Vanna White may have joined "Wheel of Fortune" more than 40 years ago, but the veteran letter turner still sometimes gets the jitters on the air — and the reason why may surprise you. "I don’t get nervous before a taping. I’ll tell you, though, sometimes I get nervous because I have on really high heels or stilettos.
Or sometimes I think, So I wear things that make me nervous," White told . White previously told that all the shoes she wears on "Wheel of Fortune" — most of which boast 5-inch heels — actually belong to her. Most of the shoes, said White, "are not expensive shoes because do you know how many miles I’ve walked in them?! "And I’m not going to buy Louboutin shoes to wear on the show when it’s underneath a full-length gown.
I’ll wear those at home, with jeans," she added, laughing. White's fashion looks on "Wheel of Fortune" are a big part of her TV image. But though she's dressed in a gorgeous gown for every episode, the glamour, she told Parade, is all in a day's work for her.
"We have fittings every two weeks, and I probably try on 40 or 50 dresses every two weeks. So for the 8,000 dresses that I’ve worn, I’ve tried on about 100,000." "They’re all so pretty, but to me, that’s a job.
So when I’m at home, just put me in a comfortable sweatsuit and I’m happy," said the star, who added that although she's never kept one of the gowns for herself, she has worn a few to events and awards shows. While speaking to Parade, White also recalled how nervous she was when she auditioned for the show's creator, television legend Merv Griffin. "My knees were shaking.
My mouth was quivering. I just could hardly do it. I wanted the job so bad," she said.
The audition, she recalled, paired her for the first time with host Pat Sajak, who would become "I got dressed up in a pretty dress, and I walked out, and I did my twirl, and I turned the letters, and then, of course, Pat and I spoke at the end. "After I got the job, I asked Merv, 'Why did you choose me?' And he said, 'You turned the letters better than anyone else,'" she recalled. Though Sajak — with "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest — White told Parade she has no plans to step down anytime soon.
"I love coming to work. I love watching people win. I love changing people’s lives.
There’s a lot of stuff on TV that is so dramatic, and this is a half-hour of family fun and escape from so much," she explained. "It’s such a positive family show. I love being part of that.
So I’m not ready to leave." Gina Vivinetto is a writer for TODAY.com.
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