Judge Judy gets new hairdo for the first time in decades

By MixDex Article may include affiliate links

Syndicated court television show Judge Judy Sheindlin has sported pretty much the same haircut for decades on her popular show “Judge Judy,” but she’s finally changed it up.

  • In April 2019, episodes began airing with Sheindlin’s hair pulled back into a ponytail — and it caused quite a stir on social media.
  • Sheindlin had been know for wearing her hair in short but sculpted look on her show for years.
  • The show’s open still uses old shots of Sheindlin, both staged and episodic, sporting old haircut.
  • It’s worth noting that Sheindlin’s hair change would have carefully timed because the judge, who flies to Los Angeles to tape shows.
  • Sheindlin does not live in L.A. and has homes in several locations — and typically flies in via private jet for tapings.
  • Like most court shows, each taping features multiple cases — which are then split up and edited into episodes for both content and time.
  • In other words, not all the shows taped on the same day or even week are necessarily shown in the same timeframe.
  • This is evident because the courtroom audience typically changes without explanation or, in the case of other court shows, such as “The People’s Court,” where Judge Marilyn Milian, unlike Sheindlin, typically wears colorful shirts under her robes, Milian will be seen wearing different shirts in the same episode.
  • Therefore, Sheindlin likely changed up her hairstyle after a hiatus or when producers had exhausted all shows taped with her previously hairstyle.
  • Sheindlin, who is 76 as of April 2019, appears to be shot with a camera using a special filter designed to disguise wrinkles and other skin imperfections, though the end result is a slightly blurry or “hazy” look on the camera pointed at her.
  • This effect, sometimes known as the “Barbara Walters Filter” is also sometimes referred to as having petroleum jelly or Vaseline smeared on the lens to blur the image, though this technique typically isn’t used these days.
  • The show also appears to make heavy use of “chin fills” — special lights hidden behind her bench pointed at her face — to help make her look her best on camera.