Vanna White's Son Nikko Santo Pietro Lives A Life Out Of The Spotlight
Vanna White has been in the spotlight for more than 40 years as the letter-turning hostess of "Wheel of Fortune," but fans know little about her personal life despite seeing her on a near-daily basis. In 1990, White married George Santi Pietro, and two years later, she thrilled fans with the news that she was pregnant, according to The Los Angeles Times. But not long after White shared her happy news by way of a "Wheel of Fortune" puzzle that said "Vanna's Pregnant," she suffered a miscarriage. "I so wanted to be pregnant and have a baby, so then when I finally got pregnant, I wanted to tell the world immediately," she told People in 2019. "Obviously I lost the baby, which was devastating after announcing it. The good news is I was able to get pregnant again and had two beautiful, healthy children."
The first of those children was her son Nicholas, who was born on June 10, 1994. A daughter, Gigi Santo Pietro, followed in 1997. Her son — whom she nicknamed Nikko — actually lives a pretty normal life outside of the spotlight. Here's what we know about it.
Vanna White's son is a baker and an artist, and he recently embarked on a new career
Vanna White's son Nikko Santo Pietro lives out of the spotlight, but his famous mom has given fans sporadic updates on him over the years. "He loves growing vegetables and fruits and that kind of thing," White once told Closer Weekly of her son. "He just loves farming and all that stuff. He's my country boy."
He's also a jack of many trades. Santo Pietro studied business at the University of Arizona before switching to an agriculture sciences major at Oregon State University, where he graduated summa cum laude, per his website. He is an avid traveler and has lived everywhere, from the Virgin Islands to a small Missouri town, where he once owned a sourdough bakery and sold homemade loaves of bread. In 2019, he documented an 80-day backpacking trip through Europe on his Instagram page. On his LinkedIn bio, Santo Pietro revealed that he worked on an organic herb farm before getting a job with a produce company in research and development.
He is also an artist. Santo Pietro sells his abstract spray paint art and canvas on his website. And he's eyeing a new career in real estate. In a video posted to Instagram in June 2023, he said, "I quit my job last week, and I have an opportunity to go into real estate. So, I'm studying for my real estate licensing exam." But he was quick to add that he also wants to spend some time traveling to Thailand to work on a project about his father.
Vanna White is close with her son Nikko
Vanna White and her son Nikko Santo Pietro are very close. In a "Wheel of Fortune" college week Q&A video, White admitted she was "sad" when she had to send her son off to college. "But he was going to Arizona, so it wasn't that far away," she added. White is also very supportive of her son's sexuality. In 2013, Santo Pietro dated a Hare Krishna monk, per Out. The "Wheel of Fortune" host proudly posed with her son and his beau during a night out, as seen in a photo posted by Pride.
When Santo Pietro turned 24 years old in 2018, White posted a video to Twitter that showed her hugging her son after surprising him at the Seattle airport. "I surprised Nikko in Seattle to celebrate his 24th birthday! What a surprise it was! Happy birthday my sweet son! I love you," she captioned the sweet video. And in June 2023, White marked her son's 29th birthday on Instagram, where she described him as "the most amazing son a mother could ever have."