Judy Sheindlin (you might know her as Judge Judy) started her story in a gritty Brooklyn neighborhood, the daughter of German-Jewish and Russian-Jewish parents. Little Judith Susan Blum was already a go-getter.
The addictive drama of Judge Judy drew in viewers in droves, and allowed Judy to pull in a nice payday. From 2012 to 2020, the lady behind the bench was cashing in $47 million gross a year.
Back in 2014, she took a leap into TV production and created her own company, Queen Bee Productions. They’ve made a bunch of those intense real-life, courtroom-style TV shows like Hot Bench.