Canadian 'Jeopardy! Masters' finalist Juveria Zaheer talked to us about being on the show
Juveria Zaheer has always loved to learn, so naturally, her go-to show to watch with her dad when she was little was Jeopardy!
“He would try to teach me, like world flags and capitals, and he said, ‘Maybe you can go on the show some day,'” she told Daily Hive on Thursday.
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) clinician who hails from Whitby, Ont., would go on to do just that.
Last week, she ended her first Jeopardy! Masters run representing Canada as one of the top three finalists, following closely behind the winner, Yogesh Raut, with a final prize of $250,000.
“Over the last couple of years, one small step at a time, one tournament at a time, to be able to qualify and then to play was such an honour,” she said.
The finals feature Yogesh Raut, Victoria Groce and Juveria Zaheer. (Christopher Willard/Disney)
Taking the plunge and entering the Jeopardy! pool
It has certainly been a long time coming for Zaheer.
While she enjoyed watching the trivia game show, the psychiatrist wasn’t the first in the family to apply for the show.
Her husband took the Jeopardy! test about 15 years ago, passed it, and was placed in the pool of contestants. He never ended up getting the call to stand behind the iconic podiums. Years later, Zaheer told her husband to reapply, and he told her to take the test too.
“I did it kind of like as one would do a Buzzfeed quiz, and I completely forgot about it. I honestly had no recollection of it,” she recalled. “I got an email for my first audition, and then things kind of happened really quickly after that.”
Zaheer made her Jeopardy! debut in May 2023, and quickly became a fan favourite. Although she lost her first-ever game, the Canadian made a triumphant comeback in December, winning the Second Chance competition. She then won the Champions Wildcard in 2024 and advanced to the Tournament of Champions, which she came close to winning.
Christopher Willard/Disney
Prep and advice from her reality-star brother
Zaheer isn’t the only person in her family who has been on TV. Her brother, Omar, was on the 42nd season of Survivor, and she said seeing his experience inspired her to go on her Jeopardy! journey.
“I don’t think I would have ever done this without him, like, seeing him kind of go and live his dream,” said the contestant.
She says he gave her helpful advice regarding the mental aspect of the quiz show, reminding her to take it one clue at a time and not to panic.
“He didn’t win his season, but it was still such a positive, wonderful, incredible experience for him and for everybody who loves him. And so it made me feel less afraid to fail,” explained Zaheer.
@juveriazaheer/X
When it comes to prepping her trivia skills, the associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto is a sponge, soaking in anything she can learn in her environment.
“We live in a house with my daughters and my husband, where everybody brings interesting information to the table,” explained Zaheer. “So my little girl, my seven-year-old, taught me all about Taylor Swift, and my big girl taught me all about how to play the piano and Pokémon.”
She stresses that she’s not a natural talent and that she has to work really hard to learn about new subjects, which she achieves through reading, studying, and using flashcards, all while maintaining a demanding full-time job.
“If you want something done, give it to a busy mom,” she quipped. “If I have an hour in the morning on my commute or an hour or two after my kids go to bed, I’m trying to be as efficient with that time as possible.”
Behind the scenes as a Jeopardy! contestant
Christopher Willard/Disney
Zaheer says there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes on the infamous stage. While the audience may only see host Ken Jennings and the players on their screen, she says there are many people involved in making an amazing product.
“I think that was really striking for me, like the team-based aspect of it,” she said.
Many viewers may also be surprised by the long filming days. Zaheer says that sometimes, they shoot up to six episodes in one day, so filming can be very fast-paced.
“You play your game, and then if you’re playing the next game, you have to go and get changed, and get your hair and makeup touched up, and go to the bathroom, and then off you go again,” she explained.
Some notable clues she solved include one about the Rizzler, which makes her laugh because she’s “42 and way older than a person who knows about the Rizzler.”
Jeopardy!/TikTok
She credits her younger cousin for explaining the internet meme to her last year. Zaheer was also happy she answered a Taylor Swift-related question correctly because she knew her daughter would be excited about it.
“You never know what’s going to come up and what’s going to make you smile,” she said.
Her personal favourite categories include opera (she actually used part of her prize money to get a season subscription to the Canadian Opera Company), reality TV, literature, theatre, and history. As a physician, she also feels comfortable with categories related to the medical field.
When it comes to clues she has fumbled, Zaheer says it’s the little mistakes that live in her head rent-free.
“One of the things that I need to work on for next year is that I tend to think really quickly, and sometimes I’m a little bit fast, but careless,” she explained. “There were a lot of times where I was off by one letter, so saying ‘Bridger’ instead of ‘Bridgers.'”
All in all, the mom of two was proud of her Final Jeopardy! rate during this tournament. She says she answered seven out of nine questions correctly in the games she played.
“If you’re cool to your kids, it doesn’t get much better than that.”
Christopher Willard/Disney
Zaheer says the reception to her Jeopardy! run has been wonderful. She was worried that people would think she was dumb after losing during her very first appearance, but she says everyone was incredibly supportive.
The Whitby resident says her family and friends have hosted big watch parties to cheer her on. And it definitely helps that her kids and their friends find it cool. “If you’re cool to your kids, it doesn’t get much better than that.”
The psychiatrist has also made some very cool friends through the show. She says Jeopardy! players are a close-knit community, and she keeps in touch with many of the Canadian contestants.
Zaheer thinks of Canadian fan favourite, Mattea Roach, like a younger sibling and says they see each other quite often.
“Ray Lalonde is my favourite Jeopardy! player of all time, and he lives in Toronto,” she said. “Getting to be his friend and to get to know his family has been such a wonderful experience.”
The player says she’s also close with Victoria Groce (whom she competed with in the Masters) and Alison Betts.
And that’s a wrap on the @Jeopardy Invitational Tournament 2025! A huge congrats to hapless villain / Jeopardy superhero @AmodioMatt and the OG DD king @rogcraig – sharing a stage with you was the most fun ever. And shout out to this amazing group of contestants!! pic.twitter.com/Pf37QTaewe
— Juveria Zaheer (@juveriazaheer) March 7, 2025
She says when she gets together with the Canadian players, they set aside the trivia and have amazing discussions about life, politics, art, and the world.
“People who go on the show are very, very curious people in general. So, you get to hear the coolest stories, and they all tend to have great senses of humour,” said Zaheer.
While the show has become a big part of her life, Zaheer says she remembers not to let the competition define her.
“My daughter once said, ‘I think being on Jeopardy! isn’t even the top 10 things I like about you.’ And I think that’s a really important thing for people to remember that this is just an incredible experience, but it doesn’t define who you are,” she stressed.
What she plans to do with the prize money
Besides her season subscription to the COC, Zaheer is treating her two daughters to a Disney cruise ship.
“My little girl has had her eye on a particular Disney cruise ship for a couple of years… she’s watched the Disney Treasure be built and watched all the videos, and now we’re gonna go on [it] in November,” she said.
And after the cruise, the researcher has another round of Jeopardy! Masters to look forward to. Because she finished in the top three, she automatically qualifies for the next tournament, which will take place in 2026.
“Get off the couch and take the test”
Zaheer wants to see more women, people of colour, and LGBTQIA+ members on the Jeopardy! stage.
She says traditionally, those who apply for the game show tend to be men.
“I think that sometimes women feel nervous to apply. It’s just like in life where a man will apply for promotion early and a woman will apply late in academia,” explained Zaheer. “I think that if you are a woman or a non-binary person, or a person of colour, get off the couch and take the test.”
“You never know what can happen, and you never know who you can inspire just by being yourself and being out there,” she added.
If you want a chance to compete with minds like Zaheer’s, take the test.