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Who is Kate Freeman? Michigan’s transgender woman makes history by winning 'Jeopardy!' in Alex Trebek episode

The finance specialist from Michigan became the first transgender contestant to win ‘Jeopardy!’ and she appeared in an episode hosted by legendary television personality late Alex Trebek

Hit game show ‘Jeopardy!’ has been drawing attention to the LGBTQ+ community recently by featuring contestants who are providing for various representations. After Cody Lawrence, the 28-year-bisexual’s groundbreaking appearance, yet another contestant Kate Freeman is now making headlines.

The finance specialist from Michigan became the first transgender contestant to win ‘Jeopardy!’ and she appeared in an episode hosted by legendary television personality late Alex Trebek. 

Freeman wore a transgender pin while participating on both days. She won on Friday, December 11, but was defeated on Monday, December 14. Talking about representing the LGBTQ+ community, she told MLive in an interview, “I spent a lot of time learning about and reflecting on my gender identity in grad school, coming out as transgender and lesbian a few months before graduating. I’m proud to be out and I know representation is important.”

Freeman said she was most-thrilled about meeting the iconic host. “It really lived up to my childhood dreams of being on the show,” she said. “I was honored to be able to meet Alex before his passing,” she said. Many took to Twitter to celebrate Freeman’s win and representation of the community. Writer Peter Fox congratulated Freeman with a tweet, “Mazel tov to Kate Freeman on winning @Jeopardy tonight. I’m assuming this victory makes her the first openly trans person to win a game."

Responding to his tweet, 'Jeopardy!' winner Jennifer Marrow commented, "There is at least one other J! champ who has publicly spoken about being trans, a multi-game winner in the 1990s, although she used a different name and pronouns during her run."

Who is Kate Freeman?

According to MLive, Freeman grew up in Lake Orion and graduated with a 4.0 GPA from Lake Orion High School in 2010. She has graduated from the University of Michigan with an MS degree in Sustainability. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her girlfriend and works in the energy and utilities sector as a Financial Specialist at Edison International in Southern California.

They have two dogs, a border collie and an Australian Cattle Dog mix as their pets. Her family apparently has deep Michigan roots and her family has lived there for decades. Her grandparents worked in the auto industry. 

Detailing her experience on the show, she said, "It was really cool to get the behind-the-scenes view of how TV gets made and it was impressive to see how the crew adapted their practices and protocols to keep everyone safe and socially-distant while producing the show." She added, "Competing was equal parts thrilling and nerve-wracking. Getting that buzzer timing right is so much harder than it seems when watching at home."