Judy Sheindlin

One of reality TV's most influential women, the smart and acid-tongued Judge Judith Sheindlin kicked off a television programming revolution in the mid-1990's, thanks to the success of her self-titled courtroom reality show, "Judge Judy" (syndicated, 1996- ). The first courtroom show to air on American television since "The People's Court" (syndicated, 1981-1993), "Judge Judy" was credited with resurrecting the genre and opening the doors for countless imitators.

In addition to spawning such copycats as "Judge Joe Brown" (syndicated, 1997- ), "Divorce Court" (syndicated, 1999- ), "Judge Hatchett" (syndicated, 2000- ) and the home-spun "Texas Justice" (syndicated, 2001-05), "Judge Judy" also paved the way for the return of the newly reincarnated "The People's Court" in 1997 and proved that Judge Judith Sheindlin was not only a tough cookie, but a trailblazer for television justice.

Born Judith Blum on Oct. 24, 1942, Sheindlin grew up in New York City, NY. Her father, Murray Blum, a prominent Brooklyn dentist, stressed the importance of education to his whip-smart daughter. Heeding his advice, she hit the books and finished high school in just 3 and a half years. She received her undergraduate degree from American University in 1963 and earned her law degree at New York Law School, where she graduated at the top of her class. Sheindlin's first job was as a lawyer for a New York cosmetics firm. Four years later, in 1971, Sheindlin made a career switch from corporate to family law. It proved to be a fateful decision.

Over the next 25 years, Sheindlin would make family court her domain. Starting as a state prosecutor, Sheindlin specialized in prosecuting juvenile delinquency cases and earned a feared reputation for her aggressiveness and pit bull tenacity. In 1982, Sheindlin was appointed to the bench as a family court judge by then-New York Mayor Edward Koch. In 1986, she was promoted to the rank of Supervising Judge for Manhattan.

As a judge, Sheindlin brought her trademark feistiness to the bench and refined it into a sharp surgical instrument. Feared by attorneys and criminals alike, Sheindlin was a judge who suffered no fools . Meting out punishment like hotcakes, she quickly became a darling of the New York press. A walking sound byte machine, her fiery temper and quick caustic wit gradually made her the talk of other towns as well. In February, 1993, The Los Angeles Times featured Sheindlin as the subject of a well-received feature article. This eventually led to a 1995 segment on the venerable newsmagazine "60 Minutes" (CBS, 1968- ). Sheindlin's flair for brutal candor translated well in front of the cameras. Not surprisingly, Hollywood soon came knocking.

In 1996, after a quarter-century of service in the New York family court system, Sheindlin finally retired and accepted a lucrative offer with Big Ticket Entertainment to launch her own reality program. Debuting in September of 1996, "Judge Judy" got off to a slow start, but quickly became a national success. Flanked by her sedate bailiff, Petri Hawkins-Byrd (who actually served as her real-life bailiff in New York), the outspoken judge held court five days a week on over 100 stations nationwide. Unlike the firm, but sagacious Judge Joseph L. Wapner from "The People's Court," "Judy" unleashed a new kind of judge onto the airwaves. Notorious for berating her litigants for their bad decisions, Sheindlin often demonstrated herself to be an adept lie detector. Through deft cross-examination, she often caught people in their lies and then mercilessly humiliated them for it. As one might expect, Sheindlin's tirades yielded some unforgettable zingers over the years.

In one memorable episode, she took a philandering male litigant down several notches with the following withering rejoinder: "You're nothing special! Believe me, I have three sons, so I know - you are no gift! You're not even good looking!"

Sheindlin's locomotive personality made her a favorite subject of such late-night sketch comedy shows as "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (NBC, 1993- ) and "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ). In the latter, "Judge Judy" was parodied memorably by actress Cheri Oteri. Proving she had a sense of humor, Sheindlin often popped up as herself at the end of the sketch, and took Oteri to task for her impersonation skills, sometimes scoring the biggest laughs of the night. While Sheindlin limited her appearances on such mainstream shows (presumably to maintain a level of professional credibility), this did not curtail Hollywood's infatuation with her one iota. To wit: On "The Simpsons" (Fox, 1989- ), the minor character of Judge Constance Harm was unmistakably modeled after Sheindlin. With her program in syndication, Sheindlin became an extremely wealthy woman. In July of 2006, "Judge Judy" was renewed through the 2009-10 season. Under the terms of her negotiated contract, she officially surpassed Oprah Winfrey as the highest paid woman on television.