Jeopardy! champ Amy Schneider becomes highest-earning woman in show’s history
Previous record-holder Larissa Kelly congratulated Schneider's achievement
Current Jeopardy! champ Amy Schneider, a transgender engineering manager, has shattered yet another record as she continues to dominate the long-running game show.
Schneider is now the highest-earning female contestant in Jeopardy’s 57-year history, after 18 consecutive victories as of Friday, Dec. 24.
Her total winnings stood at $706,800, beating previous record-holder Larissa Kelly, who earned $655,930 in regular season play and tournament competitions, NBC News reports.
Kelly, an academic and writer, celebrated Schneider’s achievement in a tweet.
“Well, it was fun to hold a Jeopardy record for a few years…but it’s been even more fun to watch @Jeopardamy set new standards for excellence, on the show and off,” Kelly wrote.
“Congratulations to Amy on becoming the woman with the highest overall earnings in the show’s history!”
Schneider responded to Kelly, writing: “Thanks so much, I’m honored to be in your company, and I look forward to some day watching the woman who beats us both!”
Thanks so much, I’m honored to be in your company, and I look forward to some day watching the woman who beats us both!
— Amy Schneider (@Jeopardamy) December 24, 2021
To which Kelly wrote, “I hope there will be a long line of such women, but you are certainly setting the bar extremely high for them! (And holy hell, that’s *before* any tournaments…can’t wait to see the fireworks to come!)”
On Monday, Dec. 27th, Schneider increased her earnings with a 19th consecutive win, rising to $745,200.
Schneider has quickly become one of Jeopardy!‘s all-time great players since she first appeared on the show in November during Transgender Awareness Week.
Related: Trans Jeopardy! player Amy Schneider makes history competing in Tournament of Champions
In addition to being the highest-earning female competitor, Schneider is also in the top 10 for consecutive games won, highest winnings, and all-time winnings.
She has also become the first openly transgender player to gain entry to Jeopardy!‘s annual Tournament of Champions, where she will compete against other Jeopardy! contestants who have secured the most wins during the prior year.
Earlier this month, Schneider revealed that performing Shakespeare helped her to come out as transgender. After discussing her love of acting during an episode of Jeopardy!, Schneider tweeted that the “trigger that eventually resulted in my coming out was playing Flute in [A] Midsummer [Night’s Dream].”
“There’s a play-within-a-play at the end, and Flute is forced to play a woman, and dressing up as a woman every night felt shockingly right to me.”
During Jeopardy!‘s Thanksgiving episode, Schneider wore a transgender Pride flag pin, saying she “didn’t want to make too much about being trans, at least in the context of the show. I am a trans woman, and I’m proud of that fact, but I’m a lot of other things, too!”
Schneider previously spoke about the importance of seeing other out transgender people competing on Jeopardy! in an op-ed for Newsweek.
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“It was inspirational for me to see transgender contestants on the show before I became a contestant and I hope that I am now doing that same thing for all the other trans Jeopardy! fans out there,” Schneider wrote.
“I hope I have given them the opportunity to see a trans person succeed. Until very recently trans people didn’t see themselves doing much out in the world, so to actually see something like this happen really opens your mind up to possibilities.”
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