‘Wheel of Fortune’ ‘s Vanna White Shares Her Playboy Regrets as the Show Celebrates 35 Years

The 60-year-old co-host is gearing up to celebrate 35 years of Wheel of Fortune

Credit : Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

After 35 years on the air, Wheel of Fortune‘s letter-turner and co-host Vanna White is sharing her thoughts about retirement, and about that time she was on the cover of Playboy.

In an interview with Fox News, the 60-year-old says she was low on money and “too embarrassed to ask my dad for rent money” when she posed for the photos.

“I was young and I wanted to do it on my own,” White says. “So, I did these lingerie shots and from the moment I said I would do them, I thought, ‘I shouldn’t be doing this, but I’m not going to ask my dad for money, so I’m just going to do it!’”

White remembers the pictures only came out when she had reached a certain level of fame after snagging the job on Wheel of Fortune.

“Hugh Hefner then bought those pictures,” she says. “He’s the one who put me on the cover of the magazine. I didn’t do it for Playboy.”

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“Never do anything you don’t want to do,” adds White. “Listen to your instincts and follow it. It was a great lesson to learn, but what can I say? I did something I shouldn’t have.”

She was not fired and went on to wear over 6,500 dresses on the show — “Never the same one twice,” she says.

White says she still doesn’t know the secret to Wheel of Fortune‘s success, saying, “I still don’t have an answer! I really don’t. It’s just one of those things that every once in a while, everything falls into place… it’s an escape.”

Her own personal success hit her in a big way, telling Fox News she remembers seeing herself on the cover of a magazine when it hit her.

“I was on the cover of Newsweek,” she remembers. “That was the moment for me. The other one was when I got my star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. When I first moved to L.A., I went walking down the Hollywood Walk of Fame and I would tell myself, ‘One day I’m going to have my own star.’”

Despite achieving her dreams, White says she doesn’t see herself retiring soon.

“I’m sure I will one day,” she says. “But I’m enjoying my job so much. I don’t want to retire. I hope to continue doing it for as long as I can.”