A grandmom who made it to the Bonus Round on Wheel of Fortune danced with joy after winning $72,000. She has a five-year-old grandson named Destin, who is the “love of her life.”
The woman in question, Keisha Bell, from New Orleans, Louisiana, played against Jeff Cruz, from Irvine, California, and Diana Perillo, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on December 9, 2025. Bell can also bake the perfect cake, and sometimes gets mistaken for her grandson’s mom.
The grandmom solved both of the Toss-Ups, giving her $3,000. Bell solved the first puzzle — “Windy, Winter, & Wonderful” — for $12,950. She danced after solving it.
“You’re working on your moves, I see there,” host Ryan Seacrest said.
During the second puzzle, Bell picked up the Wild Card, but did not solve the puzzle. That went to Perillo, a woman who goes on Costco dates with her husband. She solved “Old-Fashioned Toboggan” and gasped. After landing on the mystery wedge and picking up $10,000, she put $11,750 in her bank.
Bell picked up the One Million Dollar wedge on the prize puzzle — “Lounging The Day Away” — which she solved for $2,166 and a trip to Antigua. She added $4,000 to her bank when she solved two of three Triple Toss-Ups. Cruz, a singer who loves karaoke, solved the third one, finally putting $2,000 in his bank.
Bell also solved the final puzzle — “Regifted Something” — after an initial wrong guess. This put $5,100 more in her bank, giving her a final total of $32,266.
Perillo went home with $11,750. Cruz took home $2,000. Going into the Bonus Round, Bell had the One Million Wedge and the Wild Card, which gave her a greater chance of winning a big prize.
She chose “Person” for her category. Wheel of Fortune gifted her “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” Bell then picked “M,C,H,A, and F.”
The puzzle then looked like “C_M_ _TER _H_ _.” As soon as the clock counted down, Bell solved “Computer Whiz.”
Ryan Seacrest hyped up the $1 million envelope, but Bell had $40,000 in hers. She was happy with that and danced around the stage, kicking her legs up. Bell swayed back and forth and threw her arms up, cheering “Woo!” as she realized she won $72,266.
Wheel of Fortune, Weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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