What Judge Judy's Life Was Really Like Before The Fame

After spending 25 years serving up swift justice and tough moral lessons to the masses on her television show, "Judge Judy," Judy Sheindlin oversaw her last court case back in May. Now, Sheindlin has taken her firm but lovable presence to another iteration of "Judge Judy" called "Judy Justice" on Amazon's free premium streaming service, IMDb TV, according to People. "We left on top, which is perfect," Sheindlin told People. "Amazon had the confidence in me to say, 'Let's do it in streaming. Let's let you do your thing in a fresh version with new people.' And I'm excited!"

The first four episodes of "Judy Justice" premiered on Monday and subsequent episodes will be released every weekday.

Though she was a relatively well-known force in New York City, Sheindlin would not become a national media fixture until her interview with The Los Angeles Times was published on Valentine's Day in 1993. Almost immediately following the publishing of the profile of Sheindlin, she received an offer from "60 Minutes" to appear in her own segment, which ultimately aired in October 1993, according to The Los Angeles Times. Then, upon seeing her "60 Minutes" segment, a literary agent called to offer her a book deal. In 1996, "Don't Pee on My Leg and Tell Me It's Raining: America's Toughest Family Court Judge Speaks Out" (Sheindlin came up with the title) was published.

Prior to becoming an incredibly powerful and wealthy force on television and beyond, Judge Judy Scheindlin was a headstrong, brilliant prosecutor and, eventually, Manhattan family court judge. According to The Guardian, Scheindlin went to "a tough state school" and New York Law School before becoming a lawyer in 1965. Beginning in 1982, and until she began filming "Judge Judy," Scheindlin served as a Manhattan family court judge (and was eventually promoted to supervising family court judge). As a family court judge, Scheindlin became rather infamous for her condemnation of political correctness and the government bureaucracy that she felt did not keep the public safe from young criminals, per The Los Angeles Times.

"I was hoping we would have a three- or four-year run and that my husband and I would be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment one block off the beach in Florida as a retirement place," Scheindlin told People of the period of time in which she first started shooting in "Judge Judy" in the mid-'90s. "We were civil servants. We had five kids that were all educated, most went to graduate school. We tried to see to it they weren't burdened with a lot of debt." Now, 25 years after the premiere of "Judge Judy," Scheindlin is worth a staggering $460 million, according to People, owns multiple homes around the country, and has inspired hundreds, if not thousands, of women to pursue a career criminal justice.