‘Jeopardy!’: What Happened to Nancy Zerg, the Woman Who Beat Ken Jennings?

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What To Know

Nancy Zerg ended Ken Jennings’ historic 74-game winning streak on Jeopardy! in 2004 by correctly answering the Final Jeopardy question and winning by just $1.
After her brief Jeopardy! run, Zerg left her real estate career, worked as a waitress, and eventually moved to Lynwood, Washington, while remaining a devoted fan of the show.
Zerg has reflected on her unexpected win and its aftermath in interviews and a podcast, and is still remembered as the “giant killer” who defeated Jennings.

It’s been 21 years since Ken Jennings lost his streak on Jeopardy! The G.O.A.T. won 74 games and lost to Nancy Zerg on his 75th game on November 30, 2004. But what happened to Zerg after that shocking, historic win?

Zerg, from Venture, California, won $14,401, after a Final Jeopardy question tripped Jennings up in December 2004. Jennings had $14,400 while Zerg had $10,000.

In “Business & Industry,” the clue was “Most of this firm’s 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work for 4 months of the year.”

With just Jennings and Zerg in the final, the champion had a greater chance of winning than against two opponents. The other contestant was in the negatives, so they didn’t compete in Final Jeopardy. The correct response was “What is H&R Block?”

Zerg had the correct response and wagered $4,401, giving her $1 over Jennings. The champion’s final response was “What is FedEx?” He wagered $5,601. giving him a final total of $8,799.

The crowd gasped, Zerg put her hands over her face, and Jennings slapped the desk. However, he graciously shook Zerg’s hand, hugged her, and said, “Way to go!” However, one game later, Zerg lost before her run even began, making her final total $15,401.

So, where is the giant-killer now? Read on to find out.

In 2019, she reflected on her win to the New York Post. “I was completely unprepared for that event happening. I never thought beyond just trying to stay in the game, then once Ken lost, I was completely unprepared for the tumult, the attitude of the other players. When you’re in the contestant pool, they keep you all together … and I wasn’t prepared for the way the energy completely changed. It went from all these people going, ‘Oh God, I have to play Ken Jennings’ to ‘He’s gone! He’s gone! Now I can win!’ and it was chaos — just people having a party. It was really bizarre,” she told the outlet.

By that time, the game show contestant moved to Lynwood, Washington, and was no longer in real estate, according to her Facebook page. Jennings currently resides in Seattle and flies back and forth from there to California to film Jeopardy!, which is close to Lynwood. It is not clear if they ever bump into each other.

After leaving real estate, Zerg worked as a waitress at Wood Ranch in Southern California from 2009 to 2014.

Zerg also told The New York Post that no one sat with Jennings during lunch after his loss and that her head wasn’t in the game when she returned for her second game.

She revealed that she still watched Jeopardy!. “Jeopardy! fans are nuts for Jeopardy! We’re lifelong fans,” Zerg told the outlet.

Not much is known about her life today, but in 2023, she appeared on the podcast This is Jeopardy! The Story of America’s Favorite Quiz Show, to talk about her time on Jeopardy!.

Jennings said that no one would look him in the eye that day except for Zerg. She shook his hand and said she was excited to play. “My biggest worry was that I would humiliate myself on camera. I wouldn’t be able to remember anything. But he beat me to the buzzer on every question,” she told the podcast.

Zerg knew that she had to stay within reach of Jennings during Double Jeopardy because she was usually good at Final Jeopardy. “The entire room gasped and gave a standing ovation,” she said.

Zerg will forever be known as the “giant killer” who took down Ken Jennings.

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