Judge Judy premiered on Sept. 16, 1996. "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 ...

Judge Judy, which first premiered in 1996, is the highest-rated courtroom program in the United States, averaging roughly 9 million viewers a day Dave Quinn is a Senior Editor for PEOPLE.

Sheindlin, 81, had a decades-long legal career before launching hit TV show Judge Judy in 1996, then Judy Justice on Amazon Freevee in 2021 - raking in millions while at one point only working 52 ...