‘Wheel of Fortune’ star Vanna White extends her contract amid Pat Sajak’s final season
![Vanna White smiles in a black outfit while looking over her shoulder and leaning slightly forward](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1f81db9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4420x3011+0+0/resize/1200x817!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2F1.800.gay%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc6%2F83%2F1e6e78ea4307875669d98bee735c%2F25th-annual-race-to-erase-ms-gala-94093.jpg)
Vanna White will keep those “Wheel of Fortune” letters turning through 2026.
Sony Pictures Television, which produces the long-running game show, said in a release Tuesday that White has extended her contract for two years. The announcement comes months after reports of tense contract negotiations and on the heels of the Season 41 premiere.
While White is set to stay on until 2026, “Wheel of Fortune” is preparing to bid farewell to longtime host Pat Sajak, who announced his retirement in June.
“It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months,” Sajak wrote on X. “Many thanks to you all.”
After Season 41, which began last week, TV personality and mega-producer Ryan Seacrest will take over hosting duties. No stranger to TV hosting, Seacrest said he was “truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak.”
Vanna White will be missing from a handful of ‘Wheel of Fortune’ episodes as she contracted COVID-19 in late July.
“I can say, along with the rest of America, that it’s been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years,” Seacrest said in June.
White made her “Wheel of Fortune” debut in December 1982. During her decades-long tenure, White has flipped countless letters, donned more than 7,000 dresses and even took over as host for three weeks while Sajak recovered from surgery in 2019.
When Sajak announced his retirement, she said she told her co-star, “I couldn’t be happier to have shared the stage with you.”
After his time on “Wheel of Fortune” comes to an end, Sajak will continue his duties as chairman of the Hillsdale College Board of Trustees, a position he took up in 2019.
“Since 2019, we have benefitted from [Sajak’s] wisdom, intellect, and good humor as chairman of Hillsdale’s board of trustees,” Hillsdale College said in a June statement shared with The Times. “We look forward to continuing our important work together and to what we are sure will be a bright future for Mr. Sajak and his family.”
More to Read
The complete guide to home viewing
Get Screen Gab for everything about the TV shows and streaming movies everyone’s talking about.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.