It took 15 years of trying but a woman who originally hails from Livonia finally made it: The wait paid off for Laura Portwood-Stacer, a 2000 graduate of Livonia's Churchill High School.
She won a spot on Jeopardy ... then she won the game.
In all, Portwood-Stacer grabbed $19,400 Monday night after she went into Final Jeopardy with $21,400 but got one answer wrong.
I no longer care whether anyone acknowledges my PhD or addresses me as Dr. Portwood-Stacer.
— Laura Portwood-Stacer, Jeopardy Champ (she/her) (@lportwoodstacer) March 9, 2021
I answer only to "Champ" now pic.twitter.com/fEJVhi4XO9
Portwood-Stacer, who now lives in Los Angeles, said she's tried to get on the show because she loved it after first watching it with her family as a child. While she applied and auditioned for years, she earned a bachelor's degree in telecommunications from Michigan State, then a PhD from USC. She taught Media Studies at NYU before recently moving back to L.A to work as self-employed editor and book consultant.
Then she got a spot on one of the most celebrated game shows in history. So, how has her time in the limelight gone? Portwood-Stacer told the media it was one of the best things she's done in her life.
Getting to say "Who are Marx and Engels?" in an actual game of Jeopardy was one of the best moments of my life pic.twitter.com/NXebLKRPaE
— Laura Portwood-Stacer, Jeopardy Champ (she/her) (@lportwoodstacer) March 9, 2021
Up next she'll try to make it three wins in a row tonight with Katie Couric urging her on. Couric guest hosts March 8-19, with Portwood-Stacer continuing on as the reigning champ. Following the death of Alex Trebek, "Jeopardy" has been guest hosted by its greatest contestant, Ken Jennings, and the show's Executive Producer, Mike Richards, with fill-in celebrity hosts including Couric, Dr. Oz and Aaron Rodgers.
As for her hometown, Portwood-Stacer said while she no longer lives in Michigan, she still has a lot of family and friends here.
What does she miss the most about home? The food.
[shortcode-inline-related expand="1" link="/wwjnewsradio/entertainment/sentimental-video-tribute-closes-trebeks-final-jeopardy" headline="Sentimental video tribute closes Trebek's final "Jeopardy!"" image="/media-library/image.jpg?id=64512545"]"You can't get pasties out here or anywhere else really," Portwood-Stacer told MLive. "I also used to eat a lot of Hungry Howie's while in school. That's not out here, either. I haven't been back to Michigan in a while because of the pandemic, but my parents still live in Livonia and I have a lot of friends that still live there."
