Judge Judy

Judith "Judge Judy" Sheindlin is a former American family court judge and currently presides over the syndicated, internationally popular television courtroom reality show Judge Judy. Sheindlin is known for her tough, no-nonsense attitude and for her often biting sense of humour. She is accompanied by court baliff, Petri Hawkins Byrd.

Born Judith Blum, in October 1942, in Brooklyn, New York. She attended American University in Washington D.C., and graduated in 1963. She continued her education at American University's Washington College of Law, where she was the only woman in a class of 126 students. She finished her law degree in New York, where she moved with her first husband in 1964. In 1965, she obtained her law degree, passed the New York bar exam, and took a job as a corporate lawyer for a cosmetics firm.

Dissatisfied with the role of a corporate lawyer, she left within two years to raise two children, Jamie and Adam. In 1972, a friend from law school told her of a job opening in the New York courts. She took the job and found herself in the role of prosecutor for the family court system. She prosecuted juvenile crime, domestic violence, and child abuse cases. She was quickly recognized as a sharp, no-nonsense attorney....read more