Give 'Wheel of Fortune's' Vanna White a 'T' for Her First Tattoo
Vanna White "Wheel of Fortune," 2006 USMC. Public domain.
Vanna White, of the well-known TV game show "Wheel of Fortune," recently got her first tattoo at 68 years old. Her daughter, Gigi Santo Pietro, a tattoo artist, inked the tattoo and shared the whole experience on Instagram on March 10, 2025.
Mother-Daughter Experience
White said she was nervous about getting the tattoo, but the renowned letter-turner was in good hands with Santo Pietro, one of two children she shares with George Santo Pietro, her ex-husband.
Gigi Santo Pietro is a professional tattoo artist. In the video, White insisted the tattoo was her own choice while Santo Pietro mouthed to the camera, "I'm making her (do this)," according to Newsweek. White explained the tattoo was something she wanted so she could see it every day and think of her daughter.
White couldn't hide her nerves, though. Just before starting the tattoo, Santo Pietro noticed her mom was shaking and asked if she was nervous. "I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time," White admitted, according to Newsweek. “I really have.”
'I Don't Think I Can Watch'
White knew she wanted a pink heart, and she worked with Santo Pietro to choose the shade of pink as well as the shape of the heart. Then Santo Pietro got to work. White decided to turn away from her daughter's work. "I'm not sure I should watch," she said, according to Newsweek. "I don't think I can watch."
"I'd prefer if you didn't," Santo Pietro joked.
"I might pass out," White joked back.
"I'm so excited! This is so fun," her daughter said with excitement just before starting the tattoo.
No Pain
Once the needle got going, White was surprised to find that she didn't feel any pain.
"That's it?" she asked, as reported by Newsweek. When her daughter asked what she would compare the pain to, White answered clearly, "Nothing!"
When Santo Pietro was finished, White couldn’t stop admiring her daughter's artwork. "It looks perfect," she said happily. "It's just what I wanted. It really is."
'I'm So, So Proud of Her'
A couple of years ago, White told PEOPLE she wanted to get matching tattoos with her daughter, making this new tattoo seem like a fulfillment of that idea. "I want to have matching hearts where she'll do a little heart on me and she'll do one on herself. I feel like I need to do that because it's her and it would be her on me,” White said at the time. White admits she never imagined her daughter, who graduated from New York University with an art degree, would become a tattoo artist. However, she is proud of how far Santo Pietro has come in her career.
"I said, 'Gigi, why tattooing?' She goes, 'Mom, my art is on someone's body for the rest of their lives.' I was like, 'That's pretty cool.' You have to be so good and confident. You can't mess up. So she absolutely loves it. She's been doing that for the past three years and is doing a great job. I'm so, so proud of her,' White said, according to PEOPLE.
White's first tattoo was a special moment for both mother and daughter. At 68, White was excited and surprised by how painless the experience was, and she couldn’t have been happier with the result. The pink heart tattoo was exactly what she wanted. Even Ryan Seacrest, her "Wheel of Fortune" co-host, was impressed, joking on social media that seeing White's tattoo made him want one too.
References: Wheel of Fortune's Vanna White, 68, Gets First Tattoo | Vanna White May Get Inked by Her Tattoo Artist Daughter: 'I Want to Have Matching Hearts' (Exclusive) | Wheel of Fortune's Vanna White, 68, Debuts Body Modification: 'I Might Pass Out'
