Biography / Profile Background
Introduction :
- An American Fire Lookout from Bend, Oregon, Rachel Lindgren is known for her winning streak on the popular TV quiz show Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. Rachel first stepped into the limelight in January 2018 after her five-game winning streak, in the process of competing on Jeopardy! for six days straight.
Personal Life, Parents and Family Details :
- Born in 1992, Rachel is a native of Carson City, Nevada. She was raised in Carson City and Gardnerville.
- Rachel’s boyfriend, Kelly Smith, works for the U.S. Forest Service and at Mt. Bachelor ski area.
Early Life and Education :
- Rachel is a 2009 graduate of Carson High School. While at school, she took many advanced placement classes
- After high school, Lindgren graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno. She studied for five years and earned a dual degree in Biology and Forest Management, and Ecology.
Career, Job, Salary and Net Worth :
- Rachel worked as a Fire Lookout at the Lava Butte fire tower for the US forest service. She was also a ticket agent at the Mt. Bachelor ski area.
- Post that, Rachel worked at Sunriver Observatory as an interpreter.
- Currently living in Bend, Oregon, Rachel does seasonal work with the U.S. Forest Service during the summer. She works at Mt. Bachelor for the winter.
Jeopardy! Experience :
- Rachel says she remembers watching Jeopardy! when she was younger and was too bored by it. Her interest in the show resparked in her college years when she and her aunt started watching it regularly.
- Never missing an episode and feeling fairly confident about her knowledge, Rachel applied to be a contestant beginning with an online test. From there, she would travel to Seattle, Washington, for an in-person audition, which included an additional written test and a small mock-game to gauge a contestant’s on-camera presence.
- She would patiently wait another 18 months before finding out whether or not she would get “the call.” Rachel said meeting long-time host Alex Trebek was a thrilling experience and told the rest of the staff was equally fantastic.
- Rachel’s winning streak qualified her to compete in the tournament quarterfinals against other champions on ABC’s Jeopardy! at 7 p.m. The episode pitted three contestants against each other for a half-hour every weekday evening to answer trivia questions. The show was recorded in mid-September of 2018 in Culver City, California.
Interesting Facts, Height and Trivia :
- According to the Bulletin (Jan 2020), Rachel said the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions experience was equal parts nerve-wracking, and equal parts fun, and exhausting. Rachel made the final cut for returning players, capping off her five-game, $75,999 winning streak from season 34.
- As per an interview with Central Oregon Daily’s Eric Lindstrom (Jan 2018), Rachel watched her episodes with friends at The Platypus Pub in 2017. She loves playing and is also known as a trivia-night regular at the pub.
- As per a Bend Bulletin report, after Rachel began winning, she started hearing from viewers offering her flight instructions and even proposing marriage. She describes explicit messages as offers from flight instructors to teach her to fly, an invitation to join a women’s aviation group, and marriage proposals. Lindgren continues to keep in touch with the other contestants and was grateful for the incredible experience.
- Among those applauding Rachel’s Jeopardy! achievement was Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, who tweeted on January 25, 2018, about her run in the classic “Jeopardy!” answer-and-question fashion.
- Rachel wants to attend grad school to study geology, biology, or a blend between the two as per her Carson NOW interview (January 2018). She also expressed her desire to earn her pilot’s license in the near future.
- As per Nevada Appeal (January 2018) article, Rachel’s knowledge of cats helped her in Jeopardy! win streak. Still, she views herself as a dog person. Rachel loved animals in general while growing up.