Arts & Entertainment
Amy Schneider becomes first woman $1M Jeopardy! winner
Schneider, 42, commenced her winning streak in November hitting the million mark during her 28th game this past Friday
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Amy Schneider, the Transwoman software engineering manager from Oakland, became the first woman and fourth $1 million Jeopardy! winner since the game show first aired on March 30, 1964.
Schneider, 42, commenced her winning streak in November hitting the million mark during her 28th game this past Friday. āItās not a sum of money I ever anticipated would be associated with my name,ā Schneider said. āTo be good at Jeopardy!,ā Schneider added; āyou just have to live a life where youāre learning stuff all the time.ā
The New York TimesĀ reported that the other three $1 million Jeopardy! winners, Ken Jennings who went on to compete in a record 74-game run, won in 2004 after his 30th game. In 2019 the distinction was also won by James Holzhauern and this past Fall, 2021 by Matt Amodio.
GLAADās director of transgender representation, Nick Adams, in an emailed statement said; āAmy Schneider’s incredible run on Jeopardy! allows families all over the country to get to know her as someone who is great at word puzzles, has in-depth knowledge on a range of topics, and who also happens to be a transgender woman. Amy is using her history-making appearances and new platform to raise awareness of transgender issues and share a bit of her personal story too.ā
After her early successes last November, Schneider told Newsweek that she had been trying to get on the show for over a decade.
āIām not sure quite how long [ago I first applied], but I remember trying out when I still lived in Ohio, and Iāve lived in Oakland since 2009, so it has to have been at least that amount of time,ā she said.
Schneider also explained how her transition in 2017 might have helped her finally get a spot on the show.
āThe reality is that for the first few years of that, when I was trying out, I was, as far as any of us knew, a standard white guy,ā she told the magazine. āAnd thereās just more competition for those slots on Jeopardy! Theyāre making a TV show, they donāt want everybody to look the same, and I looked a lot like many of the other contestants, and I think that definitely made it a little tougher for me at that time. I would have got on eventually ā I was never gonna stop trying!ā
In the post-Alex Trebek era, multiple trans contestants have appeared on the show, including Kate Freeman, who became the first out trans champion in āJeopardy!ā history last December.
Schneider, who became the first trans contestant to qualify for the Tournament of Champions in November, was robbed at gunpoint over the New Yearās weekend in her home city of Oakland.
āHi all! So, first off: Iām fine. But I got robbed yesterday, lost my ID, credit cards, and phone,ā she said. āI then couldnāt really sleep last night, and have been dragging myself around all day trying to replace everything,ā she wrote in a tweet about the incident.
Hi all! So, first off: I’m fine. But I got robbed yesterday, lost my ID, credit cards, and phone. I then couldn’t really sleep last night, and have been dragging myself around all day trying to replace everything.
ā Amy Schneider (@Jeopardamy) January 4, 2022
According to the Associated Press, Oakland police said they are investigating the armed robbery that occurred on Sunday afternoon. No arrests have been made.
The robbery took place just days after Schneider won her 21st consecutive game, surpassing Julia Collins as the most winning woman in the showās history.
In an email statement to NBC News, a āJeopardy!ā spokesperson said, āWe were deeply saddened to hear about this incident, and we reached out to Amy privately to offer our help in any capacity.ā
Schneider, an engineering manager from Oakland, has been an inspiration to many during her historic run on the show.
āSeeing trans people anywhere in society that you havenāt seen them before is so valuable for the kids right now that are seeing it,ā she told ABC affiliate KGO-TV in November, adding: āIām so grateful that I am giving some nerdy little trans kid somewhere the realization that this is something they could do, too.ā
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The 2024 New York City Pride Parade wound through the streets of Manhattan and past the historic Stonewall Inn on Sunday, June 30.
(Washington Blade photos by Daniel Truitt)
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The fourth annual Fredericksburg Pride march and festival was held at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg, Va. on Saturday, June 29. The event began with a march around downtown Fredericksburg beginning and ending in the park.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Covering Fredericksburg Pride for @WashBlade . City Council member @WillMackintosh speaking: pic.twitter.com/tDdVD2IVsM
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) June 29, 2024
Photos
PHOTOS: Goodwin Living Pride
Senior living and healthcare organization holds fourth annual march at Falls Church campus
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The senior living and healthcare organization Goodwin Living held its fourth annual community Pride march around its Bailey’s Crossroads campus in Falls Church, Va. with residents, friends and supporters on Tuesday, June 25. Following the march, a drag brunch was held with performances by drag artists of SADBrunch: Crimsyn, Sapphire Dupree and Evon Dior Michelle.
(Photos courtesy of Goodwin Living)
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