GRADUATE STUDENT FROM UC-BERKELEY
JOINS “JEOPARDY!” HALL OF FAME

(CULVER CITY, CA) May 28, 2008 – Larissa Kelly, a 28-year-old graduate student from El Cerrito, Calif., has earned a place in Jeopardy! history. With her seven-day, $222,597 in cash winnings, Larissa is now the third biggest money winner on the quiz show, behind all-time Jeopardy! champ Ken Jennings ($2,520,700) and David Madden ($430,400). With her victory streak, she becomes the “winningest” female champion in 24 seasons of Jeopardy!

When asked what she’ll do with her winnings Larissa said, “My husband and I have been grad students for awhile now, so it will definitely be nice to have a down payment on a house.” 

Competing on Jeopardy! is a family affair for Larissa. Her husband Jeff appeared on the program in 2004, and her sister Arianna’s upcoming appearance is scheduled for July 8.

Viewers may have noticed Larissa’s pattern for impressive and sometimes aggressive wagering. “My husband and I both knew that hunting for Daily Doubles in the higher value clues would be a successful strategy, and since it worked well in my first game, I stuck with that throughout the rest of my games.”

Kelly, who originally hails from Newton, Mass., attended Princeton University before moving to California to pursue an M.A. in History at UC-Berkeley. She and her husband are currently in Mexico City doing archival research, and she will write her dissertation upon her return in the fall.

Jeopardy!, a winner of 27 Emmy awards since its debut in 1984, was recently inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records for the most awards won by a TV Game Show. The series is the #1-rated quiz show in syndication, and has held that title for over 1,000 weeks. 

Jeopardy! is produced by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company. It is distributed domestically by CBS Television Distribution, a unit of CBS Corp. 

Visit the Jeopardy! Hall of Fame.