Marguerite Nowacki (1964 - January 26, 2014), a psychiatric clinic nurse from the department of Doubs, was a contestant who appeared in two consecutive episodes of season 5 of Qui veut gagner des millions? on August 10 and 11, 2004.
She walked away with 300 000 €, becoming only the second contestant in the French version to do so after Denis. She is also the first female contestant to see the top prize question in the Euro era, a feat which would later be repeated by Marie Friedel in a shade over two weeks after her appearance.
Marguerite is, to date, the last contestant in the French version to walk away at the top prize question, as no other contestant would surpass the penultimate question.
Marguerite passed away after a long illness in 2014 at the age of 50.
Marguerite knew who starred in the film, but decided to ask the audience as she had no idea. With an overwhelming majority voting for C: 1 week, she decided to trust the 67% and lock in C, thus guaranteeing herself 48 000 €.
72 000 € (11 of 15) - Not Timed
When a sailboat is facing the wind, sailors say that it is... '50:50' lifeline used
⬥ A: Boute auvent
⬥ B: Bout au vent
⬥ C: Bout sous vent
⬥ D: Boute-en-vent
This question is about finding the correct way to say that a sail is facing the wind (into the wind) in French between the proposals, however the answers cannot be translated.
Marguerite decided to use the 50:50, which left her with B and D. She decided to play B: Bout au vent, knowing she couldn't lose anything, however she won 72 000 €.
100 000 € (12 of 15) - Not Timed
The ficus is an indoor plant from the same family as...
⬥ A: The fern
⬥ B: The fig tree
⬥ C: The strawberry plant
⬥ D: The fennel
The correct answer is revealed after the commercial break.
150 000 € (13 of 15) - Not Timed
What is the correct abbreviation for "1 decalitre"?
⬥ A: 1 dl
⬥ B: 1 dal
⬥ C: 1 del
⬥ D: 1 dcl
Marguerite was sure the answer was B: 1 dal, so decided to lock it in. It was revealed to be the right answer, and Marguerite won 150 000 €.
"...Either you go to 300 000, or you fall back to 48 000."
"This painting depicts..."
"MEN IN ARMS!" Marguerite's courage wins her 300 000 €.
300 000 € (14 of 15) - Not Timed
Rembrandt's painting known as "The Night Watch" depicts a group of... 'Phone-a-Friend' lifeline used
⬥ A: Women who dance
⬥ B: Men in arms
⬥ C: Children who play
⬥ D: Animals in the forest
Marguerite had the impression that the answer was B: Men in arms, as it sounded good in her head. But, faced with the prospect of leaving the Phone-a-Friend for the final question or dropping back to 48 000 € and not using it, Marguerite did not want to take any chances. She decided to call her friend Valérie, who had no idea.
After the time had elapsed, Marguerite was leaning towards walking away, however she teased host Jean-Pierre Foucault, who was disappointed at the thought of her walking away, about playing the question, joking that she didn't need the 300 000!
After going through her reasoning as to why she felt B was more logical in her head, she made the bold decision to validate it as her answer, taking everyone by surprise. When asked as to why she changed her mind, Marguerite explained that she was "very sick" five years prior to appearing on the show, and felt everything she was experiencing after then was profit - for her, it was a win-win situation.
As it turned out, it was a winning situation as Marguerite won 300 000 €, prompting a standing ovation from the audience. Agonisingly, the klaxon called time, so Marguerite would return the following day with 300 000 € and no remaining lifelines.
The following night, during the walk into the studio, Marguerite received another standing ovation from the audience, leading to Jean-Pierre Foucault commenting that the welcome was "worthy of a rock star". She explained further about why she chose to change her mind and play the penultimate question, before she faced the very summit of the money tree. Her fifteenth and final question was this:
1 000 000 € (15 of 15) - Not Timed Top Prize Question
Who could Marilyn Monroe never have crossed paths with during her life?
⬥ A: Sigmund Freud
⬥ B: Marie Curie
⬥ C: Gustave Eiffel
⬥ D: Henri Matisse
Marguerite initially felt that, in her opinion, Gustave Eiffel and Sigmund Freud could have crossed paths with Monroe. She reasoned that Monroe might have been born between 1930 and 1940, but did not know exactly, as she felt Freudian theories dated from the beginning of the 20th century. Ultimately, she had no idea and so decided to walk away with her hard-earned 300 000 €. If she had played, despite her initial reasoning, she would have said B: Marie Curie, however the right answer was C: Gustave Eiffel - Monroe was born in 1926, but Eiffel died three years prior, in 1923.
Trivia and Information[]
At the beginning of her game, Marguerite revealed she was wearing a ladybug as a lucky charm. It is probable that the ladybug must've had a good effect on the eventual outcome.
She also revealed that José, her tenant and companion in the audience, made her apply for the show by playing the online game that was available through the TF1 website.
One of her ambitions, if she won a lot of money, was to finish decorating the house she and José lived in - and if she exceeded 48 000 €, she would have rented a big house and throw a big celebratory party.
During the 300 000 € question, host Jean-Pierre Foucault stated that if Marguerite answered correctly, she would've looked at the top prize question "for the first time" in the show's history - however, he must have forgotten about Denis two years prior, who would have been the first to win the million had he gone with his initial instinct.