Mina Kimes, an ESPN football analyst, leveraged her Yale English degree to triumph in the finale of “Celebrity Jeopardy! All-Stars.” Her correct answer to a pivotal trivia question secured a $1 million prize for her chosen charity.
Airing Friday evening on ABC, the final episode showcased Kimes competing against actor-comedians Ike Barinholtz and Steven Weber.
Entering the Final Jeopardy! round, Kimes led with $12,500, followed by Weber with $10,500, and Barinholtz with $5,100. The clue for the category “Name’s the Same” read: “It’s the name of an 1873 novel subtitled ‘A Tale of Today,’ a period of U.S. history & a TV drama that debuted in 2022.”
The correct answer was “The Gilded Age,” both an 1873 novel by Mark Twain and a 2022 HBO series. Although Barinholtz answered correctly and doubled his score, he did not surpass Kimes, who also answered correctly and clinched the tournament.
Kimes allocated her $1 million winnings to L.A.’s SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition, while Barinholtz and Weber each won $200,000 for the Noonan Syndrome Foundation and New Directions for Veterans, respectively.
Kimes serves as an NFL analyst, senior writer, podcast host, and television contributor for ESPN, having joined ESPN The Magazine in 2014. She regularly appears on “NFL Live,” “SportsCenter,” “First Take,” and other programs. Kimes graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in English.
The “Celebrity Jeopardy! All-Stars” tournament featured 21 contestants, including winners from the three seasons of “Celebrity Jeopardy!”—Barinholtz, Lisa Ann Walter, and W. Kamau Bell—along with Mark Duplass, Rachel Dratch, Andy Richter, Macaulay Culkin, Cynthia Nixon, Margaret Cho, Ray Romano, Katie Nolan, Mina Kimes, Steven Weber, Sean Gunn, Roy Wood Jr., Patton Oswalt, Robin Thede, Mo Rocca, Timothy Simons, Jackie Tohn, and Mira Sorvino. The show aired on ABC, with episodes available the following day on Hulu.
“Jeopardy!” is produced by Sony Pictures Television and executive produced by Michael Davies.
