“Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneider made history again on Friday, becoming the highest-earning female contestant in the game show's nearly 57-year run.
The engineering manager's 18th consecutive win brought her total earnings to $706,800, bumping her above Larissa Kelly to become the show's top-earning female player.
Kelly, a science fiction writer and academic who built up a record $655,930 through regular season play and tournament competitions, applauded Schneider's historic win on Twitter.
"Well, it was fun to hold a Jeopardy record for a few years...but it’s been even more fun to watch @Jeopardamy set new standards for excellence, on the show and off. Congratulations to Amy on becoming the woman with the highest overall earnings in the show’s history!" she wrote.
Schneider responded, tweeting: "Thanks so much, I’m honored to be in your company, and I look forward to some day watching the woman who beats us both!"
The Oakland, California, native's record-breaking win marked the second time she made game show history this year. Last month, Schneider became the show's first transgender contestant to qualify for the Tournament of Champions, an annual competition among 15 players who have earned the most money from the prior season.
Despite the historic nature of her win for the LGBTQ community, Schneider has said she does not want her gender identity to be her entire persona.
“I didn’t want to make too much about being trans, at least in the context of the show,” she wrote in a Twitter thread last month. “I am a trans woman, and I’m proud of that fact, but I’m a lot of other things, too!”
Schneider's Friday win also made her the fourth-highest earner in a single season, according to a tally on the show's website. Her earnings put her behind only Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer and Matt Amodio — who earned $2,520,700, $2,462,216 and $1,518,601 in a single season, respectively.
On Monday night, Schneider nudged her earnings up to $745,200 with a 19th consecutive win.
If she wins again Tuesday, Schneider will make game show history for a third time this year, tying with supply chain professional Julia Collins, who won the most consecutive games among the show's female contestants in 2014.
