Judge Judy Sheindlin, 81, has announced that she is trying to “simplify” her life by selling her New York City penthouse for $9.5 million.
As she prepares to move, we’ve decided to explore ten facts about Judge Judy herself that you may not have known.
Born In Brooklyn In 1942
The woman who would become Judge Judy was born in Brooklyn, New York as Judith Susan Blum on October 21, 1942. Her father was a dentist, and her mother was an office manager.
Judy would later describe her father as “the greatest thing since sliced bread,” and her mother as “a meat and potatoes kind of gal.”
Judy graduated from James Madison High School in 1961. She went on to get her undergraduate degree from American University in Washington D.C.
Only Woman In Her Law School Class
Judy was the only woman in a class of 126 students at American University’s Washington College of Law. She ultimately transferred and finished out her law degree at New York Law School after she moved back to the city with her firsthusband in 1964.
After graduating in 1965, Judy quickly passed the bar exam and was hired as a corporate lawyer for a cosmetics firm. However, she soon became unhappy with the job and quit to raise her children, Jamie and Adam.
Becomes A Prosecutor
In 1972, an old law school friend contacted Judy and told her of an opening in the New York court system. Judy ended up getting it, and she soon found herself a prosecutor in family court.
Over the next few years, Judy earned herself a reputation as a no-nonsense lawyer as she prosecuted juvenile crime, domestic violence and child abuse cases. These cases could be emotionally draining at times, but Judy never let that distract her from getting the job done.
Related: Judge Judy Reveals Who She’d Want To See Play Her In A Biopic
Appointed As A Judge
In 1982, Judy was appointed to a seat as a judge in family court by Mayor Ed Koch. She was so good at this role that just for years later, she was promoted to the position of supervising judge in the Manhattan division of the family court.
In February of 1993, the Los Angeles Times profiled Judy as a hard-hitting family court judge. This led to a profile on 60 Minutes that garnered national attention. Judy retired in 1996 after 25 years of practicing in family court and hearing over 20,000 cases. However, a new career for her was about to begin.
Judge Judy Is Born
After her 60 Minutes profile, an agent representing Judy approached Larry Lyttle, the president of Big Ticket Television. He pitched the idea of a courtroom television program, and Lyttle agreed, so they shot a pilot.
Judge Judy premiered in September of 1996, and it was immediately a hit. By 1999, it had won the No. 1 slot for syndicated shows with an average of seven million weekly viewers. Judy was even able to edge out Oprah in some markets, with New York being one example.
The show was so successful that it spawned many other courtroom shows like Judge Joe Brown, Judge Hatchett and Judge Mathis.
Judge Judy Ends – Judy Justice Begins
Judge Judy came to an end in 2021 after 25 seasons. However, fans of Judy can still watch her on Judy Justice, which premiered on Amazon Prime in 2021. It’s still on to this day.
“I think these cases are terrific,” she told CBS News of her new show in 2021.
“I think the addition of these people in front of the camera are terrific,” she added.
Related: Judge Judy Gets The Last Laugh After CBS Network ‘Disrespected’ Her Show
Judy’s Books
On top of everything else she’s done, Judy is also an author who has written several books. Her first book “Don’t Pee On My Leg, and Tell Me It’s Raining” was released in 1996.
She’s published more books in the years since, including the New York Times best-seller “Beauty Fades, Dumb is Forever” (1999), “Win or Lose by How You Choose” (2000) and “What Would Judy Say? Be the Hero of Your Own Story (2014).”
Judy’s Family
Judy has been married twice. Her first husband was Ronald Levy, who also went on to become a juvenile prosecutor. They married in 1964 and divorced in 1976. They had two children, a daughter Jamie and a son Adam, the latter of whom is a former district attorney.
Judy later married Judge Jerry Sheindlin in 1978. They later divorced in 1990, partly due to work stress and her grief over her father’s death that same year. However, they remarried the next year in 1991, and they’ve been together ever since. Through him, she has three stepchildren.
‘Time To Simplify’
Judy and her husband have put their New York City penthouse on the market after a decade.
“We’ve enjoyed this jewel of an apartment,” she told Fox Business. “Time to simplify.”
The penthouse is located at 14 Sutton Place South in an area that is known to be one of Manhattan’s most exclusive neighborhoods. Judy and her husband bought it in 2013 for $8.5 million. The penthouse includes four bedrooms, four full bathrooms and two powder rooms.
Judy’s Advice For Others
Judy believes that she’s gotten where she is today because she stayed true to herself.
“It’s been sort of easy,” she told ABC News in 2022. “I grew up with, you do the right thing, the right thing happens [and] take responsibility.”
“I just stay in my own little world, I say, ‘this is right and this is wrong,'” she added. “If you tell the truth you don’t have to have a good memory. Try to keep good friends and keep your enemies closer until you find out you can annihilate them.”
Watch Judy talk more about this in the video below.
Judge Judy truly is one of a kind. We wish her and her husband the best of luck in their upcoming move!
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