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Katie Couric becomes first female 'Jeopardy!' host on International Women’s Day

Stephen Proctor
·2 min read

Katie Couric made history Monday when she began her two-week run as guest-host on Jeopardy!, becoming the first woman ever to host the show — and it happened to land on International Women’s Day. Since the death of Alex Trebek last November after a battle with pancreatic cancer, only Jeopardy! legend Ken Jennings and the show’s executive producer Mike Richards have taken over hosting duties.

Couric kicked off her first show with a shout-out to Trebek and a special announcement.

“It is such a thrill to be here guest hosting a show I've watched and loved for years. And of course a real honor to help out as all of us recover from the loss of the truly irreplaceable Alex Trebek,” Couric said. “Jeopardy! will be matching the winnings from each show I guest host and donating that amount to the pancreatic cancer dream team from Stand Up to Cancer. So thank you, Jeopardy!. Now let's have some fun.”

Viewers were elated to find Couric beginning her run as guest-host on International Women’s Day.

While Couric may be the first, she won’t be the only woman to grace the Jeopardy! stage in the coming weeks. Today’s Savannah Guthrie and The Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik are slated to guest-host as well, though the dates are yet to be determined.

As Couric’s first show came to an end, the only woman playing, Laura Portwood-Stacer, came away with another Jeopardy! victory, her second. And thanks to Portwood-Stacer, the show will donate $26,201 to Stand Up to Cancer.

Jeopardy! is a syndicated program; visit Jeopardy.com or check your local listings for the TV schedule.

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