Judge Judy Sheindlin
Presiding Judge
Judge Judy Sheindlin is the presiding judge on the Emmy-Award winning Judy Justice, the landmark courtroom program from Prime Video. She is also the creator and executive producer of Tribunal Justice and the upcoming Justice on Trial.
In September 2021, Judge Sheindlin wrapped a historic 25 year-run of The Emmy Award-winning Judge Judy, one of the most successful programs in the history of television. Judge Judy finished as the #1 program in first-run syndication for 12 consecutive seasons and was #1 in daytime from 1998-99 season until it concluded in 2021.
Over the past two decades, Judge Sheindlin has won numerous accolades and awards from the legal, academic and media worlds and she has sponsored worthy philanthropic initiatives.
The rise of Judge Judy Sheindlin is an only-in-America story that began in 1982 when Sheindlin, then a prosecutor in New York City’s Family Court, was appointed to the Family Court bench by Mayor Edward I. Koch. She became Supervising Judge of the Manhattan court in 1986 and heard more than 20,000 cases. During her years on the bench she earned a reputation for tough, no-nonsense jurisprudence, and established an “open court policy” which let the public and media view the family court process.
She was honored for her groundbreaking work with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, situated next to one of her idols, actor Sidney Poitier. She’s also received the Gracie Allen Tribute Award from American Women in Radio and Television for her contributions to the broadcasting industry, and the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award named after the late broadcasting pioneer. In 2012, Judge Sheindlin was inducted into the prestigious Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame, for her contributions to the TV business and in 2019 was honored with an Emmy® Award for Lifetime Achievement from The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
She is the author of seven books including best sellers, “Don’t Pee on My Leg and Tell Me It’s Raining” and “Beauty Fades, Dumb is Forever.”
Voted one of the “100 Most-Trusted People in America,” Judge Sheindlin has been profiled on “CBS Sunday Morning,” “Nightline,” “A&E’s Biography” and MSNBC’s “Headliners and Legends.” She has appeared on “Saturday Night Live” and has been a guest on television programs including “Today,” “Good Morning America,” “Dateline NBC,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “The Tonight Show,” “The Late Show,” “The View,” “Ellen” and “Entertainment Tonight.”
Judge Sheindlin, who was profiled in a New York Times front-page story, “Others Fade but Judge Judy is Forever,” has also been the subject of major features chronicling her quarter century run in Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and New York Times Sunday Magazine. Other stories on the Judge have been published in Forbes, Family Circle, People, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Parade, Good Housekeeping, TV Guide and Redbook. She has also been interviewed for the “Archives of American Television,” which offered an in-depth look at her career and life as a mother, wife and grandmother. Judge Sheindlin has been featured as one of the top celebrities in entertainment in Forbes’ “Celebrity 100” list multiple times and VH1 named her one of the “200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons.”
In 2017, the University of Southern California unveiled “The Sheindlin Forum” in Wallis Annenberg Hall at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. The space, named in honor of Judge Sheindlin and her husband, Judge Jerry Sheindlin, provides a place to advance rigorous, civil discourse.
Judge Sheindlin was invited to speak at the Oxford Union, in Oxford, England in 2017 and Cambridge University, United Kingdom in 2019.
In 2024, Judge Sheindlin appeared in a Super Bowl commercial as “Judge Beauty,” for e.l.f. Cosmetics featuring the cast of “Suits.” It was one of the most talked about spots of “The Big Game.” CNBC’s Jim Cramer called it “the best” and the network touted her as “a powerhouse.”
Over the years, Judge Sheindlin has received many other awards and distinguished honors. She is the recipient of the VP/Law Society Award from the University College of Dublin for her contributions to family law and legal academia. She has been honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award from New York Law School, the Woman of the 21st Century Award from The Women’s Guild at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and the Lifetime Achievement Award and a Presidential Medal from Hofstra University’s School of Law.
Judge Sheindlin was included in The Hollywood Reporter’s “Power 100,” honoring the top 100 women in the entertainment business. She was also named International Spokesperson for North Shore Animal League America, to promote pet adoptions throughout the U.S. and the world.
Judge Sheindlin has delivered commencement addresses at University at Albany, SUNY. Elizabethtown College, New York Law School and the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.
Along with her daughter, Nicole Sheindlin, she founded “Her Honor Mentoring” an initiative that combines the power of youth and the wisdom of experience to inspire young women to reach their full potential. “Her Honor Mentoring,” which is approaching its 20th anniversary.
Born in Brooklyn, Judge Sheindlin attended college at the School of Government at American University in Washington D.C. After graduating she attended New York Law School, where she received her degree. She began practicing law in Manhattan in 1965, and holds honorary Doctor of Law degrees from Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, New York Law School and University at Albany, SUNY.
Judge Sheindlin is married to Judge Jerry Sheindlin, a former Judge of the Supreme Court of New York. They have five children, 13 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
