Amy Schneider, a transgender woman, extends 'Jeopardy!' winning streak to five

"Jeopardy!" contestant Amy Schneider is heading into Monday's episode with a winning streak, joining the few openly trans winners on the show, and is thanking the trans competitors who came before her. 

Schneider, an engineering manager from Oakland, California, became a three-day champion on Friday's episode with $110,200 in winnings after she entered the Final Jeopardy round $25,000 ahead of her competitor and wagered a whopping $15,000.

On Tuesday, Sbecame a five-day champion, guaranteeing her a spot in the next tournament of top winners, with total winnings of $170,400.

"I could have bet up to 24,999, and I considered it. But it's hard," Schneider wrote in a series of tweets over the weekend. "As it was, I was betting the price of a car, which just felt wrong. But it paid off again, and I'd topped $100K in total winnings! I'll repeat that: ONE. HUNDRED. THOUSAND. DOLLARS. I mean, I still can barely believe it, and I just watched it happen on national tv." 

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Friday's win coincidentally fell on the final day of Trans Awareness Week, which runs every year from Nov. 13-19. 

Schneider is not the first openly trans person to compete on the long-running game show. She noted a "handful" came before her, including Kate Freeman, who last year became the first out trans champion.

"My thanks to all of them for blazing the trail!" Schneider tweeted.

She also addressed backlash from viewers who thought it was insensitive for the show to include a category titled "Naturalized Woman," which featured questions about famous women who were not born in the U.S. and later became naturalized citizens. USA TODAY has reached out to "Jeopardy!" representatives for further comment. 

"There wasn't actually anything wrong with it, and I had forgotten it entirely until I watched the episode today," Schneider said. "But I think it's clear it landed differently with a trans woman on stage, which is unfortunate." 

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