90-Year-olds Rooting for Amy Schneider on ‘Jeopardy!’ Are My One Source of Joy

Ken. Then came James. Then came Matt. Now, Amy. 

Amy Schneider is the first female to become a director Jeopardy!One million dollars was won by a contestant. Her successes are greater than the pearls in her signature necklace. Her winning streak, which began in November 11, has now lasted 30 games and counting. She is currently fourth among all of them. Jeopardy!Contestants have won consecutive wins since 2003 when the show raised the cap. Schneider is the show’s most successful openly-trans contestant. Last week, Schneider achieved icon status in the pop music category. She got an Olivia Rodrigo question right, and a Nickelback wrong. She is simply sensational.  

The world of the die-hard Jeopardy! fandom, that means Schneider has picked up a steadfast community of wholesome, whip-smart nerds—loyal trivia-heads united in their memory of arcane facts, and their insistence on answering in the form of a question. Schneider is known for her loose curls. She also has a string of pearls and a sense of humility, despite her historical winning streak. “You are a brilliant, lovely woman who has great cardigans,” one supporter wroteSchneider last week was an example of this.  Jeopardy!Fan energy to perfection 

Maybe it’s because I’m my best Jeopardy!Memories are sharing the moment with my grandma. In her 90s, she would watch the board like an eagle eye general surveying a battle strategy. I see intense poignancy here. Jeopardy!Schneider loyalists in their 70s, 80s and 90s.  Jeopardy! has been on air since 1964—Schneider herself has said, “I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t watching it.” In 2020, the median age of a Jeopardy!Ad Age reported that the viewer was just 64 years old. It’s reasonable for us to assume that Schneider’s streak is on for many of these viewers. Jeopardy!This is the longest they have ever spent watching a transgender person or transgender person.  

“How do I remember all that information?” A married couple wroteFollow Schneider on twitter. “We are 79 & 75 and can’t remember what we ate for breakfast! Keep going dear you are amazing.” One fan wished Amy a hearty “You go girl” from their 87-year-old mom, while another commented, “My 95 y.o. dad and I talk about you by phone each day.” “My 97 year old dad & I love to see you,” chimed in another. “We watch with my 89-year-old mother,” wroteOne woman. “She’s so proud.” One fan filmed her grandmother toasting to Amy: “If the boys can win millions, you can win millions!”

Schneider’s story is already the stuff of legend—an occupational hazard of winning big on a show punctuated by personal anecdotes. In 8th grade, Schneider’s classmates voted her Most Likely To Compete on Jeopardy.She has joked that her “preferred musical genre is ‘sad lesbians,’” but she listens to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” before each day of competition. Her mother helped her with spelling bees and helped her reach the $1 million mark. Schneider also spoke movingly of her pride in suddenly becoming a very visible trans person. “It’s definitely been the most rewarding part of the whole experience,” she told Advocate. She has shared with her fans that one of her go-to karaoke songs is “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid, “which resonates *so* strongly with how I felt as a little closeted trans kid.” 

She has found a way to laugh at the trans-hating trolls who try to downgrade her achievements. “I’d like to thank all the people who have taken the time, during this busy holiday season, to reach out and explain to me that, actually, I’m a man,” she tweeted. “Every single one of you is the first person ever to make that very clever point, which had never once before crossed my mind.” She ended with an emoji “prayer-hands” flourish. “Laugh all the way to the bank, Amy,” responded Christy Karras, a season 33 Jeopardy! winner. “Your fellow women of Jeopardy have your back.” Beneath Karras’ comment, two more women Jeopardy!Contestants joined in to form a chain of support.