Sudbury, Ontario’s Alex Trebek, a Canadian-American game show host and television personality, built a loving family with his wife, Jean Curriva, despite sharing a 24-year age gap.
He previously married broadcaster Elaine Callei in 1974, but sadly, they divorced in 1981.
Highlights
- Alex Trebek divorced Elaine Callei in 1981 and married Jean Curriva in 1990.
- He adopted Elaine’s daughter, Nicky, from her previous marriage.
- He had two children, Matthew, born in 1990, and Emily, born in 1993, from his wife Jean.
George Alexander Trebek gained worldwide fame for hosting the syndicated general knowledge quiz game show Jeopardy! for 37 seasons from its revival in 1984 until he died in 2020.
He was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer at 78 on March 6, 2019. He experienced a persistent stomach ache but did not recognize it as a disease symptom.
The host was determined to fight cancer and beat the odds, so he would continue hosting Jeopardy! for as long as possible.
Although the chemotherapy treatments were often worse than the cancer symptoms themselves, he was responding exceptionally well to treatment.
However, on November 8, 2020, he lost his life at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 80, after 20 months fighting pancreatic cancer.
I’m not afraid of dying, and I’ve lived a good life, a whole life, and I’m nearing the end of that life. If it happens, why should I be afraid [of] that?
Alex Trebek
One thing they’re not going to say at my funeral, as a part of a eulogy, is ‘He was taken from us too soon.’
Alex Trebek Spent Over 3 Decades With Jean Currivan
Alex Trebek met Jean Currivan, a real estate project manager from Huntington, New York, at a party in 1988 and invited her to his home for dinner.
Jean was nervous when meeting the host and afraid she’d mispronounce her name. Later, she found him down to earth, much more casual than on the show.
Alex and his wife, Jean, celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary today! Congrats, Mr. & Mrs. Trebek. #jeopardyfam💏🎉 pic.twitter.com/QfOdv7aHfi
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) April 30, 2016
On her 26th birthday in September 1989, Alex gave Jean black velvet pants and a matching bolero jacket.
He also took out a 16-carat sapphire ring surrounded by six carats’ worth of diamonds and proposed to her.
They married on April 30, 1990, in front of 150 guests at L.A.’s Regency Club, without worrying about their age difference.
Jean became pregnant three weeks after getting married and welcomed their first child, Matthew, in 1990. Matthew runs a restaurant in New York City.
Likewise, the married couple welcomed their second child, Emily, in 1993. Emily is a real estate agent in Los Angeles who listed Alex’s home for $6.995 million.
Alex had one regret and told people he wished he had met Jean sooner.
If I’d just met Jean in my 20s we could have had a longer life together. I guess if I’d met her when I was in my 20s she wouldn’t have been born yet. But hey, 29 years is pretty good.
Alex Trebek
Nonetheless, Jean is an excellent caregiver who kept the host alive. She cried when she heard the good news about his tumors shrinking.
The Trebek family helped raise money for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network on Alex and Jean’s 32nd wedding anniversary.
Alex Trebek’s First Wife, Elaine Callei, Is A Broadcaster
Alex met his first wife, Elaine Callie while working for a Canadian broadcasting company, and they reconnected when they both moved to the United States.
She was also a former model who appeared in Playboy Bunny in the 1960s and later hosted Call Callei in the 1970s.
I’m joining advocates across the country during @PanCAN Action Week 2022 to ask my members of Congress to increase the federal investment in #pancreaticcancer research. You can make a difference by texting PANCAN to 52886 with 3 easy actions. #PanCANaction@PanCAN @purple4panca pic.twitter.com/21oGHwoum6
— Nicky Trebek (@TrebekLife) June 13, 2022
The love birds married in 1974. Although they didn’t have children of their own, Alex became the adopted father of her daughter, Nicky, from her previous marriage.
I started with Dad on Jeopardy! in 1984, right out of high school. I walked right in the doors the same day he did.
Nicky Terbek
Nicky worked with his father until the early 1990s. Later, she changed paths and entered the “cue card world” for shows like Family Feud, The Dating Game, and The Newlywed Game.
She dedicated her time to carrying on her father’s legacy and working with the nonprofit Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN).
Unfortunately, Alex and Elaine’s marriage had ups and downs, and they finally divorced in 1981. After the divorce, Elaine married film producer Peter Kares.
Later, she launched her businesses, Scent Seal, a new system for packaging perfume and fragrance samples, and Mag-a-Music, an early foray into multimedia music distribution.
Additional Information
- Alex Trebek, the son of George Edward Trebek and Lucille Marie Lagacé, was born in Sudbury, Ontario, on July 22, 1940.
- He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1998 and had been contracted to host Jeopardy! until 2022.
- He won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host eight times for his work on Jeopardy!
- At the time of his tragic demise, his net worth was estimated at $75 million, and he earned $18 million annually.
