Judith Susan Sheindlin (née Blum; born October 21, 1942), better known as Judge Judy, is an American lawyer, judge, television personality, and author. Since 1996, Sheindlin has presided over her own successful Daytime Emmy Award winning reality courtroom series named after her, Judge Judy.Sheindlin passed the New York bar examination in 1965 and became a prosecutor in the family court system.