Born Nov. 9, 1980 at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, Minnillo’s mother was a Philippino native who married Minnillo’s father, a USAF aircrew member, while he was stationed at Clark. The couple separated when the youngster was only six, with her mother gaining custody of her and her older adopted brother, Vince. The three then set about moving around the world, living in Florida, Nevada, Japan and Germany. After the mother remarried another serviceman, the family moved to Turkey. It was the last time that Minnillo and her brother would live with their mother, as she returned her children to their father in Charleston, SC, following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of neighboring Kuwait. The young girl spent the rest of her childhood in Charleston with her father and stepmother, remaining understandably estranged from her mother until she was 19 years old.
As a teenage cheerleader at Bishop England High School in Charleston, Minnillo’s unique, exotic beauty turned quite a few heads. She loved performing in front of a crowd so much that a friend suggested that she enter the Miss South Carolina Pageant. She not only took the crown, but swept all the categories. Buoyed by her success, she entered the 1998 Miss Teen USA Pageant. She won again, this time taking home $150,000 in cash and prizes. Unfortunately, for Minnillo, her first big televised moment was pre-empted by President Clinton’s live speech regarding the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
Following her incredible pageant success, Minnillo decided on a change of plans. Instead of going directly to college, she opted to move to Los Angeles in search of the ubiquitous fame and fortune. Her camera-friendly face got her small jobs as host on Fox Sports and a short stint on the soap opera “The Bold and The Beautiful” (CBS 1987- ). In 2003, she began her all important relationship with MTV, following an appearance on “Beach House 2003.” MTV executives liked what they saw and Minnillo was given her first big break as the host of “Total Request Live” (1998- ). Within a matter of days, she was on a plane from L.A. to New York City.
Once she arrived in NYC, people immediately took notice of the 5’8 stunner. In particular, she caught the roving eye of Derek Jeter, the Yankee’s star short-stop with a well documented history of dating some of the most beautiful women in Hollywood. Jeter and Minnillo embarked on what would become a long-term, on again-off again romance in November, 2003. They were seen all over NYC hot spots, including courtside at Knicks games, garnering considerable ink in the NY tabloids. However, neither wanted to waste their pretty years pining for the other during their down time. In April of 2006, Vanessa starred in Nick Lachey’s music video for his song “What’s Left of Me” – a ditty about the very public demise and heartbreak of his marriage to pop singer, Jessica Simpson. In the weeks following the shoot, Minnillo and Lachey were spotted getting cozy in NYC and Las Vegas, but it wasn’t long before Lachey was out and Minnillo was back with Jeter. Ironically, in a 2004 interview, Minnillo had named Lachey and Simpson’s reality show “Newlyweds” as her favorite MTV show.
In 2005, Minnillo’s career continued to climb when in addition to her “TRL” gig, she became the New York correspondent for “Entertainment Tonight” (CBS 1981- ). One “ET” assignment in particular put her on the non-MTV radar – donning a fat suit under the pretense of shining a spotlight on what overweight people go through each day out on the street. Minnillo, who was apparently unaware of the cruelty of others, was said to have felt shocked and horrified when people sneered at her or simply ignored her. In an ironic twist, that same year Maxim magazine named Minnillo #62 on their Hot 100 List.