An actor and copy editor from New York City, New York...

India Cooper

A Tournament of Champions semifinalist from 1992, India is a New York City actor whose list of credits ranges from TVs Law and Order to a featured role in the upcoming film Never Again. She says, "Jeopardy! gave me the freedom to work when I wanted to, not when I had to." Unlike many other actors who dream of giving up their day jobs, she loves her freelance work as a copy editor and has worked on two recent Pulitzer Prize-winning books. She notes that Jeopardy! was the most fun she ever had until she met Fred Burrell, whom she married on New Year's Day 2000.

Hi, I'm India Cooper, a 1992 Tournament of Champions semifinalist. Watch me participate in Jeopardy!'s Million Dollar Masters tournament. Right now you're watching me on jeopardy.com.

What is your present occupation?
Well, I'm a starving actor, and for my day job, I'm a freelance copy editor, working for several magazines and university publishers, mostly on nonfiction.

What do you remember most from your previous appearances on Jeopardy!?
I remember how much fun it was to be on Jeopardy!--and I used to say that Jeopardy! was the most fun that I would ever have, and then I met my husband, so I don't say that any more. But it was just, it was just great, and also, how fast it all goes--um, that half-hour on television is not a half-hour when you're standing behind the podium. Time really speeds up.

How has being on Jeopardy! changed your life?
Jeopardy! is such an affirmative experience, even now, almost twelve years after I was originally on. When people find out that I was on Jeopardy! their faces light up and they're so happy for me--"Wow, that's great!" they say, and that's before they even found out that I won a huge chunk of change, which is also very nice.

Do you want to say hello to anyone?
Hi, Fred, hi Mom!

Any special strategy for the competition?
I plan to go out there and have a good time, because I figure, hey, I already won: they asked me to come and play.

"A semifinalist in the Tournament of Champions in 1992, now an actor and copy editor, from New York City..."

2014 Battle of the Decades invitee: $5,000.
2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions Round 1 winner: $26,000.
2002 Million Dollar Masters tournament semifinalist: $25,000.
1992 Tournament of Champions semifinalist: $5,000.
Season 8 5-time champion: $68,400.
Season 7 player (1991-05-01).

India originally appeared in Season 7 on show #1548, aired 1991-05-01, lost, and returned in Season 8, starting with show #1681, aired 1991-12-16, as a result of "one of those wild and crazy technical malfunctions" in her first appearance.

India's one-day total of $24,001 (#1682, aired 1991-12-17) was the seventh-highest single-day winnings amount at the time, and it remained the eleventh-highest one-day total through 1998, earning India a spot on the list of the 13 highest one-day winners available on the Jeopardy! web site 1997-1998.

India died 2020-05-17 at the age of 67 after a short battle with esophageal cancer.

Jeopardy! Message Board user name: IndiaC