She has been a fixture on American television for more than four decades, dazzling on The Price Is Right in glamorous gowns. So some viewers were shocked to see Vanna White, 69, cutting a far more casual figure as she attended the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic golf event in South Carolina last week.
White, who married real estate developer John Donaldson in January, cut a sporty figure in a golf shirt and green pants, tucking her trademark blonde hair into a tight ponytail as she traversed the fairway. Footage of the star speaking to crowds at the event was later uploaded to Instagram, where cruel trolls chose to attack her appearance.
“I can’t believe how much she aged,” one rudely remarked. “She looks older than she is.” “I thought it was my grandmother come back to life,” a second snarked. “The veins, the hands, the neck, all look like a 90-year-old’s,” a third weighed in, while others insisted the video was so shocking that it must have been made by AI.
However, Wheel of Fortune fans quickly clapped back, defending White from the online haters. “People are truly sick in the head,” one claimed, before another stated that the small-screen star was “aging so gracefully and beautifully.” “I think she looks great,” another defender declared. “No filler; skin not stretched back behind her ears…. Naturally aging, loving her life.” Others described her as “gracious” and a “class act.”
White renewed her Wheel of Fortune contract back in 2023, with her top-secret deal taking her through later this year. It is unclear whether she will continue on the show into 2027. White wed her longtime partner John Donaldson earlier this year. She was previously married to restaurant owner George Santo Pietro.
White has worked on Wheel of Fortune since December 1982. Back in 2023, when Ryan Seacrest joined as co-host, she negotiated a new deal with the show, which saw her contract extend through until this year. White was previously making $3 million per season before she secured what was described as a substantial raise. The beloved TV star has two adult children, Nicholas, 31, and Giovanna, 28, whom she shares with her ex-husband, restaurant owner George Santo Pietro, whom she divorced in 2002.
