Oakland's Amy Schneider talks 'Jeopardy!' Tournament of Champions win, trans advocacy, book plans
As for what's next for Schneider, she plans on becoming an author!
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- "Jeopardy!" trailblazer and fan favorite Amy Schneider can finally discuss her win as the "Tournament of Champions" champion that aired this week on ABC7.
The Oakland resident made history as the first woman and first transgender woman to win "Jeopardy!" with the most winnings at 40 consecutive games from Nov. 2021 to Jan. 2022.
She won three games in the tournament finals winning the $250,000 grand prize, and she feels great.
RELATED: Amy Schneider wins a hard-fought 'Jeopardy!' Tournament of Champions
"It was amazing. It was something that I had been, you know, I've been trying to tell myself it would be okay if I didn't do well in the tournament, but like, deep down I really wanted to prove that I really was that good and there was nothing like fluky about my first run," she told ABC7 News anchor Kristen Sze.
"And it just felt really good to just sort of validate everything and they kind of like end this sort of like impostor syndrome, that was still kind of a little bit in my mind and really be like, 'No, I'm actually kind of good at playing Jeopardy.'"
MORE: 3 NorCal residents heading to 'Jeopardy!' Tournament of Champions finals
Schneider beat Andrew He, also from the Bay Area, who won two games in the tournament finals. They previously competed back in Nov. 2021 in regular "Jeopardy!," where Schneider beat He, beginning her 40-game winning streak.
"I really just felt that we were going to meet again in this tournament of champions. So you know, like, certainly there were other players in the tournament that I knew could beat me, but he was the only one that I had that feeling of like losing against and so I was really, you know, kind of dreading it."
The third contestant, Sam Buttrey, is from Monterey County also in Northern California, won one game in the champion finals.
VIDEO: 'Jeopardy!' champ Amy Schneider reflects on White House visit and why representation matters
Schneider has become one of the most visible advocates for transgender rights. Schneider recently traveled to Ohio to testify on a bill that bans gender-affirming medical care for minors.
"I understand that this is not something that people you know, get immediately, or that it's easy to understand from the outside. But the gender-affirming care, saves lives. Like it is really life-saving care," Schneider said.
"I just wanted to try to explain from my perspective as a trans person, why it is...so important for kids and for everyone to have access to that care because I know that many of the people supporting bills like this truly think they're trying to protect children to keep children safe. And you know, they're actually not. They're putting children in danger and I wanted to try to explain why," Schneider added.
Schneider tweeted a picture of her and her wife Genevieve Davis on the "Jeopardy" set the night of her Tournament of Champions win, she said:
"I'm so glad she was able to be there. She wasn't able to be there for my first run," Schneider said. "Just seeing her come up and see just how happy she was for me. I just, I couldn't be here without her. It was so good to share that moment with her."
MORE: Oakland's own Amy Schneider reflects on historic 'Jeopardy!' run, talks what's next
As for what's next for Schneider, she plans on becoming an author!
"I am working on writing a book. It turns out that writing a book is a very hard thing to do. But I am doing my best at it."
She gave a preview of what the untitled book will be about.
"Really the message of the book is why it's so important to learn, why it's so important to be curious about the world and why it's so important to be open to being wrong."
"Who is Amy Schneider?," Sze asked.
"Amy Schneider is an Oakland resident, a trans woman and a "Jeopardy!" champion."
And so much more.
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Watch the full interview in our video media player above.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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