Winnetka (Ill.) Public Library District page Stephanie Girardi won $500,000 on ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire February 17, making her the recipient of the largest sum awarded a woman on the show to date, according to game-show host Regis Philbin.
After learning that Girardi had met her husband, a reference librarian, while working at the library, Philbin praised the importance of libraries. “I happen to think libraries are one of the great resources in America today,” he said, adding that he felt most librarians were underpaid and that if a “librarian” could win on the show, “that would be terrific.” He later added, “Librarians rule!”
Girardi, who also works for her father’s out-of-print book sales business, decided to bow out of the game at $500,000. She told American Libraries that she intended to use her winnings to re-landscape her garden and take a train trip across Canada, but that she had no plans to quit working at the library. “I like being a page,” she said.
Posted February 28, 2000.