“Jeopardy!” star Amy Schneider concluded her monumental run on January 26 when she was defeated on Final Jeopardy, capping off a 40-game winning streak that captured the attention of American households from coast to coast.
Schneider, an engineering manager from Oakland, ended her run with the second-longest streak in the show’s history behind Ken Jennings. She made history as the first woman and first trans individual to surpass $1 million, and she finished with $1.3 million — good for fourth in history after Jennings, James Holzhauer, and Matt Amodio.
Schneider lost to librarian Rhone Talsma — who is queer, according to The Advocate. Talsma was trailing, but gained ground on a Daily Double and then secured the victory during Final Jeopardy when he correctly answered “Bangladesh” in response to which country in the world has a name in English that ends in the letter “H.” Schneider did not have an answer.
Schneider turned to Twitter after the episode — as she usually does following her appearances on “Jeopardy!” — and enthusiastically congratulated Talsma.
“I talked about how this was the most fun group of contestants I played with, and Rhone was a big reason for that,” Schneider wrote. “So, given that someone had to beat me eventually, I’m really glad it was him!”
Schneider, who works as an engineering manager, also reflected on her journey to “Jeopardy!” fame and her future plans — including the possibility of writing a book. But she also made a point to acknowledge the sacrifices the show required of her partner, Genevieve.
“She’s had to put up with a lot during this: first, being apart from me for five separate trips to LA,” Schneider wrote. “Then, once the episodes started airing, she’s had to deal with my spending a ton of time on social media and doing media interviews.”
Schneider also praised her partner for weathering a storm of “fabricated stories.”
“But through all that, she’s never hesitated in supporting me as I chase my dream,” Schneider said. “I would never have made it through taping without knowing that I’d fly back home to see her afterward, and that, while she hoped I won, she would feel the same about me whether I won 0 games or 100.”
Schneider, too, endured her fair share of adversity. On New Year’s Eve, she explained in a Twitter post that she had received anti-trans harassment — and just days later, she said she was robbed.
Schneider will return to “Jeopardy!” later in the year for the Tournament of Champions.
