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Jeopardy! Contestant Emily Croke Was Related to the Person in Her Final Clue

Emily Croke revealed on Jeopardy! that the woman referenced in her Final Jeopardy! clue was her great-great-great-aunt and namesake.
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On the June 23, 2025 episode of Jeopardy!, Denver contestant Emily Croke correctly answered a Final Jeopardy! clue about Henry Clay Folger—and then revealed that the woman mentioned in the clue was her great-great-great-aunt and namesake. Croke won the game with $13,201.

What was the Final Jeopardy! clue?

In the “Collections” category, the clue read: “In 1896, the Vassar-educated wife of this man wrote, ‘thousands of dollars may be paid for a copy of Shakespeare.’” The correct response was Henry Clay Folger. Croke was the only contestant reported to answer correctly, according to TV Insider’s June 24, 2025 report.

The clue referred to Emily Jordan Folger, Henry Clay Folger’s wife. The Daily Beast described the couple as founders of the Folger Shakespeare Library in its June 25, 2025 coverage.

How was Emily Croke related to the clue?

After host Ken Jennings asked how she knew the response, Croke said, “So, that was my great-great-great aunt Emily.” Jennings followed up by asking whether Emily Folger was the person Croke was named after; Croke confirmed. The exchange is transcribed in the TV Insider report.

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The family relationship here is Croke’s own on-air disclosure. The coincidence drew attention because she not only knew the response but was named for the relative whose words appeared in the clue.

Did the family connection give her an advantage?

Croke won with $13,201, and she was the only contestant reported to get the final response right. ABC News described the clue as randomly chosen in its June 27, 2025 report. The available reports do not establish that producers knew of Croke’s family connection or that it affected clue selection.

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Some viewers questioned fairness, while others celebrated the coincidence. Those reactions, reported by TV Insider and The Daily Beast, are not evidence of manipulation or a rules violation. The reporting also does not establish reliable odds for such a family connection, so it cannot support precise probability claims.

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Has a contestant had a family connection to a clue before?

Yes. A July 1, 2025 AOL report republishing TODAY.com described a 2001 game in which contestant Bill O’Donnell answered a $200 “Stupid Answers” clue about the engineer who built the first Ferris wheel. He first said, “Who’s my grandfather, George Ferris?” then corrected himself: “My great-grandfather, actually.” Host Alex Trebek remarked on the coincidence. The account appears in AOL/TODAY’s report.

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The two stories differ in scale and outcome: Croke’s connection surfaced in Final Jeopardy!, while O’Donnell’s was tied to a $200 board clue. Croke’s correct final response helped shape the game result; the cited account of O’Donnell’s anecdote does not say that his family connection determined the outcome. These examples show that such coincidences have been reported, but do not establish how often they happen across the show’s history.

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