By Olivia Valnker, Staff Write
Last Wednesday. Jeopardy! contestant Amy Schneider closed out an impressive 40-day winning streak on America’s Game, accumulating more than $1.4 million.
Schneider is the only female contestant to make over $1 million on the show and now holds the title of the second-longest winning streak. The first still belongs to Ken Jennings who became a popular name in 2004 after his 74-day streak earned an unparalleled 2.4 million. According to the show, she gave the correct response about 95% of the time.
Jennings has witnessed Schneider’s streak himself as a host on the classic game show. Following the death of longtime host Alex Trebek, the clue-giving responsibility has been shared between Jennings and actress Mayim Bialik.
Schneider is also the first openly trans contestant to qualify for the Tournament of Champions. She has used her primetime renown to support the LGBT community.
“It’s probably been 35 years I’ve been watching the show,” Schneider told Jeopardy!. “My mom was a college professor, so I was always very interested in learning, and she really instilled that in me.”
Schneider documented her journey through social media with her account, @jeopardamy, garnering a decent following during her win-streak. She posted the outfits that she wore for each show and included where she purchased the pieces. Her page also includes pays homage to the crew at Jeopardy!, her foster kitten Meep and the fans who have followed her run.
“Just to get so much positive feedback, so much support and so much acceptance, in enabled me — by the end of it — to look at myself on TV and be like, ‘oh, you know, she’s pretty, she’s fun, what a likeable person.’ And I have never been able to see myself that way before.” Schneider posted.
Schneider hails from Dayton, Ohio, attending the nearby University of Dayton. Currently an engineering manager, she resides in Oakland, Calif. and commuted to the set between filming.
Schneider is slated to make an appearance on the upcoming Tournament of Champions, and also hinted via Twitter that a book is in the works.