Melissa Joan Hart found some real magic on Sunday’s episode of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune. The Sabrina The Teenage Witch star became the first celebrity to win $1 million on the special primetime edition of the beloved game show, beating fellow contestants Tituss Burgess and Lacey Chabert. Hart, 45, will donate her winnings to Youth Villages, which helps behaviorally troubled children and their families.
Hart knew she earned a super rare victory on the show when she saw Vanna White’s face turn white, she told USA Today. “Vanna looked at me and was like, ‘You got it! You got it!’ I hit the roof. She hit the roof,” the Clarissa Explains It All star said. “It was super exciting and pretty nerve-wracking; I rarely win game shows.”
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The victory also came after Sabrina The Teenage Witch celebrated its 25th anniversary. “I would like to say witchcraft was involved,” Hart joked. “But to be honest, I prayed a lot more than any kind of sorcery. I literally prayed every round, especially that winning round. I’d close my eyes and say, ‘God, give me focus and calm and let me just read these letters.’”
Hart’s $1 million victory wasn’t just a rarity for Celebrity Wheel of Fortune. Since the Million Dollar Wedge was introduced in 2008, only three winners have taken home the prize in the regular syndicated Wheel. Hart not only needed to land on the Million Dollar Wedges twice, but she had to solve both puzzles and face off against her friend, Chabert. While the Party of Five star is a Wheel “shark,” Hart said she honed her Wheel skills while playing the Wheel of Fortune app after putting her son Tucker to bed.
The actress secured her win by getting the bonus round puzzle – “Bran Muffin” – correct. After Pat Sajak confirmed her victory, she screamed. Hart finished with $1.039,800, which she will donate to Youth Villages. She also took home the $1 million winner card as a souvenir. Sajak and White also signed the card, which now hands in her Nashville home, alongside some of the winning confetti and her nametag. Hart had to keep it a secret until her episode aired. Even Youth Villages couldn’t know. The next new episode of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune airs on Oct. 21 and includes Anthony Michael Hall, Mario Cantone and Loni Love.
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