Judith Sheindlin

Judith Sheindlin is the presiding judge on the Emmy Award-winning "Judge Judy," the #1 court show in daytime television since its 1996 debut, and America's top program in first-run syndication for the last 10 seasons. After 25 seasons, she is transitioning to a new show "Justice Judy."

One of the nation's most well-known media personalities, Judge Judith Sheindlin's numbers and brand continue to grow after more than two decades on the air. In the 2018-19 season, JUDGE JUDY averaged a robust 10 million daily viewers. In 2017, she extended her production agreement with CBS Television Distribution and her own Queen Bee Productions through the 2020-2021 season, marking a quarter-century on American television.

Beyond her own program, Judge Sheindlin has created new television productions including "Hot Bench," featuring three judges which was the highest-rated new first-run syndicated program in its 2015 freshman season.

A vivid and enduring presence in millions of American homes, Judge Sheindlin has been a guest on "Today," "Good Morning America," "Dateline NBC," "Larry King Live," "Jimmy Kimmel Live," "The Tonight Show," "The Late Show," "The View," "Ellen" and "Entertainment Tonight."

She's also written best-selling books and launched whatwouldjudysay.com, an interactive website. 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 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 1988 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.

Judge Sheindlin's outspoken leadership became the subject of a Los Angeles Times profile in February 1993, and that caught the attention of "60 Minutes," which led to a segment on the iconic broadcast. After her appearance, Sheindlin was approached about the possibility of presiding over a courtroom on her own TV show. JUDGE JUDY premiered in national syndication on September 16, 1996, and the rest is history.