What a surreal 22 months it has been for Jeopardy! Champion Amy Schneider. Not only did she have a 40-game epic winning streak resulting in $1,382,800, Schneider became the most successful woman in the show’s 39 season history. The only human to surpass Schneider’s 40 consecutive Jeopardy! wins is Ken Jennings, who has 74 wins.
And that’s just the beginning for this Oakland-based former computer scientist. Since her Jeopardy! fame she won the 2022 Tournament of Champions and the $250,000 grand prize. Schneider also has a new memoir, In the Form of a Question: The Joys and Rewards of a Curious Life, which debuts October 3rd from Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster.
When asked how her life has changed since winning Jeopardy! Schneider says it has transformed in every possible way. And she’s loving it. “My life has a completely new direction that I wasn’t expecting it to go,” she says. “I quit my job and it’s fascinating to be a famous person who is recognized on the street.”
Schneider says the biggest shift is to have the freedom to pursue her great passions and have time to really focus on what she wants to do with her life. “One of the best things about winning a bunch of money is the ability to spend a while without worrying about being able to make rent,” she says.
Plus there’s the joy of being able to indulge in fine dining, which she adores. “Another great thing about winning a million dollars is you can go to places like Chez Panisse whenever you want and have really top end food,” shares Schneider of Alice Waters’ beloved food Mecca. Does she look at the prices? “No,” she says. “That would just bum us out.”
Looking back at all that has occurred since winning Jeopardy! Schneider reflected on her childhood and if she ever imagined growing up to break records on the show. “If you asked me when I was around 12 I would have said, ‘yeah, that sounds right,’ she says laughing. “I was real cocky when I was a kid. I got good grades in school. I thought. I’m the smartest person ever. I can do anything. So that seems like my destiny.”
Jeryl Brunner: What do you miss most about being on Jeopardy!?
Amy Schneider: I miss the people, including my fellow contestants. Also, I really miss the experience. When I originally went on the show it was the first time I’ve been successful at achieving complete focus on something. I had to get distractions out of my mind, set them aside and live in the moment. I’ve been reading philosophers for years who talk about staying in the moment. It’s the only thing that matters. And that run on Jeopardy! was the first time I was able to really put that into practice.
Brunner: During your first run on Jeopardy! I still think of what you said, “I am a trans woman, and I’m proud of that fact. But I’m a lot of other things too.” What does being a trans woman in the spotlight means to you?
Schneider: One of the things about being trans is if you’re a trans person and out and living your true identity, you’re kind of an activist. You can’t conceal what you are. You’re essentially asserting your right to exist in whatever space you’re in. And what I’ve learned from this experience is how powerful that is. How much of a difference it takes to simply be visible as yourself without having to do anything else. Without having to do any advocacy or fight for anything.
Just being yourself and asserting your right to be wherever you are is hugely powerful. When I was growing up, trans people essentially didn’t exist. They didn’t have any place in society. Every time a trans person is seen having a legitimate place in society, whether it’s on Jeopardy! or being a four star admiral or being Caitlyn Jenner or anything, that is a reminder of advocating for us.
Brunner: What would you like to say to people who are trans and struggling to connect with people in their life, like a parent who might not understand? Especially now when trans rights are in peril.
Schneider: I can’t sit here and tell you that your family is going to come around. Because not all families do. Most parents of trans kids eventually choose their kid over their preexisting beliefs. But I can’t promise you that. What I can say is that there are so many people out there who will love, respect and support you as your true self. And if you can’t get that from your family, there are other people out there ready to supply it.
Brunner: Is there something a trans person can say when trying to impart who they are?
Schneider: I would say it’s actually kind of simple. The only thing that I ask anyone to do is to accept that I’m not lying. That I’m not making it up. When I say, “I am really, truly, deeply a woman, even though that doesn’t match what my body was born as, if you accept that I’m telling the truth about that, then everything else falls into place.” If you just believe that I’m telling the truth on that, that’s all I ask of anyone.
Brunner: What do you wish you could tell your younger self?
Schneider: Trans people exist. Assuming that I could understand myself as trans at that time, which I couldn’t. But once I had, I would say, you have no idea how much progress is about to get made. I couldn’t have imagined in the eighties that there could be a popular trans celebrity who people like. I would say, “You’re not a freak. You’re not the villain in Silence of the Lambs. You’re not a joke. And people are going to see that within your lifetime before you turn 40. So many people are going to understand that you’re just the person who you are.”
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