Her big expressive brown eyes triple every time she is confronted with an unreliable homeowner or a teenage teenager. Her eyebrows, when angry, make her look like an emoji ready to explode. Beneath the robe, the sternness of which breaks a female white lace collar, hides Judy Sheindlin, known worldwide as "Judge Judy", the highest paid American TV presenter, who managed to beat Oprah Winf and prevail on the small screen as "the evil queen in the lace collar!".
77-year-old Judy definitely knows how to impose her wishes. Every time she goes to renew her contract with CBS, she keeps a file with the salary she wants to get. "We are sitting with the president, facing each other, I give him the envelope and I say to him: 'Do not read it now, let us enjoy our dinner. Call me tomorrow. If you agree well. "Otherwise I will take over the production of the show" "he had revealed in the past.
Nobody denies her. And how to do it with such a successful show that counts 23 years on TV and 10 million viewers, making celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres or Winfrey Opera -older- to look like rookies.
Such a reputation could not but be accompanied by many zeros in her bank account. Judy Sheindlin has topped Forbes' list of the highest paid TV presenters. The judge and presenter earns 147 million dollars a year (133 million euros), working only 52 days, with her personal fortune exceeding 400 million dollars! (EUR 362 million).
Judy Sheindlin - whose real name is Judith Susan Blum - was born on October 21, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish parents.
He studied law at the New York Law School and the same year he graduated - in 1965 - passed the exams and became a prosecutor in family law.
In 1964 she fell in love with and married Ronald Levy who later became a prosecutor in court minors. They had two children and divorced after 12 years of marriage.
Judy remarried Judge Jerry Sheindlin in 1977. The death of her father, however, dissolved her and, wanting to be left alone, divorced Jerry. The couple endured separately for only one year and remarried. The judge has a total of five children (three adopted children) and 13 grandchildren.
In 1982, her capacity led then-New York Mayor Ed Koch to appoint her president of the court, first in criminal cases and then in family law cases. In legal circles it was known as the tough one judge (although she never described herself as "tough") who made quick decisions. "I have a gift," he said, "if you can call it that. "I can understand people's motives."
In February 1993, a Los Angeles Times article describing her as the woman determined to change the field of justice made her widely known. This was followed by the tribute to the CBS show "60 minutes" which launched its fame and since then the path to glory began.
After the CBS show, Judy accepted an offer to enter the field of television. In 1996, the series "Judge Judy" was shown for the first time, which created a new fashion, after the high ratings of the television coverage of the trial of the athlete OJ Simpson.
The popular television program is called upon to provide solutions to various court cases. In each episode, two cases are examined, which Judy's team has found. The parties defend themselves and the production pays any amount of money imposed, as well as the costs of the parties involved (travel, accommodation) provided that they do not challenge Judy's decision in a court of law. The audience is made up of actors who are looking for a place on TV and are being paid $ 8 an hour. The studio also resembles a courtroom, as does the entire witness examination process.
During these 23 years of showing the series, the television audience reached 10 million, with the majority being women aged 25-54. Judy has also earned a place at Guinness Book of Records as the longest-lived TV presenter.
Her contract is written in golden numbers. It started in 2005 with annual earnings of $ 15 million. At the beginning of 2007, her fortune amounted to 95 million and she was ranked No. 13 in Forbes with the richest women in the field of television. In 2010 she renewed her contract and her annual profits climbed to $ 45 million. Since 2013 he earns $ 47 million a year, which translates to $ 900.000 a day as he works 52 days a year! According to Forbes, in 2017 he made 147 million dollars (before taxes).
The woman with the white lace collar on the court robe, who is said to have bought it on a trip to Greece, has invested the millions she makes in homes in different parts of the world. The judge has one villa in Naples, one in Florida, one in Beverly Hills, one in Manhattan, and her main residence is in Connecticut.
Judy flies from Connecticut to California twice a month in her private jet. He also owned a luxury yacht, the Triumphant Lady, which sold for $ 6,9 million.
Her agenda includes the names of many celebrities who are her friends, including Bette Midler and Samuel Jackson.
Charity flows in her blood. She is the creator and director of the "Her Honor Mentoring" program, which aims to enable young women to practice their practical skills to live a satisfying life and at the same time emphasize the importance of education to get a job that will satisfy the spirit.
In September 2017, Sheindlin funded a public discussion space at the University of Southern California. Aim to meet people from different walks of life with different views and perspectives, including leaders and students. According to Judy, the free exchange of ideas should be honored by all American university communities.
"When one seeks the truth, one must be armed with all available information. "A closed mind is dangerous," he said.