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Dr. Courtney Shah, Seven-Time Jeopardy! Champion, Dies at 52

Her family said radiation then chemotherapy stopped working, a decision that led to hospice care and underscores the limits of current treatments for aggressive brain tumors.

Overview

  • Shah’s daughter Maya announced on the family’s CaringBridge page that Shah died at home on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at 4:57 a.m.
  • The family said doctors found that radiation and chemotherapy were not effective and that Shah transitioned to hospice care after the March 14, 2026 update announcing the change in treatment.
  • Shah gained national attention as a seven-game winner on Jeopardy! in 2021, earning $118,558 during that streak plus $2,000 for an eighth-game second-place finish and $5,000 as a 2022 Tournament of Champions quarterfinalist.
  • A longtime history professor at Lower Columbia College, Shah held a Ph.D. from the University of Houston and authored Sex Ed, Segregated: The Quest for Sexual Knowledge in Progressive-Era America.
  • Students, colleagues and fans have shared tributes online and a public memorial is scheduled for August 10 at the Rose Center for the Arts on the Lower Columbia College campus.