On July 14, 1989, the Manhattan Family Court heard a famous paternity case involving musician Tom Jones. Judge Judith Sheindlin was in charge of the case. She instructed Jones to pay child support for a two-year-old boy he had with Katherine Berkery. Jones was identified as the father via a paternity test. He agreed to pay Berkery $33,500 a year in monthly installments, as well as one-time payments for costs and attorney fees. He also promised to pay for their child's private school and health insurance. Judge Sheindlin authorized this arrangement, which was later changed in 1992. This case gives us a look at Judy Sheindlin's important career, which would make her a household name outside of the courtroom.

Who is Judy Sheindlin? Early Life and Starting Out in Law

Judith Susan Blum was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 21, 1942. She would later become known as Judy Sheindlin. Her direct and practical way of doing things came from her early existence. She got her Bachelor of Arts degree from American University in Washington, D.C. Sheindlin then went to New York Law School to get her law degree. She graduated with a Juris Doctorate in 1965.

Early Schooling and the Road to Law

There were some problems along the way to her becoming a lawyer. In 1965, Sheindlin was the sole woman in her graduating class at New York Law School. She remembered how women were "about as welcome as a skunk at a lawn party" in law school, and how "brutal" professors were to women. After she passed the New York bar exam, her first position was as a corporate lawyer for a cosmetics company. She immediately decided that this administrative job wasn't for her, especially when her male coworker, whom she thought was less skilled, was assigned real legal work. She departed to take care of her kids, Jamie and Adam.

Being a Family Court Judge

Sheindlin went back to law in 1972 as a prosecutor in New York's family court system, where she worked on cases involving juvenile crime, domestic violence, and child abuse. People instantly noticed her no-nonsense and aggressive manner. In 1982, New York City Mayor Ed Koch named her a judge in the criminal court. Four years later, she was made the supervising judge in Manhattan's family court, a job she kept for ten years. Sheindlin was known for being strict and not putting up with any bullshit. She handled a lot of cases quite well. She routinely let the journalists into her courtroom because she thought the public should see how the system really worked. During this time, she became known for making quick, clear decisions and being quite honest.

The Rise of Judge Judy: From Courtroom to Cultural Icon

Media attention was the first step in Sheindlin's change from a respected family court judge to a TV star. Her distinctive style in court captured the public's attention and helped her become famous.

The Big Breakthrough on "60 Minutes"

A 1993 article in the Los Angeles Times talked about how tough she was on the bench. This led to a story on the CBS news show 60 Minutes, which made her famous all over the country. Television execs watched her on 60 Minutes and thought there was a chance for a new sort of courtroom show.

Sheindlin stepped down from family court in 1996 after more than 20 years on the bench. She then agreed to be the judge in a new reality courtroom show called Judge Judy, which started on September 16, 1996. The show immediately became a cultural phenomenon, lasting for 25 seasons till July 23, 2021. Judge Judy was an arbitration-based court show, which means that Sheindlin settled genuine issues as an arbitrator and the parties agreed to follow her findings. This structure gave her more freedom than a regular judge, which helped the show move quickly and frequently dramatically.

I want people who are in my courtroom for the first time to think of it as the second worst thing that has ever happened to them. The first is circumcision.

A close look at Judge Judy's wealth and financial empire

Judy Sheindlin's work in television has made her a lot of money, making her one of the highest-paid people in the business.

Judge Judy's pay and income over the years

It is thought that her net worth is between $440 million and $580 million. A large part of her income comes from her annual compensation for Judge Judy, which was $47 million from 2012 to 2020. She only shot the show for 52 days a year, which means she made more than $900,000 a day. Forbes named her the highest-paid TV host in the world in 2018.

Investments and a Real Estate Portfolio

Sheindlin has a lot of real estate in addition to her TV work. Her properties are worth more than $50 million, including a 12.5-acre mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut, that she bought for $13.2 million, and several homes in Naples, Florida. She has a condo in Beverly Hills and some real estate in New York's Upper East Side. Sheindlin also has a Cessna 750 Citation X private aircraft that is worth roughly $24 million. She uses it to travel between her houses and to film shows.

The CBS Deal for $100 Million

In 2017, Sheindlin made a big financial move when she sold CBS the rights to her large collection of Judge Judy episodes for an estimated $100 million. This arrangement made her even more financially secure and showed that she was a smart businesswoman.

Judge Judy's Other Businesses and Charitable Work Outside of the Courtroom

Judy Sheindlin's impact goes beyond her courtroom presentations to include her work in production and charity.

Making "Hot Bench"

Sheindlin is the creator and executive producer of Hot Bench, a court show that started airing in 2014. This show has three judges who hear cases and talk about them, which adds a new element to courtroom TV. Hot Bench has also helped her make more money and grow her TV empire.

The Her Honor Mentoring Program

Judy Sheindlin and her stepdaughter Nicole Sheindlin worked together to create "Her Honor Mentoring." This program gives young women more power by helping them get ready for college and their careers through mentoring and assistance. The program helps high school senior girls, many of whom are the first in their families to go to college and come from families with little financial means. It gives cash awards to those who reach certain mentorship goals. Mentors meet with their mentees once a week to talk about things like school, work, and money management. Sheindlin herself has talked about how important it is to have an education and make a good first impression through this program.

Scholarships for students at New York Law School

Sheindlin has given $5 million a year since 2022 to pay for full scholarships for ten women at New York Law School. This shows how much she cares about legal education and helping women. These scholarships pay for tuition, books, and summer internships, which is something she knows a lot about because she is a woman working in a male-dominated sector.

I really believe that education is the key to our prosperity.

Judy Justice and Justice on Trial: The Latest Chapter

Judy Sheindlin is always coming up with new ideas for TV shows, even if her long-running show has ended.

After Judge Judy ended in 2021, Sheindlin started Judy Justice on Amazon Freevee (previously IMDb TV) on November 1, 2021. This new court program centered on arbitration is in keeping with her usual way of settling legal problems. Judy Justice has been a success; in 2022, she won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program, making Sheindlin the only TV arbitrator to win Emmys for two distinct court shows.

Justice on Trial, her latest project, came out on Prime Video on July 21, 2025. This docuseries takes a fresh approach by going back to controversial incidents from the past and having experts comment on them and actors replicate them in dramatic ways. Sheindlin is the founder and executive producer of the show, which looks at important cases that have changed US law and society. By breaking down complicated legal rulings, it hopes to make viewers "a little smarter."

Judge Judy's Personal Life: Family and Life Outside of TV

Judy Sheindlin is known for her work, but she also has a full personal life.

Jerry Sheindlin, her husband

Judy Sheindlin married Ronald Levy in 1964, but they split up in 1976. In 1978, she married Jerry Sheindlin, another lawyer who subsequently became a judge. They got divorced in 1990, but they got married again in 1991. Jerry Sheindlin was also on TV as the host of The People's Court. Because they both worked in law, they regularly talked about it at home.

Kids and Grandkids

Jamie and Adam are Judy Sheindlin's two children from her first marriage. She has three stepchildren with Jerry Sheindlin: Gregory, Jonathan, and Nicole. She is also a great-grandmother and has 13 grandchildren. Nicole Sheindlin, her stepdaughter, is an active member of the "Her Honor Mentoring" program.

Quotes and Philosophy That Stick with You

Many of Sheindlin's remarks are noteworthy because they are direct and often funny. They show her legal philosophy and how she sees reality. "Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining," her father's warning, became the title of her 1996 book and showed how much she wanted others to take responsibility. Some other well-known phrases are:

Don't tell me it's pouring when you pee on my leg.

"Um" is not an answer!

You can't be a judge if you judge people.

She doesn't base her decisions on the laws of any one state; instead, she uses what she calls "common sense."

Judge Judy's Lasting Impact on Law and Entertainment

It's clear that Judy Sheindlin has had an effect on both the legal and entertainment spheres. She has changed the way people think about justice on television and in real life.

Effect on Courtroom TV

For all 25 years it was on the air, Judge Judy was the highest-rated court show on Nielsen. It was also often the highest-rated daytime TV show. The show's success brought back the courtroom programming genre, which is now a regular part of syndicated TV. It also started a lot of trends in courtroom shows, like using the names of the shows in the titles and cold open trailers. To uncover cases with personal stakes and emotional tension for Judge Judy and Judy Justice, producers use the Freedom of Information Act to search through court records all throughout the U.S. Sheindlin will settle their disagreements on TV, and the show will pay the verdicts, up to $5,000.

Honors and Awards

Sheindlin has won many honors during the course of her career. Judge Judy won three Daytime Emmy Awards for Best Legal/Courtroom Show. In 2015, she was named the longest-serving television arbitrator by Guinness World Records. She won a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award for her work in 2019. In 2006, she also got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her continuous success with Judy Justice, which won a Daytime Emmy in 2022, shows that she will always be a part of and have an impact on television.