My name's India Cooper, and I was on Jeopardy! for the first time in 1991. Played in the 1992 Tournament of Champions. I grew up in Denver, but I played on those games out of New York City, where I had moved in 1990.
How has your life changed since then?
Well, since I was on the show that time, um, I got married in 2000, and that was a big change and an entirely pleasant one. And then, a few years ago, um, we left New York and moved to Madison, Indiana.
What was it like when you first went on the show?
Well, I'm old, and I forget, and I don't really remember what it was like stepping out for the first time because it was such an energetic, focused, "Oh-my-gosh-we're going-to-play-Jeopardy!" that there was really no room to think or dwell and experience. It was just all of a sudden, somebody would put their hand on the small of your back and say, "Okay, walk now!" And the next thing you knew, you had the pen in your hand for Final Jeopardy! So [giggles] that's how I remember my first Jeopardy! appearance.
What is your reaction to watching yourself in one of your old appearances?
That was fun. That--that game, I had had to come from behind. I--I so almost lost that game, and I would have hated to l--oh, well, I hate to lose! But I think it would've been easier to lose my second or third game than to lose the fifth one. I really did not want to lose that fifth game.
What motivates you to be on Jeopardy! again?
It's great to be back. I'm one of the--one of the very, very, very lucky Jeopardy! people who's been able to come back several times. And, uh, after the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, I was completely convinced that that was going to be the end of that. And, so when this opportunity came up, uh--I just--I just can't imagine anything more delightful--is--to get to see everybody again, and get to play another game of Jeopardy! |
"She was an actor and copy editor in New York City when she became a five-game champ. She's still a copy editor, but she now lives in a historic house in Madison, Indiana. Please welcome..."
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 |
