00:00You think you know Judge Judy? Wait till you hear the rest.
00:03She's the woman who made millions yelling at people on TV.
00:06But she started as the only woman in a law school class of 126 men.
00:11She's been married twice to the same men.
00:14She had a mini-stroke on set and was back the next day.
00:17And she once made over $900,000 for a single day of work.
00:22This is the real Judge Judy, the story they don't tell you on TV.
00:26Her real name is Judith Susan Blum.
00:29She was born in Brooklyn, New York on October 21st, 1942.
00:33That makes her 82 years old today.
00:35Her father was a dentist.
00:37She called him the greatest thing since sliced bread.
00:39Her mother was an office manager.
00:41Judy described her as a meat and potatoes kind of gal.
00:44She grew up in a Jewish household, German-Jewish and Russian-Jewish roots.
00:49She went to James Madison High School in Brooklyn, graduated in 1961.
00:53Then she went to American University in Washington, D.C.
00:56She got a degree in government in 1963.
00:59Then came law school.
01:01Here's something most people don't know.
01:03She was the only woman in a class of 126 students.
01:07One hundred and twenty-six.
01:09And she was the only woman.
01:10She later finished her law degree at New York Law School in 1965.
01:15She passed the bar in 1965 and took a job as a corporate lawyer for a cosmetics company.
01:20She hated it.
01:22Within two years, she quit.
01:23She stayed home to raise her two young children.
01:26Then in 1972, a friend told her about a job in family court.
01:30She took it.
01:31She became a prosecutor handling child abuse, domestic violence, and juvenile crime.
01:36She was sharp, tough, and no-nonsense from day one.
01:39In 1982, New York Mayor Ed Koch appointed her as a judge in family court.
01:44Four years later, she became supervising judge in Manhattan.
01:47She heard more than 20,000 cases.
01:50Twenty thousand.
01:52She earned a reputation as a tough judge who didn't take excuses.
01:55But here's something she has said herself.
01:57She doesn't like being called harsh or tough.
02:00She says she's just direct and honest.
02:02Then came the moment that changed everything.
02:05In February 1993, a reporter from the Los Angeles Times wrote a story about her.
02:11The reporter's wife had seen Judy in court and was amazed.
02:14That article led to a profile on CBS's 60 Minutes.
02:18After that, a TV agent reached out.
02:21They made a pilot for a courtroom show.
02:23In 1996, she retired from being a real judge and started Judge Judy.
02:28The show ran for 25 seasons.
02:31Twenty-five.
02:32From 1996 to 2021, it was the highest-rated show in daytime television for years.
02:38At its peak, more than 10 million people watched every single day.
02:42In 2015, Goodest World Records named her the longest-serving television arbitrator in courtroom programming history.
02:49In 2021, she started a new show called Judy Justice on Amazon Free V.
02:54She's still working today at 82 years old.
02:58Now, let's talk about her love life.
03:00Because this is where it gets interesting.
03:02She has been married twice to the same man.
03:05Let me explain.
03:06Her first husband was Ronald Levy.
03:08She married him in 1964.
03:10He was a prosecutor in juvenile court.
03:13They had two children together, Jamie and Adam.
03:16They divorced in 1976 after 12 years.
03:19Three months later, she met Jerry Scheindlin at a bar.
03:22Here's how Jerry tells the story.
03:24Judy came walking in and put her finger in his face and said,
03:28And who is this?
03:29Jerry said, lady, get your finger out of my face.
03:32They've been together ever since.
03:33They married in 1978.
03:36But here's what almost nobody knows.
03:38They got divorced in 1990.
03:41Judy's father had died that year.
03:43The stress took a toll on their marriage.
03:45They separated.
03:46They divorced.
03:47But just one year later in 1991, they got remarried.
03:51They have been together ever since.
03:53That's over 45 years together with a brief split in the middle.
03:57Jerry Scheindlin is also a judge.
03:59He served on the New York Supreme Court and later became the presiding judge on the People's Court.
04:04Together, they have five children.
04:06Two from Judy's first marriage, Jamie and Adam, and three from Jerry's first marriage, Gregory, Jonathan, and Nicole.
04:13So Judy is a stepmother to three children.
04:15She has 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
04:19Her son, Adam Levy, became a lawyer.
04:22He was the district attorney in Putnam County, New York.
04:24Then he got caught up in a scandal.
04:26His personal trainer was accused of rape.
04:29Adam won a defamation lawsuit and got $150,000 and a public apology.
04:35And guess what?
04:35His mother created a court show for him called Tribunal Justice.
04:39That's loyalty.
04:41Her stepdaughter, Nicole Scheindlin, is also a lawyer.
04:44Together, Judy and Nicole run a nonprofit called Her Honor Mentoring.
04:48It pairs high school girls with mentors in their desired careers.
04:52Nicole said about Judy,
04:54What you see is what you get with her.
04:55She not only became my stepmother, but my biggest cheerleader and mentor.
05:00Now, let's talk about the things most people don't know.
05:03She started wearing that famous lace collar as soon as she became a judge in 1982.
05:08She found it on vacation with Jerry to celebrate her appointment.
05:11She has worn it while working ever since.
05:14Her show is taped in California.
05:16She spends only 52 days a year taping episodes.
05:19That's one day per week.
05:20She flies to California on a private jet every other Monday.
05:24An entire week's worth of shows can be filmed in a single day.
05:28All the cases are real.
05:29The show has a staff of at least 60 people who look through real small claims court cases all over
05:35the country.
05:35They contact litigants and ask if they want to appear on the show.
05:38But the audience is not always real.
05:41Much of the audience is made up of paid extras.
05:44That's why you sometimes see the same people in the background.
05:47Here's a funny one.
05:48She dresses casually under her robe.
05:51Even though she yells at people for showing up to court underdressed,
05:54she usually wears a regular top and jeans under her robe.
05:57In March 2011, she fainted on set and was hospitalized.
06:02It was later discovered that she had a mini stroke.
06:04She was released the next day.
06:06Now let's talk about the money because it's staggering.
06:10At one point, she was making $47 million per year.
06:14In 2018, Forbes named her the highest paid TV host in the world.
06:19Her net worth is estimated at $440 million.
06:22She worked only 52 days a year taping the show.
06:26Do the math.
06:27That means she made over $900,000 for one day of work.
06:32Almost a million dollars for one day of work.
06:35She also sold CBS the rights to her older shows for $100 million.
06:40What are her bad habits?
06:42She can be brutally blunt.
06:44Some people call her harsh.
06:45She cuts people off mid-sentence.
06:47She tells them to stop talking.
06:49She once said,
06:50Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining.
06:52That became the title of her first book.
06:55She also admits she spoils her grandchildren.
06:58She told Entertainment Tonight,
07:00I spoil them.
07:01I'm trying to think of how we don't, but the answer is we do.
07:04What are her good habits?
07:06She is incredibly generous.
07:08She co-created Her Honor Mentoring for high school girls.
07:10She is fiercely loyal.
07:12Her bailiff, Officer Bird,
07:14worked with her since their days in Manhattan Family Court.
07:17That's a rare bond.
07:18Most people don't know that.
07:20She once said,
07:21I'm not tired.
07:22I still feel engaged by what I do,
07:24and I still have people who like to watch it.
07:27That's Judge Judy.
07:28She was born in Brooklyn in 1942.
07:30She was the only woman in her law school class.
07:33She heard 20,000 cases as a real judge.
07:36She became a TV icon,
07:38making $47 million a year.
07:41She married the same man twice.
07:43She has five children and 13 grandchildren.
07:46She had a mini stroke and kept working.
07:49She is worth $440 million.
07:51And at 82 years old,
07:53she is still on your television screen.
07:56Now you know the rest of the story.
07:58She's been little bed now.
07:58She lose his Disney job.
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