Vanna White

During that time she has developed the ideal working relationship with host Pat Sajak, continues to respect the late Merv Griffin's legacy on the show, and raises two children as a full-time mom. After a quarter of a decade on one of America's most popular television game shows, Vanna is still counting her blessings at having landed what many consider the "greatest job ever" and leading a normal life outside of television.

DM) Why is Wheel of Fortune still popular after 25 years?

VW) I don't know. I think if we knew the answer we would be running a lot more shows on TV, just copying the formula. I do know that it is a half hour of family fun that everybody, people of all ages, enjoys. It's 30 minutes of escape. On TV there's war, crime, miserable things on the news. Wheel of Fortune is that breath of fresh of air.

DM) Do you still enjoy coming to work every day?

VW) We only tape four days a month, so it gives me lots of time to have a normal life. I have time to be a mom, to go to the grocery story, bake cookies. I can do the things that every mom gets to do. When you see the people that you work with you every couple of weeks it's refreshing. It's not the same people every day so it's even more exciting to see them. You've had your own life for two weeks so now it's catch up.

DM) Are those four days of taping manic?

VW) Yes, six shows in a day is a long, intense day. It's okay, though. I show up at 9 a.m. and I work until 6 p.m. I know there's light at the end of the tunnel.

DM) How have they changed the show over the past 25 years?VW) They don't change the show, but they try to keep it fresh. They change little things with me, with the wardrobe, the style of the show, the wheel. They'll change whatever as they're doing focus groups all the time. What would make the show better, they'll do. Harry Friedman, our producer, is always trying to make it better without touching the game. The game is the gem, it's the star. We've not changed the format of the show for 25 years. All we've changed are the cosmetics around it. I used to turn the letters, now I just touch them. Even little things like how I wear my hair. I don't wear my hair up because Merv didn't like my hair up. That doesn't have anything to do with the show, but Harry respected that and I don't wear my hair up very often. If certain things come up and people don't like them in our focus groups, you might not see it again.

DM) And how do people react to you when they see you doing those "normal things" the other 26 days?

VW) I hear all the time, "my child learned the alphabet from your show... we sit around at dinnertime