What charity are you playing for?
I'm playing for an organization called NELCWIT, which stands for New England Learning Center for Women In Transition. They provide safe houses and 24-hour hotline for victims and survivors of domestic and s--domestic abuse and sexual assault... in Western Massachusetts, where I grew up.
How often do you watch Jeopardy!?
I've been watching Jeopardy! my whole life. Ever since Jeopardy!'s starting. So I'm not gonna say when, 'cause then you'll know how old I am. But I play pretty much every day. And if I don't, I TiVo it and play four or five shows in a row.
And how do you do when you're playing along at home?
Oh, I beat everybody in the room. Although, usually, I play alone, so... it's not that hard. [Laughs]
Did you ever think you would be on Jeopardy!?
No, and actually when--when you guys asked me a few months ago, I literally started jumping up and down. This is like a huge--a huge big deal for Elizabeth to be here. I'm really, really excited--although, I'm more nervous about my opponents because I think they're completely going to kick my butt. I'm a little nervous. We had a little bit of rehearsal and I'm a little in over my head, I think.
Who's the biggest threat, do you think?
Aisha. Huge!--She's like--[Mimes repeated buzzing in on Aisha's part]--and I'm like--[winces] "Oh, God! I didn't brush up on my trivia enough." She's fast and she's tall, so... Eh.
What did you do to give yourself an edge in the competition today?
Yes, I, uh, downloaded the Jeopardy! game on my computer. Bought the game, did the whole thing, and have been practicing for weeks. But nothing--y'know--nothing large. Just--every day.
What would be your dream Jeopardy! category?
I'm pretty good at things like MUSIC FROM THE '70s & '80s, I'm pretty good with FILM, I'm pretty good with--well, I'm an actor. THEATER, FILM, PLAYWRIGHTS, all that. I'd probably be pretty good. And things that end with a certain letter. I'm pretty good at that kind of--and POTPOURRI, of course.
Tune in for a star-studded game from Las Vegas! |
2009 Celebrity Jeopardy! player: $25,000 to the New England Learning Center for Women In Transition (NELCWIT).
"Her distinguished career has ranged from her breakthrough performance in Big with Tom Hanks to her starring role in Showtime's popular original series Weeds. Please welcome..."
Elizabeth Perkins is an actress who has distinguished herself with an eclectic mix of roles over the span of her career. Never satisfied with the comfort of familiarity, she has avoided the tried-and-true and has the maverick sensibility of a pioneer. Her choice of roles reveals such a career, distinguished by the inexhaustible ability to ferret out worthy parts and coax from them their fullest measure of idiosyncrasy.
Perkins can currently be seen starring in Showtime's original series Weeds where she portrays Celia Hodes. Weeds is currently in its third season. Perkins's performance has earned her two Golden Globe nominations and two Emmy nominations for Supporting Actress. Perkins will next be seen in the Lions Gate film Fierce People opposite Diane Lane and Donald Sutherland for director Griffin Dunne.
Born in Queens, New York, Perkins was raised in Vermont, and later attended Chicago's prestigious Goodman School of Drama. In 1984, Perkins returned to New York where she made her theatrical debut in Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs. She subsequently worked with Playwrights' Horizon, the Ensemble Studio Theatre, The New York Shakespeare Festival and the Steppenwolf Theater and was in the acclaimed John Patrick Shanley black comedy Four Dogs and a Bone at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.
Perkins made her feature film debut in Ed Zwick's About Last Night..., an adaptation of David Mamet's play Sexual Perversity in Chicago. Her breakthrough performance came in 1988 opposite Tom Hanks in 20th Century Fox's smash hit Big, directed by Penny Marshall, and she received critical acclaim for her performance in Barry Levinson's Avalon. In 1991, she starred opposite William Hurt in Randa Haines' touching drama The Doctor, and with Kevin Bacon in He Said, She Said for Paramount Pictures. She then went on to star in Indian Summer before bringing cartoon character Wilma Flintstone to life in Universal Pictures' blockbuster motion picture The Flintstones. Perkins portrayed Dorey Walker in John Hughes' remake of the 1947 holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street with Sir Richard Attenborough. She also co-starred opposite Kathleen Turner, Gwyneth Paltrow and Whoopi Goldberg in Gramercy Pictures' Moonlight and Valentino.
Her other credits include From the Hip; Sweethearts Dance, with Jeff Daniels and Susan Sarandon; Alan Rudolph's Love at Large; Enid Is Sleeping; Lesser Prophets; I'm Losing You, Bruce Wagner's independent film co-starring Frank Langella, Rosanna Arquette and Amanda Donohoe; Crazy in Alabama, directed by Antonio Banderas co-starring Melanie Griffith, Paul Mazursky and Cathy Moriardy; the independent feature Under the Mimosa co-starring Brad Renfro, directed and written by Bo Brinkman; 28 Days opposite Sandra Bullock; Cats & Dogs; Finding Nemo as the voice of Coral; Jiminy Glick in Lalawood; The Ring Two; and most recently in the Warner Bros. film Must Love Dogs, starring opposite Diane Lane.
Perkins made her television debut in For Their Own Good, produced by Jon Avnet and Jordan Kerner. Perkins's other television projects include NBC's Baby 2000; Showtime's The Rescuers for Barbra Streisand's Barwood Productions; the HBO series From the Earth to the Moon; Showtime's What Girls Learn; the Hallmark Hall of Fame production of My Sister's Keeper opposite Kathy Bates; and Showtime's Speak.
Perkins currently makes her home in Los Angeles with her daughter Hannah and her husband, cinematographer Julio Macat. |
