FAQ: What is the pin Mayim wears on Jeopardy!
Mayim wears the same pin in every Jeopardy! episode... but what is it?
So many people have asked me about Mayim’s lapel pin, I figured it was finally time to write up a detailed answer.
(If we haven’t met before - hi, I’m Lilly and I write a daily outfit recap of every Jeopardy! episode. If you’re interested in that sort of thing, you can find the archive on the homepage.)
Years ago, Mayim wrote about her love of jewelry featuring the Star of David. So it’s no surprise that after her original Jeopardy! guest hosting stint, she mentioned in an interview that she had worn a few different Jewish stars while on stage. The most visible of these is the charm pin that she still wears in each episode.
Mayim usually wears a blazer when hosting Jeopardy! with the pin on her lapel. If she’s not wearing a blazer she still wears it on her left side (notice that she even finds a spot for it on the bow of the green dress or the collar of the black & white dress.)
As far as I can tell, she has worn it in every single episode since she started hosting permanently at the beginning of Season 38 (likely during her guest hosting stint as well, but I wasn’t tracking daily outfits at that time!)
But what IS the pin??
I got a tip last season from well-dressed Jeopardy! champ Halley Ryherd on Twitter - she actually asked Mayim about it when she was on set!
And recently, someone finally solved the mystery of *exactly* what the charms are… by simply writing to the Inside Jeopardy! podcast and asking! (Why didn’t I think of that?)
Sarah Foss answers the question in the April 10th podcast episode around the 23:49 timestamp.
The pin was a gift to Mayim when she was 16 years old
It is a gold safety pin with four charms
The charms are: a hand and an eye to ward off evil, a Star of David to represent her Jewish faith, and the symbol for chai (the Hebrew word for life.)
There you have it, folks. All the details you ever wanted to know about the lapel pin Mayim Bialik wears nightly on Jeopardy!