Larissa Kelly (born 1980) is a Jeopardy! contestant who resides in El Cerrito, California. During her regular run on Jeopardy!, she won a total of $222,597 over six games and $1,000 3rd place consolation prize in her seventh, with her last appearance airing May 28, 2008. Excluding tournament winnings, Kelly is the highest-winning female contest and ranks fifth in all-time in Jeopardy! earnings.[1][2][3] In addition to being the highest-winning female contestant in regular play, while she was champion Kelly broke Ken Jennings' record for most money won in a contestant's first five days by winning $179,797; this record was one of two Roger Craig broke during his reign as champion, as he won $195,801 in his first five games (Craig also topped Jennings' single-game record of $77,000).[note 1] Kelly is also the second-highest winning female contestant in any single game in Jeopardy!'s history. Kelly's $45,200 performance narrowly trails Maria Wenglinsky, who won $46,600 on November 1, 2005.
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Kelly grew up in Newton, Massachusetts[4] and attended Newton North High School where she helped lead the science bowl team to national competition.[5] She graduated from Princeton University in 2002 and is now a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, studying the history of archaeology in 19th century Mexico.[6] She played quiz bowl at both Princeton and Berkeley.[7][8] On August 3, 2002, she married her quiz bowl teammate Jeff Hoppes.[9]
She is one of three members of her family to have played on Jeopardy!, all between 2004 and 2008, and the only winner of the three. Her husband was defeated by Jennings in Jennings' 70th game as champion. Her sister Arianna was defeated in her initial Jeopardy! appearance, in part due to questionable calls that prompted Standards and Practices to bring her back for a second appearance; in her second appearance, Arianna was defeated by Aaron Schroeder, who later faced Larissa in the 2009 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions finals.
In the 2009 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas, Kelly won her quarterfinal and semifinal matches and led after the first game of the two-game finals, with $24,400 to Dan Pawson's $22,301. She lost to Pawson in the second game after she missed the Final Jeopardy! clue, which required identifying George II of Great Britain as the last British ruler to be born outside the United Kingdom. She won $100,000 for finishing second.
Larissa Kelly is also a science fiction author, who has had one story published at Strange Horizons.[10]
During her streak, Kelly broke the following Jeopardy! records:
| Description | Current Record | Previous Record |
|---|---|---|
| Highest total winnings on Jeopardy! by a female player in non-tournament play | US$222,597 by Larissa Kelly | US$122,300 by Maria Wenglinsky, 2005 |
| Longest winning streak on Jeopardy! by a female player in non-tournament play | 6 games by Larissa Kelly | 5 games by various contestants |
| Longest streak (from first appearance) of correct Final Jeopardy! responses on Jeopardy! | 10 games by Larissa Kelly | 9 games by Leah Greenwald and Dave Abbott |
The following record, previously held by Kelly, has now been broken:
| Description | Current Record | Kelly's Record | Previous Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highest 5-game total on Jeopardy!, first 5 games (unadjusted) | US$195,801 by Roger Craig | US$179,797 by Larissa Kelly | US$156,000 by Ken Jennings |
| Preceded by Mehrun Etebari |
Biggest winners on Jeopardy! by season 2007-2008 |
Succeeded by Justin Bernbach |
| Preceded by Jennifer Gotcher |
Biggest one-day total on Jeopardy! by season 2007-2008 |
Succeeded by Kevin Joyce |
| Preceded by Doug Hicton |
Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions first runner-up 2009 |
Succeeded by Jason Zollinger |