Amy Schneider Reveals She's 'On a Quest' To Win $1 Million on 'Jeopardy!'

🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.

Amy Schneider continued her seemingly unstoppable Jeopardy! run on Monday night, boosting her win streak to 14 games.

The California-based engineering manager fended off challenges from Do Park, a sportswriter from Minneapolis, and Erin Creed, a middle school teacher from Williams Bay, Wisconsin, increasing her prize money to $571,200.

As she shared her customary pre and post-game analysis on Twitter on Monday, Schneider, who has made history as the first transgender woman to qualify for the Tournament of Champions, revealed that she has her sights set much higher when it comes to winnings.

Returning to the quiz show after a two-week break for the recently concluded Professors Tournament, Schneider described her realisation that her prize purse has put her in rarefied company.

She wrote in a pre-episode thread: "During the days off, the magnitude of what I'd done had begun to sink in; among other things, I'd noticed that everyone who had ever won as much money as I did, went on to win at least a million dollars, and I liked the sound of winning a million dollars!

"To do that, I knew I'd need to at least win all ten games taping that week, and I'd just drawn a tough challenger on game 1. But, as always, there was no choice but to just lock in and do my best."

After proving victorious once again in Monday's episode, the Ohio native tweeted: "I'd done it! I'd gotten through game one of my new quest for a million, and faced down a tough competitor to boot!"

Schneider's 14-game streak places her seventh on the Jeopardy! contestant hall of fame, with Ken Jennings still in the top spot with a massive 74 consecutive victories. Matt Amodio is in second place with his 38 consecutive triumphs earlier this year.

In the prize money rankings, Schneider has worked her way up to fourth place in regular-season play winnings, behind Jennings ($2,520,700), Holzhauer ($2,462,216) and Amodio ($1,518,601).

"Jeopardy!" champ Amy Schneider
"Jeopardy!" champ Amy Schneider has revealed that she's now "on a quest" to earn $1 million on the show. Jeopardy!/YouTube

At the end of November, Schneider revealed in an interview with Jeopardy! Clue Crew member Jimmy McGuire that she hopes to surpass the 32 consecutive games won by Holzhauer on Jeopardy! in 2019.

"I'd like to beat James Holzhauer, I think," Schneider said, when asked whose record she hopes to overtake. "He seems very confident, I guess I'll say. And so it would sort of feel good, I think, in a way."

Holzhauer sits at or near the top in a number of Jeopardy! hall of fame lists. He has every single entry in the top 10 of single-game earnings, with prizes ranging from a high of $131,127 down to an impressive 10th place of $89,229.

When it comes to all-time winnings that include Jeopardy! tournaments, The Chase star Holzhauer sits in third place with $2,962,216, behind Brad Rutter ($4,938,436) and Jennings ($4,370,700).

Schneider, a University of Dayton graduate, will be seen playing for her 15th consecutive win on Tuesday night's episode of the quiz.

All-time "Jeopardy!" champ Ken Jennings
Ken Jennings visits the Build Series in New York City on January 6, 2020. Jennings—who is currently hosting "Jeopardy!" along with Mayim Bialik—is the quiz show's all-time champion. Gary Gershoff/Getty Images

About the writer

Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on pop culture and entertainment. He has covered film, TV, music, and Hollywood celebrity news, events, and red carpets for more than a decade. He previously led teams on major Hollywood awards shows and events, including the Oscars, Grammys, Golden Globes, MTV VMAs, MTV Movie Awards, ESPYs, BET Awards, and Cannes Film Festival. He has interviewed scores of A-list celebrities and contributed across numerous U.S. TV networks on coverage of Hollywood breaking news stories. Ryan joined Newsweek in 2021 from the Daily Mail and had previously worked at Vogue Italia and OK! magazine. Languages: English. Some knowledge of German and Russian. You can get in touch with Ryan by emailing r.smith@newsweek.com.


Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more