Television, motion picture, and other media appearances in 2006 Before her appearance on TV, White was a contestant in the
Miss Georgia USA 1978 pageant. White's first appearance on a game show was on the June 20, 1980 episode of
The Price Is Right, where she was among the first four contestants. White did not make it on stage, but the clip of her running to
Contestants' Row was rebroadcast as part of
The Price Is Right 25th Anniversary Special in August 1996 and
The Price Is Right Celebrates 50 Years in September 2021 (in which she also appeared as a Guest Model during the show), and also was featured on the special broadcast
Game Show Moments Gone Bananas. In 1980, White acted in a film that was not completed; it was subsequently edited and released in June 1990 as
Gypsy Angels. In 1981, she got a bit part in the film
Looker and also appeared as Doris in the horror movie
Graduation Day, an American
slasher film directed by Herb Freed and produced by
Troma Entertainment. White's 1987
autobiography,
Vanna Speaks!, was a best-seller. That same year, she was featured in a
Playboy pictorial, showing photos taken of her before her career on
Wheel of Fortune, wearing see-through lingerie. White starred as the title character,
Venus, in the 1988 television movie
Goddess of Love. White guest-starred on
Married...With Children; in a gender swap parody of the film
Indecent Proposal, she had the
Robert Redford role while
Al Bundy had that of
Demi Moore. White served as guest timekeeper and provided interviews from the backstage area throughout the evening for
WrestleMania IV. In 1996, she was the main narrator and singer in the CD release of
Leslie Bricusse's "Santa's Last Ride." On April 20, 2006, White was honored with a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame, with
Pat Sajak,
Merv Griffin, and
Alex Trebek as key witnesses. White presented a set of luggage in a special guest appearance on
The Price Is Right Celebrates 50 Years in September 2021. In May 2022, White appeared as a special guest in the seventh season of
''RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars'' where the contestants did a runway in tribute to her past looks. On April 21, 2023, it was announced that White would be featured in a four-episode documentary by
ABC News titled
The Game Show Show, covering the history of game shows in America over the last eight decades. The four-part documentary premiered on May 10, 2023.
Wheel of Fortune television game show After
Wheel of Fortune co-host
Susan Stafford left in October 1982, White was selected as one of three substitutes (along with
Vicki McCarty and
Summer Bartholomew) to co-host the show. On December 13, 1982, White became the regular co-host. White missed a week of episodes on the daytime show in June 1986, with Stafford returning in place, due to her taking a bereavement leave after her fiancé, John Gibson, died in a plane crash. at
Walt Disney World's
Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park White temporarily took over hosting
Wheel of Fortune as
master of ceremonies starting with the week of episodes that were slated to air starting on December 9, 2019. The announcement was made after a taping day was postponed when Sajak was hospitalized with a blocked intestine and needed emergency surgery to clear it. White hosted that taping day and the subsequent rescheduled taping the next day. Guest letterer activators were implemented during her shows hosting; the weeks of December 9 and 16 had
Mickey Mouse and
Minnie Mouse during the
Secret Santa Holiday Giveaway. Subsequently, the show went on hiatus during Christmas week (December 23, 2019) and then a week of previously taped "America's Game" episodes (
Wheel tapes six episodes per day, with each studio audience receiving three shows each; the third show in the afternoon session is an "America's Game" episode) that Sajak hosted, before White returned to hosting on January 6, 2020, for a final week; she was assisted by a "special guest", Pat Sajak's daughter
Maggie. Fully recovered from his surgery, Sajak returned to the show on December 5, 2019, with episodes airing on January 13, 2020. This marked the first time that White had missed an episode since 1991. Since 2021, White hosted
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune on
ABC with Sajak and later
Ryan Seacrest beginning in September 2025. Later in the year it was announced that both Sajak and White had been signed on to continue as hosts of
Wheel of Fortune through the 2023–24 season. She extended her contract on
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune again in July 2023. In September 2023, White extended her contract as host of
Wheel of Fortune through the 2025–26 season. In May 2023, White competed as a contestant on a celebrity edition of
Wheel of Fortune against
Jeopardy! hosts
Ken Jennings and
Mayim Bialik. With her competing,
Maggie Sajak filled in for White at the puzzle board.
World record White is famous for her seamless revealing of letters on the game board, her smile, and her constant clapping in support of each episode's contestants. On the May 24, 2013 episode of
Wheel of Fortune, White was presented with a
Guinness World Record certificate for most frequent clapper. As of January 31, 2013, she had clapped an estimated 3,480,864 times across the show's 30 seasons. White had appeared in all but 10 of
Wheels 5,754 episodes to that point, during the show's modern syndicated run, which began on September 19, 1983. That works out to an average number of 606 claps per show. ==Personal life==