Judge Judy preparing to end decades-long run as TV's toughest judge

“So many of the emails and letters I get are from women who watched me and had their daughters watch me,” she told the LA Times in June 2021 about the impact of the show. “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.”

During an interview with Fox News Digital in November 2022, Scheindlin’s granddaughter, Sarah Rose, shared what her grandmother taught her, noting she does in fact have a soft side despite her TV persona.

She shared that the best piece of advice Scheindlin has given her is that “you have to define yourself, and you tell other people who you are. Not the other way around.”

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“[She taught me] not to let anybody else define you but yourself,” Sarah Rose said. “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. I’ve always taken that to heart. No matter what anyone else’s opinions, feelings or thoughts are, I just know that I’m secure in myself. And she’s playing a big role in that.”

While Sara Rose admits Scheindlin could be a “no-nonsense grandmother,” she also has “a much softer, supportive side,” noting she is often “the first person I call if I have a problem or a question or something that needs to get solved.”

“She’s a fantastic problem solver, especially for the ones that she loves,” she added.