Ken Jennings is a game show legend for his time on Jeopardy!, first as a contestant and now as the host. The only person more famous than Jennings associated with Jeopardy! is the late, great Alex Trebek.
Originally, the two shared the stage as Jennings went on a historic run on the show in 2004 that cemented him as one of the greatest Jeopardy! players of all time. Then it was ultimately Jennings who took the torch from Trebek as the new Jeopardy! host (splitting duties with Mayim Bialik).
We've gotten to know Jennings over the last two decades and he has now become a nightly figure for many, hosting the daily games of Jeopardy! as well as special tournaments like Jeopardy! Masters and Celebrity Jeopardy! season 2. But there is more to Jennings than his insane amount of trivia knowledge.
We've assembled some things you might not have known about Ken Jennings, as well as some basic stuff you may be curious about. Take a look to have your own bit of Ken Jennings trivia to share.
Ken Jennings grew up in South Korea
Jennings received much of his formal education abroad, as he and his family moved to South Korea when Jennings was seven years old because of his parents' work. From grade 2 through 12 he attended Seoul Foreign School before he came back to attend college in the US, first at the University of Washington and then at Brigham Young University. Jennings has been quoted as saying his love of trivia and Jeopardy! began in South Korea, where he and friends would watch daily on the Armed Forces Network. In 2020, Jennings was named the Alumnus of the Year by the Seoul Foreign School.
The first home video movie he watched was Airplane!
The 1980 comedy Airplane! starring Leslie Nielsen is a classic, but it's pretty rude in parts and Ken recalls watching it a little earlier than ideal!
He told The New Yorker: "That’s the first movie I saw on home video. My friend had a Betamax, and at his third-grade birthday party we watched Airplane! I think his dad forgot there were boobs. And he was, like, 'Uhh . . .’"
He has published multiple books
In addition to his TV job, Jennings is also an author. His first book, Brainiac, was published in 2006 and sees Jennings dive into the trivia culture that boomed in 21st-century America. Among his other books are Ken Jennings' Trivia Almanac: 8,888 Questions in 365 Days, Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks, Because I Said So!: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales & Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids, The Junior Genius Guides series, Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture and his most recent book, 100 Places to See After You Die.
Ken Jennings is not the Jeopardy! all-time winnings record holder
Considering Jennings won 74 games in a row and subsequently competed in special tournaments like the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, Jeopardy!: The IBM Challenge, Battle of the Decades, Jeopardy! All-Star Games and Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time, you'd think that we would have won more money than any other player on the show too. Not so. Instead that record goes to Brad Rutter, who has won $4.93 million dollars on Jeopardy!, thanks in large part to special tournaments. Jennings is second with career winnings that total $4.37 million but is first in regular Jeopardy! winnings with $2.52 million.
He wrote and edited trivia questions for National Academic Quiz Tournaments
Long before becoming the host of Jeopardy! or even appearing on the show, Jennings worked in the world of trivia. During his time at BYU, Jennings wrote and edited questions for National Academic Quiz Tournaments, a company that helps run trivia competitions at colleges and high schools across the country. While you can buy old packets used in this competitions, the earliest available is from 2003-2004, so it's probably unlikely that Jennings wrote any of those questions.
Ken Jennings' losing question nearly got him free tax help
Jennings 74-game winning streak on Jeopardy! came to an end on November 30, 2024, when he could not correctly answer this clue: "Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year." The correct response was H&R Block, which Jennings' competitor that night, Nancy Zerg, correctly wrote down and wagered enough to put her ahead of Jennings. Jennings, ultimately wrote down "What is FedEx?"
While that did end his historic run, Jennings got some extra perks from this moment. According to an Adweek article just days after Jennings' final episode aired, H&R Block offered Jennings free tax-prep services for life. Jennings also received offers to appear in ads for both FedEx and H&R Block. He poked fun about all of this in another interview, saying "if you're going to lose on Jeopardy!, lose on the corporate question."
Ken Jennings has his own podcast
Like most celebrities these days, Jennings has his own podcast. Titled Omnibus, it started in November 2017 and sees him and co-host John Roderick, lead singer and guitarist of the band The Long Winters, discuss "strange-but-true stories" that are meant to serve as a kind of time capsule for future generations.
Ken Jennings fact file
Frequently asked questions about Ken Jennings:
How old is Ken Jennings?
Ken Jennings is 49 years old. He was born on May 23, 1974.
Is Ken Jennings married?
Ken Jennings has been married to his wife, Mindy, since 2000.
Does Ken Jennings have children?
He has two children, a son named Dylan and a daughter named Caitlin.
Where was Ken Jennings born?
Jennings was born outside of Seattle in Edmonds, Wash.
How tall is Ken Jennings?
Ken Jennings is 5 foot 10 inches tall.
