ABC/Eric McCandless(LOS ANGELES) — With the letter “T,” Vanna White made her first appearance on the game show, Wheel of Fortune on December 13, 1982.
Now 35 years and 6,500 gowns later, White is still helping to solve the puzzle and loving it.
“I get all dressed up like a Barbie doll. I go out. I give someone else’s money away, make them happy, and we all go home,” White, 60, told ABC News’ Nightline. “In show business, no, there’s nothing else I want to do. Is that bad?”
Wheel of Fortune is now celebrating its 35th season. White and host Pat Sajak shoot six shows a day, just four days a month.
“Somewhere along the line, we became more than a popular show. We became part of the popular culture,” Sajak told Nightline.
And White is very much a part of that influence on pop culture. The once-aspiring model from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, has carried the Olympic torch and appeared on magazine covers.
She’s in Guinness World Records for most frequent clapper, and Merriam-Webster is even considering adding “Vanna White” as a verb to its dictionary. “To Vanna White means to present,” White added, gesturing her signature move.
Though it may not appear to be the most feminist job in the world, White says she feels that she holds her own on the show.
“I don’t think people look at it that way anymore. They think of me and Pat as a team, as a couple that put on a good show,” White said. “I’ll be the first to make fun of what I do, absolutely. Because it’s a crazy job, but I love my job, and it’s great. And I think it brings a lot of happiness to people.”
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