Who is George Santo Pietro, Vanna White’s ex-husband? Wiki Bio
George Santo Pietro was born in California, USA, on 12 December 1946, his zodiac sign is Sagittarius, he is of mixed American and Native American ethnicity, and holds American nationality. He is a restaurateur, entrepreneur, and director, but perhaps more widely known for being the ex-husband of TV personality Vanna White. He is currently working as a real estate developer.
Early life and education
George was born in the Beverly Hills area into a wealthy family of restaurant owners. He went to a private elementary and high school.
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His parents were acquainted with many Hollywood celebrities, and so being surrounded by famous people from an early age, George was always eager to work in the film industry. He attended college, and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in economics in 1968.
George’s career
Before meeting Vanna, George was already a successful business owner and a well-known restaurateur. He owned the popular Italian restaurant Santopietro which he founded in the early ‘80s, located in the Mullholand Drive neighborhood of Bel-Air, California. At the time, the restaurant was a place where many celebrities used to go.
He went on to open an exclusive Japanese restaurant called Sushi-Ko in the same neighborhood, and operated these two businesses for years before becoming a Hollywood director.
George launched his career in the film industry in the early ‘90s – his first job was as a dolly grip (operating the camera) during the shooting of the show “Beverly Hills 90210”. He was later a dolly grip for popular shows such as “Star Trek”, “The X-Files” and “Law & Order”, among many others. In 1994, he appeared in the theater production of the popular comedy “Revenge of the Nerds: Nerds in Love” alongside Bernie Casey and Robert Picardo, and the same year in “The New Mike Hammer” TV show.
He also produced two short movies, and ventured into directing, the thriller drama “Kept“ released in 2001, which wasn’t a commercial success.
In his later years, George became a real estate agent, and with the help of his ex-wife Vanna, purchased a five-acre block in Beverly Hills. They built a two-storey mansion in the late ’90s, featuring a private pool and a vineyard. In 2010, George put said mansion on sale for $50 million, but it was sold for less than half of the price. According to the listing service, prior to the sale George rented out the house for between $150,000 and $175,000 per month.
In 2007, he allegedly sold another luxurious villa in 77 Beverly Park Lane, Beverly Hills, California at a price of $50 million; the mansion featured nine bedrooms and 15 bathrooms within a 30,000-square-feet area.
Love life and ex-wife
Before meeting Vanna White, George was married to actress Linda Evans from 1981 to 1985, with whom he has a daughter Andrea. Vanna met George soon after her fiancée died in a plane crash, when George was already a big fan of Vanna, and gave her support during hard times. They married in 1989, and three years later announced her pregnancy via a puzzle in her show “Wheel of Fortune”.
Vanna suffered a miscarriage, however, in 1994 the couple welcomed their first child Nicholas, while their daughter Giovanna followed in 1997. They stayed together for five more years, but finalized their divorce on 12 May 2002 after 12 years of marriage. On 8 October 2005, George married for the third time after dating TV presenter Melissa Mascari for a year – they have a daughter together named Ciara who was born in 2007. George and Melissa are still together, and there are no rumors nor controversies surrounding their marriage.
Hobbies and other interests
George is passionate about cinema and collects memorabilia from sets on which he has worked.
His favorite directors are Matrin Scorcese, Clint Eastwood and Stanley Kubrik, and some of his favorite movies are “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, “2001: Space Odyssey”, and “12 Angry Man”. He enjoys travelling, and has been to Italy many times but is yet to visit his dream travel destination of Japan, even though he has been the owner of a Japanese restaurant for years.
Appearance and net worth
George is 73 years old. He has black hair and dark brown eyes, is 5ft 9ins (1.80m) tall, and weights around 187lbs (85kgs). As of March 2020, his net worth is estimated at over $14 million, while Vanna’s wealth is reputedly over $70 million.
Who is Vanna White? Wiki Bio
Vanna Marie Rosich was born on 18 February 1957, near North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina USA – her zodiac sign is Aquarius, and she holds American nationality. She is a popular TV personality and actress, best known for hosting the show “The Wheel of Fortune”. Before making her first appearance on TV, she was a contestant in the 1978 Miss Georgia beauty pageant. Vanna’s first appearance in a game show was on 20 June 1980 in an episode of “The Price is Right” in which she was one of four contestants, however, she didn’t make it onstage, but the clip of her running to Contestant‘s row was rebroadcast as part of “The Price Is Right” 25th Anniversary Special in August 1996.
In 1987 she wrote an autobiography called “Vanna Speaks!” which was a huge success, and in the same year she was featured in a “Playboy” pictorial. She has made numerous cameo appearances in TV shows such as “LA Law“, “The King of Queens“ and “Full House“, and in 1994 appeared in movies “Naked Gun: The Final Insult“ and “Double Dragon“.
Before meeting George, Vanna was dating actor and dancer John Gibson, who died in a plane crash in 1986. From 2004 to 2006, she was engaged to businessman Michael Kyle but the two broke up.
She is a patron of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, having donated over $1.8 million to the program, and plans to continue her philanthropic work after her retirement from television.