When I was a little girl, I secretly loved the afternoons when I’d be home sick from school and could lay on the couch, eating soup and watching daytime cable shows like “Judge Judy” with my mom.
Judy Sheindlin, best known as Judge Judy, has been a household name since her successful show ran for 25 years, and she continued making more. Today, she’s worth around $480 million and has built herself a wonderful reputation as a judge and humanitarian.
Judy was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1942. Her father was a dentist, and her mother was an office manager.
After graduating from high school, she got her Bachelor’s degree in government from American University and her Juris Doctorate from New York Law School in 1965.
In 1982, former New York mayor Ed Koch appointed Judy as a criminal court judge and later became the supervising judge in the family court’s Manhattan division. She quickly earned a reputation for being tough, and people were in awe of her attitude.
Judy’s popularity as a notable judge soared after the Los Angeles Times published an article about her in 1993.
The article chronicled her journey of being a powerful woman in law, trying to improve the world through the court system. Not long after the article came out, she was featured in a “60 Minutes” segment.
A little over a year later, she was offered to star in a reality courtroom series, and thus, “Judge Judy” was born.
The show premiered in September 1996 and ran all the way until July 2021 with 25 seasons. The show was a hit and collected millions of viewers daily.
People fell in love with Judy’s “no fuss” attitude and how she was able to be orderly and tough while still showing sympathy to those who needed it most.
As her show was on air, Judy guest starred on several other television shows like “The Simpsons,” “America’s Next Top Model,” Saturday Night Live,” and more. In 2014, she created her own production company called Queen Bee Productions.
After “Judge Judy” came to an end, Judy launched a new show on Freevee called “Judy Justice,” which received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program following its first season.
With all of her success, Judy has found ways to give back to others. More recently, she donated $5 million towards a scholarship fund covering full tuition and book expenses for 10 women who were enrolled at her Alma Mater, New York Law School.
Judy also worked with her stepdaughter Nicole to create Her Honor Mentoring, an organization that provides a platform for women to seek education and career advice from mentors or become mentors themselves.
Today, Judy is one of the highest-paid women on television, proving that hard work and excellent service can take you far.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
