After nearly three decades on television, Judge Judy Sheindlin is stepping away from on-camera work once her Prime Video series "Judy Justice" concludes in October.
The 83-year-old legal icon told People magazine she is ready to move on from the daily grind of television production. "I have a lot of other things of interest," Sheindlin said. "I don't want to do hair and makeup anymore, but I still want my message to get out there."
Sheindlin is not leaving the courtroom television genre entirely. Her son, Adam Levy, is launching his own courtroom series, "Adam's Law," in national syndication this September.
Levy graduated from Hofstra Law School and worked as a ski instructor before practicing law privately and serving as Putnam County's district attorney. He appeared on the Prime Video show "Tribunal Justice" in 2023.
"There aren't a lot of people who can carry a half hour on their own unscripted," Sheindlin said of her son. "He has what it takes."
Sheindlin will remain as executive producer on Levy's show.
"Judge Judy," which debuted in 1996, became a cultural phenomenon. At its peak, approximately 10 million viewers tuned in regularly. Sheindlin graduated from New York Law School in 1965 and spent decades as a prosecutor handling juvenile crime, domestic violence and child abuse cases.
Sheindlin's sharp-tongued, decisive style on television made her an unexpected icon, particularly among women. In a 2021 interview with the LA Times, she reflected on the impact her visibility had on audiences.
"So many of the emails and letters I get are from women who watched me and had their daughters watch me," Sheindlin said. "They told me the show helped them take the next step, whether it was getting a divorce, leaving an abusive person, asking for a raise and never, ever becoming somebody's prisoner."
Sheindlin's granddaughter, Sarah Rose, described the advice her grandmother passed down during a 2022 interview with Fox News Digital: "You have to define yourself, and you tell other people who you are. Not the other way around."
Rose said Sheindlin taught her "not to let anybody else define you but yourself. You have to have a good feeling about yourself and be confident in yourself. And, really, if you have that as a foundation, the opportunities are endless for where your journey might lead."
Rose also acknowledged her grandmother's duality. While Sheindlin could be "a no-nonsense grandmother," she also had "a much softer, supportive side," Rose said. "She's a fantastic problem solver, especially for the ones that she loves."
