She’s Always Wanted To Be On TV.

“When I was in the third grade, I had my appendix taken out and I was at home watching this show called The Rat Patrol,” says Vanna. “My mother was in the kitchen cooking. She turned around and said, ‘That’s your uncle [Christopher George] on TV.’ I said, ‘What? I have an uncle on TV? I want to be on TV!’ So, it started in the third grade. It worked out.”

She Was Named After A Family Friend.

“My grandmother’s next-door neighbor was named Vanna, and my mother named me after her,” says the Wheel of Fortune icon, 68, who was born and raised in South Carolina.

She’s Afraid Of Spiders.

“When I was in the second grade, I got bit by a spider and my finger swelled up really big,” Vanna remembers. “And it turned black. That freaked me out!”

She Still Gets Starstruck.

During Vanna’s 43 years as a letter turner on the iconic game show, she’s had the chance to meet many celebrity contestants — but three really stood out. “I was starstruck by Stevie Wonder,” she admits. “I was sitting in the makeup chair and he walked into the room. I just was like, ‘Wow, it’s Stevie Wonder!’” The others were Mister Rogers and Mickey Mantle.

If She Wan’t On TV, She’d Be In Real Estate.

“Before all those [home renovation] shows came out on HGTV, I used to buy a little condo, fix it up and flip it,” she shares. “Yeah, I would be in real estate!”