Date of First Appearance:
October 1993
Total Winnings:
$37,499 + Jeopardy! '92 home game for 1993 regular season
$100,000 for winning Tournament of Champions in 1994
$10,000 for Million Dollar Masters tournament in 2002
Records Held:
First woman to win the ToC.
Favorite anecdote:
During my regular season I lost my fifth game because I did not know the Final Jeopardy! question. The question had to with the day on which the most avocados are eaten, which is Cinco de Mayo. For several years after that certain family members sent me "Happy Cinco de Mayo" e-mails every May 5th, no doubt to make sure that I didn't get a big head about my television fame!
How did being on Jeopardy! have an effect on your life?
I have been on Jeopardy! three times, and I put it on my resume. (I wouldn't say it's ever gotten me a job, but it does provide something to talk about during interviews.) This means that some people who know me have found out about it, and they often introduce me to new people with the words "and she was on Jeopardy!" As a result, co-workers would often drop by my office whenever something interesting was happening on Jeopardy! to talk to me about it. For example, when Ken Jennings finally lost his 75th game, people suggested to me that he had lost on purpose and asked me what I thought about that theory. (I don't think that he did.) I have to say that Jeopardy! has become a part of who I am.
Did you do anything crazy with your earnings?
I am not by nature a crazy person, so I invested most of my money in mutual funds. The most extravagant thing that I did was to buy myself a $300 briefcase back in 1994. I still have it.
Anything else?
I practiced for this tournament by watching Jeopardy! every night after drinking a glass or two of wine and trying to give the right questions under time pressure. My theory is that it is like training to run a race wearing leg weights, so that you run faster when you take them off. I am hoping that exercising my brain cells under conditions that slow down your responses will make them function more quickly when they are not clouded by alcohol. On the other hand, I may just be destroying the parts of my brain that I need to win! |
"In 1994, she was the first female winner of a Tournament of Champions. Today she's a lawyer practicing in Washington, D.C...."
2014 Battle of the Decades quarterfinalist: $10,000.
2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions Round 1 player: $5,000.
2002 Million Dollar Masters tournament quarterfinalist: $10,000.
1994 Tournament of Champions winner (semifinalist by wildcard): $100,000.
Season 10 4-time champion: $37,499 + Jeopardy! '92 home game. |
