Global InformationKen Jennings information
Ken Jennings | |
|---|---|
 Jennings in 2007 | |
| Born | Kenneth Wayne Jennings III[1] May 23, 1974 Edmonds, Washington, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Brigham Young University (BA, BS) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2004–present |
| Known for |
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| Spouse |
Mindy Boam (m. 2000) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | ken-jennings |
Kenneth Wayne Jennings III (born May 23, 1974) is an American game show host, author, and former game show contestant. He is the highest-earning American game show contestant, having won money on five different game shows, including $4,522,700 on the U.S. game show Jeopardy!. From 2021 to 2023, Jennings and Mayim Bialik alternated as hosts of that show, as well as Celebrity Jeopardy![2][3] In 2023, Jennings received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Game Show.[4] In December 2023, Jennings was announced as Jeopardy!’s permanent main host.[5]
Jennings holds the record for the longest winning streak on Jeopardy! with 74 consecutive wins. He also holds the record for the highest average correct responses per game in Jeopardy! history (for those contestants with at least 300 correct responses) with 35.9 during his original run (no other contestant has exceeded 30)[6] and 33.1 overall, including tournaments and special events.[7] In 2004, Jennings won 74 consecutive Jeopardy! games before he was defeated by challenger Nancy Zerg in his 75th appearance. Jennings' total earnings on Jeopardy! are $4,522,700, consisting of: $2,520,700 over his 74 wins; a $2,000 second-place prize in his 75th appearance; a $500,000 second-place prize in the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions (2005); a $300,000 second-place prize in Jeopardy!'s IBM Challenge (2011), when he lost to the Watson computer but became the first person to beat third-place finisher Brad Rutter; a $100,000 second-place prize in the Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades (2014); a $100,000 second-place prize (his share of his team's $300,000 prize) in the Jeopardy! All-Star Games (2019); and a $1,000,000 first-place prize in Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time (2020).
During his first run of Jeopardy! appearances, Jennings earned the record for the highest American game show winnings. His total was surpassed by Rutter, who defeated Jennings in the finals of the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions, adding $2 million to Rutter's existing Jeopardy! winnings. Jennings regained the record after appearances on several other game shows, culminating with his results on an October 2008 appearance on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, though Rutter retained the record for highest Jeopardy! winnings and once again passed Jennings' total after his victory in the Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades tournament. In 2020, he once again faced off with and won against Rutter, as well as James Holzhauer, in a special primetime series, Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time.[8]
After his success on Jeopardy!, Jennings wrote about his experience and explored American trivia history and culture in his book Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs, published in 2006.
- ^ Winters, Charlene Renberg (Winter 2005). "Final Jeopardy". BYU Magazine. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ "Mayim Bialik, Ken Jennings to fill in as 'Jeopardy!' hosts for rest of 2021 after Mike Richards exit". Yahoo!. September 16, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ Towers, Andrea (December 8, 2021). "Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik to continue hosting Jeopardy into 2022". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ Hilary Lewis (July 12, 2023). "Emmys 2023: List of Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
- ^ Reilly, Katie (December 16, 2023). "Mayim Bialik Won't Return as 'Jeopardy!' Host". AOL. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
- ^ "Ken Jennings' Final Statistics". Thejeopardyfan.com.
- ^ "The 300 Club". The Jeopardy! Fan.
- ^ Pedersen, Erik (November 18, 2019). "'Jeopardy!'s All-Time Top Money Winners To Face Off In Primetime Tourney: Holzhauer, Jennings & Rutter". Deadline Hollywood.