‘Jeopardy!’ Star Amy Schneider Reveals Major Change to Her Career Path

Amy Schneider may be a seasoned Jeopardy! champion, but the game show whiz is moving into a surprising new chapter of her career!

The Oakland, Calif.-based writer, whose 40-game win streak put her second only to current Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings in terms of consecutive wins, revealed on the March 3 episode of the Inside Jeopardy! podcast that she’s a budding standup comedian as well.

Asked about her preparation for the recent Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament, Schneider revealed she had been a bit sidelined this time around by the San Francisco Sketchfest, which took place from Jan. 16 to Feb. 2.

“I am sort of, to an extent, preparing in the background like I have been my whole life, just by watching the show and learning things all the time,” Schneider said. “This time, it just so happened to come after San Francisco Sketchfest, which is a big comedy festival that I was a lot more involved in than I expected.”

“So, that meant I wasn’t cramming in the same way that I’ve necessarily have before,” she continued. “That was a trade-off I was consciously making, but I didn’t really think it would make a difference because I’ve always been under the philosophy of those things you do in the last few days before taping; they never really end up making a difference.”

There was “some level of sharpness” Schneider said she was “sort of surprised to not quite feel” or not be able to “turn on” during the recent invitational, however. “I didn’t realize how much focusing in the week or two in advance, that I still needed that,” she said.

While Schneider admitted that some of the Masters games felt “deflating,” she noted that she “played well,” it was just that fellow champion Luigi de Guzman, who beat her in the quarterfinals, “played better.”

Jeopardy! contestant Sam Buttrey added, “Fans should know that you’re a budding standup comedian because you were nice enough to send me 10 minutes of your routine.” Asked how Schenider puts aside time to study while also pursuing her comedy career, she responded that quizzes and studying are pivotal for each tournament. “I did set aside some time. And if things had been different, I would have set aside slightly more,” she said.