Jeopardy! Winner Amy Schneider Suffers Another Blow After Robbery
"Jeopardy!" viewers cannot get enough of contestant Amy Schneider, who started a winning streak that has elevated her into the top echelon of champions across the many years of the show. While Schneider's on-screen journey continues, she has faced some significant challenges off-screen. She revealed on Twitter she was robbed right as the new year began, and soon after that, another unfortunate situation developed.
Schneider's "Jeopardy!" winning streak may not be over yet, but it has already garnered her some impressive stats. As ABC 7 detailed, Schneider is the first transgender contestant to rack up so many wins. Once she had five wins under her belt, she qualified for the "Tournament of Champions." That annual showdown involves all of the best contestants from the previous year, and Schneider was the first transgender individual to qualify. "I am so incredibly grateful," she explained of her success. "Hopefully I can send a positive message to the nerdy trans girl who wants to be on the show too." As of January 5, Schneider had a 26-day winning streak, with winnings hitting the $950,000 mark (per Dayton Daily News).
As iconic "Jeopardy!" winner Ken Jennings noted, Schneider had "21 of her 25 game be runaways or lock games." He admitted, "It's pretty impressive, that's a very impressive stat." Schneider has thrilled "Jeopardy!" fans with nightly Twitter threads, breaking down each show's battle. Unfortunately, she has had a couple of obstacles interfere with her ability to maintain her streak of threads lately.
Amy Schneider is pushing through challenges
On January 5, Amy Schneider shared via Twitter that she'd been ill, and this came very soon after her robbery revelation. She explained, "Quick update: So, to make this week even more fun, I also got sick!" Schneider did not detail what type of illness that she had, but added, "I'm feeling mostly better now, but I'm going to extend my posting break through tomorrow."
Schneider quickly tweeted again to reassure worried "Jeopardy!" fans. "For now, just know that a) I'm fine b) I fully intend to post full game threads for every episode, and c) I'm so grateful for all the support I've received!" Schneider received plenty of support in response, with fans gushing over how much they've loved watching her compete. "You are my all time fav @Jeopardy contestant," began one. "Poised, intelligent and exhibiting such grace, you are the best of the best," that person continued.
Schneider already claimed the record for most consecutive wins garnered by a woman, noted People, and she's clearly enjoying the journey. She told Yahoo! Entertainment, "so much of what I get on Twitter and Facebook is so positive and good," that any negativity is "well worth it." How long can Schneider keep winning? "Jeopardy!" fans will be anxious for Schneider's nightly Twitter threads to restart so they can get the inside scoop on her impressive winning streak as it plays out on-screen.
Amy Schneider says she's more than just her identity
Growing up, Amy Schneider admits that she was a "Jeopardy" fan for as long as she could remember. Speaking to the Daily Beast in an interview, she said that she began watching the show when Alex Trebek began hosting back in 1984. It was also a lifetime goal of hers to be on the long-running television game series. "When I was in the closet to change for the second show, I silently screamed and jointed my fist and jumped up and down. It was something I'd dreamed of my whole life," she tweeted.
And while Schneider has definitely gotten a lot of attention for being a successful transgender woman on "Jeopardy" along with some of the setbacks that she's had to deal with, Schneider said that she doesn't want the media to just focus on her identity. While it's an important part of her life, so are a lot of other things. "Being trans is an important, huge foundational part of my identity and also, not," she explained. "I'm not going on 'Jeopardy!' to be trans on 'Jeopardy!' I'm going on 'Jeopardy!' to try to win some money."
Amy Schneider's not the first trans contestant on the show
Amy Schneider has achieved two huge goals in her life — appearing on "Jeopardy" as a contestant and winning a whole lot of cash while doing it — she reminded the Daily Beast that she's not the first trans person on the show. Fran Fried from Connecticut was on the show back in 2017, while, in 2020, Los Angeles resident Kate Freeman won the Final Jeopardy round. One "Jeopardy" fan also reminded the world on Twitter that there was a trans contestant that was a multi-game winner back in the 1990s.
For Schneider, knowing that there were so many trailblazers before is definitely a great feeling. "Those were very important to me, the trans contestants that have been on before," she said. "It suddenly felt a lot more uncomfortable to be on TV after I came out, but seeing them there made me feel like it's perfectly fine. It's funny: the producer said at some point, 'I don't even know how many trans contestants have been on 'Jeopardy!' and I was like, 'I know.'"
That said, we'd say that for "Jeopardy" fans, their final answer when asked about Schneider is that she's a pretty impressive person, both inside and out.