Vanna White

OF WHEEL OF FORTUNE

Q: Has Vanna White done anything other than “Wheel of Fortune”? A: TV icon Vanna White, who reveals the letters on and otherwise co-hosts the long-running game show “Wheel of Fortune,” found her calling early in her career, but it wasn’t her first try. She was a model and actress first, and was a contestant in the Miss Georgia 1978 pageant. She soon moved from Georgia to Los Angeles to try her luck on screen. She didn’t have a lot of it at first. She had roles in a few films and TV series, including the 1981 slasher film “Graduation Day” and the slightly more reputable 1981 thriller “Looker.” And then there’s the odd case of “Gypsy Angels,” a film she shot in 1980 (thus making it, technically, her first role) but which ran into myriad production problems. It wasn’t released until 1990, by which point she was a major TV star. The fact that she played a stripper in the movie contrasted a little with the wholesome image she had built on “Wheel.” She started building that image in 1982 when she won an open casting call (beating more than 200 other would-be letter-turners) to get the coveted “Wheel of Fortune” gig. Almost all of her screen work since has been “Wheel”-related, at least. She has, for example, played herself on numerous shows and in a couple of films. But to give your question a fuller answer, she’s “done” a lot more than just entertain. She has an endorsement deal with Lion Brand Yarns due to the fact she’s an avid crocheter. And she also has a sideline flipping houses and investing in real estate.