Amy Schneider, right, on the Jeopardy set with former winner and current Jeopardy host Ken Jennings.

Amy Schneider is the fourth longest running Jeopardy champ and the fourth highest money-earner in regular game play in the 38-year history of the show. She’s also the first transgender person to qualify for the tournament of champions.

With her 24th win on Monday, Jan. 3, Schneider’s winnings were just a few thousand dollars short of $900,000.

How did she get this far? Schneider is smart. Very smart. And quick on the buzzer. And very good with final Jeopardy questions. She’s only missed a few in her 24-day run.

On the show, she’s mentioned Genevieve, her girlfriend, several times. The pearls she wears each day were a gift from her girlfriend. But on-air, she hasn’t addressed her gender identity. And that’s probably a good thing. She’s had to address it a number of times off camera.

When other Jeopardy contestants are basking in their championship run, Schneider has had to answer stupid, none-of-your-business questions about her gender with answers on Twitters like, “I’d like to thank all the people who have taken the time, during this busy holiday season, to reach out and explain to me that, actually, I’m a man. Every single one of you is the first person ever to make that very clever point, which had never once before crossed my mind.”

But she’s not only smart, she also seems to be just a loving person. This week, she tweeted out these New Year’s messages to Genevieve:

“Genevieve, I know you never read these threads, but I love you so, so much, and I wouldn’t trade you for all the Jeopardy wins in the world!”

and

“And as great as all that has been, it still hasn’t been the best thing that happened to me this year. Because this is the year that Genevieve and I started dating, and that’s the best thing that’s happened to me, not just this year, but in my whole life.”

— David Taffet