JEOPARDY! GENIUS
Who is Jeopardy! host, Ken Jennings?
The Jeopardy! legend has also won money on four other game shows
KEN Jennings holds the record for the longest winning streak in Jeopardy! history, and has amassed over $4 million as a contestant on the game show.
Ken, who previously won 74 consecutive Jeopardy! games, has taken over as a full-time host of the series.
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Who is Jeopardy! host, Ken Jennings?
Ken Wayne Jennings III, is a Jeopardy! champion and the highest-earning player in the show’s history.
He was born on May 23, 1974, in Edmonds, Washington, a suburb of Seattle.
His father was a lawyer employed overseas, and Jennings spent 15 years growing up in South Korea and Singapore.
Having returned to the US, Jennings initially attended the University of Washington but later transferred to Brigham Young University in 1996 where he met his future wife, Mindy Boam.
Jennings and Mindy now have two children, Dylan and Caitlin Jennings.
At university, he studied English and computer science.
Jennings also holds the record for the highest average number of correct responses per game in Jeopardy! history.
He was finally defeated during his 75th appearance in the series, earning nearly $5 million in winnings.
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Prior to his guest hosting role, Jennings returned to the franchise in 2020 on Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time, where he won against Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer.
Before his game show days, Jennings worked as a software engineer.
The trivia wiz has appeared on multiple game shows over the years.
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Some shows he has been on include: Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader, Grand Slam, 500 Questions, and Stump the Master.
Jennings also appeared on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?, as a frequent expert for the lifeline Ask the Expert.
Further, he appeared as a contestant on Millionaire in 2014 during the show's Guinness World Records Edition-themed week.
Jennings won $100,000 after deciding to walk away on his $250,000 question despite having made the right prediction.
In 2023, he took on Mayim Bialik on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune and nabbed $72,800 for the Equal Justice Initiative.
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When did Ken start hosting Jeopardy?
Former Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek died in November 2020 after struggling with pancreatic cancer.
After a series of guest hosts, officials announced that producer Mike Richards and actress Mayim Bialik would be taking over as co-hosts.
However in August 2021, Richards resigned and Jennings was announced as his replacement, having previously hosted the shows as a guest.
Jennings split hosting duties with Mayim.
In July 2022, it was announced that Mayim and Jennings would continue to host together for season 39.
After the show's summer 2023 hiatus, it was revealed that Jennings would take over as the permanent host for season 40.
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The show's 40th season kicked off on September 11, 2023.
Jennings also hosted the second season of Celebrity Jeopardy!, which premiered on September 27, 2023.
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