All About Judge Judy's 5 Children and 13 Grandchildren

Judge Judy has five kids — Gregory, Jamie, Jonathan, Adam and Nicole — and 13 grandkids

Judy Sheindlin may be best known for doling out tough love on her long-running show, Judge Judy, but when it comes to her grandchildren, she has a different approach.

"I spoil them," she told Entertainment Tonight in 2015. "I'm trying to think of how we don't, but the answer is we do. We don't even think we're doing it, but their parents are very smart. And they try to put the skids on it."

The Judy Justice star started her family back in 1966 with her then-husband Ronald Levy, whom she married in 1964. The couple welcomed two children together, Jamie Hartwright and Adam Levy, before divorcing in 1976.

Related: Judge Judy Sheindlin's Career in Photos

In 1977, Judy married Jerry Sheindlin, a judge from New York who was later on The People's Court. Jerry already had three kids of his own, Gregory, Jonathan and Nicole Sheindlin, from his previous marriage to Suzanne Rosenthal.

"We had five kids that were all educated, most went to graduate school," Judy told PEOPLE in 2021.

With their kids now all grown up with children of their own, Judy and Jerry are getting to know their grandchildren. "We have a big family ... Most of the grandkids are older, so they're fun, they can have a political discussion with you, they can have an economy discussion with you, they can discuss stocks and bonds," she told Good Day New York in 2021. "It's interesting to be around them."

Judy imparts her wisdom to her grandchildren, too. Her granddaughter Sarah Rose Levy thanked her for this in a 2021 letter for Good Housekeeping. "Throughout your life and your multiple successful careers, you have created a strong safety net for our entire family," she wrote. "This is one of the best gifts you could have given any of us."

Here's everything to know about Judge Judy Sheindlin's five kids and 13 grandkids.

Judge Judy's Children

Gregory Everett Sheindlin

Judy's husband, Jerry, and his then-wife, Suzanne welcomed Gregory in September 1964. When Gregory was a teenager, his parents got divorced and Jerry married Judy.

According to his law firm, Gregory graduated from the State University of New York at Albany in 1986 before heading to his father's alma mater, Brooklyn Law School, where he completed his studies in 1989.

Upon graduating from law school, Gregory began his career as a Manhattan prosecutor before moving into insurance law. In 1998, he ventured into private practice. In the early 2000s, Gregory and his colleague Joseph Sullivan founded the New York law firm Sheindlin & Sullivan where he continues to work today.

Related: Who Is Judge Judy's Husband? All About Jerry Sheindlin

In addition to his work in law, Gregory has long studied martial arts. In 2002, he was awarded the rank of sandan, which equates to a second-degree black belt in seido karate.

In May 2012, Gregory married Laurie Pila, a video producer turned interior designer, according to The New York Times. In November of that year, the couple had their first child, Daniella Grace Pila Sheindlin, Judy announced to Page Six.

Gregory and Laurie have since welcomed at least one other child, as she shared on her company's website.

Jamie Gail Hartwright

Judy and her then-husband, Ronald, welcomed their daughter Jamie around 1966. Ten years later, Judy and Ronald divorced and the legal expert married Jerry the following year.

Though Jamie has lived much of her life out of the limelight, she and husband Kenny Barber, a police officer in Massachusetts, are parents to son Casey Barber, according to the New York Post.

In her sister Nicole's 2010 profile in Westchester Magazine, Jamie was described as a stay-at-home mother.

Jonathan Sheindlin

Jerry and Suzanne's second child, Jonathan, was born in September 1967, according to his biography at the Brooklyn Eye Center.

Jonathan graduated from New York Medical College in 1993, completed an ophthalmology residency at St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital Center and continued his education at Harvard University Medical School, where he completed a fellowship in vitreo-retinal surgery. Now he is an ophthalmologist working in the Bronx and Brooklyn.

Jerry's second-born is also an assistant professor for the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Jonathan and his partner Susanne Vasquez have at least one child, Mia, according to Case Western Reserve University's alumni Facebook page.

Adam Bruce Levy

Judy and her first husband Ronald welcomed their son Adam in October 1968.

Like his parents, Adam went into law, graduating from Hofstra University in 1992. Three years after finishing college, Adam married Lori Leichtman, according to the South Bend Tribune. The couple have at least one daughter, Sarah Rose Levy, according to The New York Times, and a son, per USA Today.

In 2007, Adam became the district attorney in Putnam County, N.Y. While he was DA, Adam became embroiled in scandal when his live-in personal trainer, Alexandru Hossu, was accused of rape in 2013, per E! News.

After Hossu was acquitted, Putnam County Sheriff Donald Smith alleged that Adam attempted to influence the direction of his case in a news release. E! News reported that Adam filed a $5 million defamation suit against the sheriff.

In 2017, Smith admitted in court that Adam did not interfere with the case. Adam won his defamation suit and a $150,000 settlement from Smith in June of that year. Smith was also forced to issue a public apology. "It took four years, but I couldn't be happier," Adam told CBS2. "You've got to have thick skin if you're going to go into politics." Hossu died in 2020, per the Poughkeepsie Journal.

He credited his mother for inspiring him to fight for justice. Judy also issued a statement following Adam's win. "Today, Adam Levy has won his hard fought battle for his integrity, his honesty, his reputation, his honor. Most of all he won his battle for the truth," she said, per the New York Post.

Adam was honored by Hofstra University on Jan. 30, 2013, with the school's Public Justice Foundation Outstanding Alumnus Award. In 2017, the former district attorney was living in Wyoming.

In April 2022, Amazon Studios announced that Adam would appear as one of three judges to preside over real cases in a new court show called Tribunal, created and executive produced by Judy. The press release added that Adam was an instructor for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and New York Prosecutors Training Institute.

Nicole Sheindlin

Jerry and Suzanne welcomed their third child, Nicole, in November 1968.

She recalled meeting her stepmother, Judy, at the age of 8. "It sounds strange to say, especially since I was so young, but we had an instant connection," she told Westchester Magazine in 2010. "I liked the way she spoke to me so honestly. What you see is what you get with her. She not only became my stepmother but my biggest cheerleader and mentor."

While Nicole admitted her new stepmother could be bold, she also recognized the benefits of Judy's tough-love approach. "She's always direct, which to some can seem off-putting, like when you're a kid and she tells you that what you're wearing looks horrible," she told the outlet. "I've always appreciated her way with words and the fact that I have someone so straightforward in my life."

After her parents divorced in 1977, Nicole split her time between her mother's house in Nanuet, N.Y., and her father's home in the Bronx.

She originally pursued a degree in art at the University of Arizona, but she quickly changed course and obtained her bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo before studying criminal defense at New York Law School — the same school Judy attended.

"I really started to rely on Judy as a mentor while in law school," Nicole told Westchester Magazine. "Since the school was three blocks from the family court where she was the supervising judge, I would walk over to the courthouse to watch her rule and have her help me do my homework ... Not a bad tutor."

After Nicole graduated, she took a job at the Legal Aid Society, where she remained for the next 15 years. "It was my ideal job — defending the indigent," she said.

In 2007, Nicole and Judy launched a new venture, Her Honor Mentoring, a nonprofit that pairs high school girls with mentors in their desired careers. "Though I loved working at Legal Aid, I was looking to do something more proactive," Nicole told Westchester Magazine. "I was feeling burned out."

The program was inspired by conversations with her stepmother about women's rights and opportunities. "It wasn't very difficult to convince Judy that the program was a good idea," she recalled to the magazine. "I approached her like any good lawyer would: with a clear strategy and a strong argument." Beginning with eight mentees from a local high school, the program has since grown to support more than 100.

In 2019, Nicole was recognized by the New York State Senate as a Woman of Distinction for her work with Her Honor Mentoring, according to the Yonkers Times. At the time, Nicole was living in Larchmont, N.Y., with her husband David Mentzer, their three children, a dog, cats and a tortoise.

Nicole also launched a private law practice for criminal and civil litigation with her husband David in 2007. Seven years later, Nicole wrote the foreword of Judy's e-book, What Would Judy Say? Be the Hero of Your Own Story.

Judge Judy's Grandchildren

Casey Barber

Judy's first grandchild, Casey Barber, was born to her older daughter Jamie and her husband Kenny Barber on June 14, 1988.

"I remember the moment that I saw him for the first time, on June 14, the day he was born," Judy told Entertainment Tonight of her grandson in 2013. "They wheeled him by, and we weren't allowed to go inside, and I looked at him and I thought that he was the most spectacular baby I had ever seen ... There's something different about a first grandchild."

According to Jerry, Casey spent much of his time with his grandparents in his youth. "We kind of stole him right after he was born," Jerry told Entertainment Tonight. "I used to carry him around and people used to say, 'Oh, what a handsome son you have,' and I used to say 'Thank you.' Never said it was my grandson. It was fun."

When Casey was 13 years old, Judy hoped to make him the center of a new television show called Court 'n Kids that would feature him as a judge presiding over cases, shining a spotlight on the problems of his peers, per the New York Post.

While the show didn't come to fruition, Casey did follow in Judy's footsteps. He received a bachelor's degree from Keene State College, where he also played lacrosse, before obtaining his law degree from the Ave Maria School of Law in 2013. It was there that he met his first wife, Olivia Weil.

The couple married on Sept. 7, 2013, on Judy's 12.5-acre estate in Greenwich, Conn., in front of 150 family members and friends. Judy even served as the wedding's officiant. "My grandparents were the officiants of my uncles' and aunts' weddings, and it was really important for me," Casey told Entertainment Tonight. "I don't think it gets any better," Judy added.

After graduating from law school, Casey and Judy co-founded Queen Bee Productions, which produced the hit court show Hot Bench, according to Deadline. Casey is also the CEO of Run Before You Can Walk, a social media management company founded in 2013.

By 2022, Casey and Olivia divorced. In April of that year, the Providence Journal reported that Rhode Island lawmakers would vote to pass a special act that would allow Judy to officiate Casey's second marriage to Barbara "Betsy" Collins in June 2022.

Sarah Rose Levy

Adam and his wife Lori welcomed their daughter Sarah Rose Levy in 1997.

Sarah was close to her grandma from an early age, as she shared in an open letter to the TV star for Good Housekeeping in 2021. "Dear Nana," she wrote, "From the moment I was born, I knew we would have something special. The photos of us from my early years show a connection most people have only after knowing and loving each other for years."

Adam's firstborn also wrote about some of the happiest moments she spent with her family as a child. "Some of my most cherished memories are of when my parents would bring my siblings and me to the lake house to be with all the other cousins, aunts and uncles for a weekend," Sarah wrote. "The home videos of everyone laughing, all bundled up, just spending time together, show just how precious family is."

Sarah graduated from the Canterbury School in New Milford, Conn., in 2015. She then completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Southern California in 2019.

The law clerk got her feet wet in TV production, working as an assistant on Hot Bench and Judge Judy, as well as interning on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Sarah also worked as a social media coordinator at Judy and her aunt Nicole's Her Honor Mentoring program.

In September 2021, Amazon announced that Judy's granddaughter would join her grandmother as a cast member on Judy Justice. "What a gift it is for both of us, because she will be [a] third generation female lawyer in our family, which is exciting for me, and she's got a bit of a bite to her, which I know will develop as she gets older," Judy told Good Day New York. "This is a good stretch of the legs for her."

Sarah graduated from New York Law School in 2022, where both Judy and Sarah's aunt Nicole had graduated before her. Judy delivered the commencement speech before receiving her own honorary degree from the school.

Alexei Jared Mentzer

Nicole and her husband David welcomed their son Alexei Jared Mentzer on July 21, 2000, according to the New York Post. Alexei reportedly measured 22 inches at birth, and grandpa Jerry joked, "My god, we might actually have someone over 5'7" in the family!"

Alexei grew up in Larchmont. Following high school, he moved to Ithaca, N.Y., to attend Cornell University, where he majored in government with minors in China and Asia-Pacific studies as well as law.

He soon became involved in several extracurricular activities, serving as the newsletter editor for the academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa and as an elementary school tutor. Alexei also served as the vice president of the AI Robotics Ethics Society at his school.

Alexei graduated from Cornell in 2022 and started at Columbia Law School shortly after. In March 2024, Alexei took over Sarah's position as law clerk on his grandma's show Judy Justice and a few months later, he started working as a summer associate at N.Y.C.-based law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.

Mia Sheindlin

Jonathan and Susanne are parents to Mia Sheindlin, who became a student at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland in 2020, where she played lacrosse.

"We are happy to see Mia has developed great friendships and continues to meet individuals from diverse backgrounds," Susanne told the school's alumni association.

Daniella Grace Pila Sheindlin

Judy became a grandmother for the 12th time in November 2012, when Daniella Grace Pila Sheindlin was born to parents Gregory and Laurie.

"Welcoming this beautiful little girl is a treat, but whoever said it's cheaper by the dozen ... hasn't had a dozen grandchildren," Judy told Page Six.

Judge Judy's Other Grandchildren

Judy has eight other grandchildren who are not in the public eye, including Adam's son, Nicole's two additional children and Gregory's daughter.

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