December 13, 1982; according to her, she and Vicki McCarty were put on-air for a week each, and Merv Griffin chose her due to her chemistry with Pat Sajak. In a 1987 interview, Susan stated that she taught Vanna how to turn the letters and told her that "she should be grateful for this opportunity".

Prior to Wheel, Vanna's only other television role was as a contestant on The Price Is Right, although she never left Contestant's Row by bidding the same price ($695) on every item up for bids. By sheer coincidence, her episode aired June 20, 1980.

Role
Vanna's role was expanded greatly beginning in September 1996, when she began announcing the closed-captioning sponsor. She also appears in locally-shot footage on road shows, most often at the start of the show, and sometimes in the plugs for the Jackpot and Mystery rounds. On some occasions, she has also read the copy for a Wheel prize and/or Prize Puzzle.

White is also known for the large number of outfits that she wears on the show, most often elegant gowns and dresses. These are provided by rotating manufacturers, with Caché being one of the leading ones in the late 2000s. She has also worn suits or pants/shirt combinations several times, including maternity suits during and shortly after her two pregnancies. Generally, she returns the dresses to the manufacturer or donates them to charity, although she occasionally purchases ones that she particularly likes.

Vanna has touched the Wheel at least three times:
 * She spun it on a September 1989 episode, where she played a round for charity while Pat turned the letters. Her first spin landed on Bankrupt, and her second on $250 (until Pat convinced her to move it to $900).
 * The second instance was a Final Spin on a Bob Goen daytime episode after he became frustrated over repeatedly hitting Bankrupt.
 * Her most recent spin was on April Fool's Day 1997, where she and Pat competed for charity while Alex Trebek and Lesly Sajak hosted. Alex mentioned on this episode that she spun the Wheel once before, although it is unknown which of the two above incidents he was referring to (if either).

She and Pat also traded places for the Bonus Round on a November 1996 episode so Pat (who had laryngitis for the entire week) could rest his voice. In most video games based on the show, she performs Pat's hosting duties.

Other Interests
During the 1980s-90s, Vanna made several guest appearances on TV and movies. In 1988, she starred in the NBC TV movie Goddess of Love.

One memorable guest appearance came from an episode of the 1993-1994 season of Full House, where she first played herself in a nightmare DJ Tanner (Candace Cameron Bure) had about taking the SAT. She then played a teacher named Mrs. Moffat when DJ took the test for real. The 1992 "Changing Keys" theme was used during both the study scene and the nightmare scene, where there was a puzzle board that looked similar to the one in use back then.

White was also a guest of The Pat Sajak Show on at least two occasions. One of these included a montage of aired Wheel clips, which were removed from a repeat showing because Merv's production company claimed the clips were used without permission.

Her autobiography, Vanna Speaks, was published in 1988 and can also be found in audiobook form.

Absences
White has taken two short breaks from the show. For a short time in 1986 after a plane crash killed her then-boyfriend John Gibson, she took time off to recover, and Susan returned for that timespan. In 1991, White was unavailable because of her wedding to George San Pietro, so Tricia Gist filled in for her.

In January 2011, the show held a Vanna for a Day contest which allowed home viewers to submit videos for a chance to fill in for Vanna on one episode. The winner, Katie Cantrell, took Vanna's place for Rounds 2 and 3 (with Vanna watching from backstage) on March 24, 2011; the other four finalists appeared in the audience for that show.