Jeanine Ferris Pirro is an American former prosecutor, judge, and politician who has appeared on television. She is currently the host of the Fox News Channel program ‘Justice with Judge Jeanine’; she was the first female judge elected to the Westchester County Court and the first female district attorney for Westchester County. As an assistant district attorney, she became well-known for managing numerous high-profile cases of domestic violence and crimes against the elderly. The fact that she presided over the New York State Commission on Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board is regarded as one of her greatest accomplishments. Eventually, she abandoned her legal profession and pursued an unsuccessful political career. Nevertheless, despite withdrawing from the race for a Senate seat, her extraordinary contributions made her influential and potent in the political arena. Her political career suffered a significant decline after her spouse was convicted of major tax evasion. She subsequently pursued a career in the media as a legal analyst and host. As a legal analyst, she is in high demand for legal affairs television programs. Her television programs, in which she shares her political and legal insights, are extremely popular. She is also a regular contributor to a number of reputable periodicals and the author of four novels.
Youth and Early Life
Jeanine Ferris Pirro was born in Elmira, New York, on June 2, 1951, to Lebanese-American parents, Nasser ‘Leo’ Ferris and Esther ‘Awad’ Ferris. Her father was a mobile home salesman, while her mother was a department store model. She has a sister whose name is Lulu.
She attended Notre Dame High School and interned at the Chemung County District Attorney’s office during that time. She stated in an interview that she knew at the age of six that she wanted to become an attorney. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the State University of New York at Buffalo. In 1975, she graduated from Albany Law School of Union University in New York with a Juris Doctor degree. During her time in law school, she was the editor of the Law Review.
Judge Jeanine Pirro’s Career
In 1975, Jeanine Pirro entered the Westchester County Court as an assistant district attorney. In 1978, she established the Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Bureau and became its first director. She was appointed Westchester County Executive in 1986. In the same year, she declared her candidacy for lieutenant governor, but she withdrew one day prior to the nomination vote, citing her husband’s inability to disclose his business information, which was a requirement.
Her career as a prosecutor was fruitful, with a conviction rate of nearly 100 percent. In November 1990, she was elected Westchester County’s first female judge after defeating Democratic and Right to Life Party candidates in the Republican primary. In November 1993, she was elected the county’s first female district attorney. She served in the role until 2005. She did not seek a fourth term after being re-elected in 1997 and 2001.
In addition, she was the first woman to lead the New York State District Attorneys Association. As district attorney, she presided over significant commissions, such as the Commission on Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board.
She published the nonfiction book ‘To Punish and Protect’ in 2003, in which she described life within the criminal justice system.
In August 2005, she declared that she would challenge Senator Hillary Clinton for the Republican nomination in the 2006 election for U.S. Senator from New York. She withdrew from the contest in December 2005 as polls indicated Clinton would easily defeat her.
She pursued a career in the media after her political career terminated. Fox’s morning talk show ‘The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet’ routinely featured her contributions. She also contributes to the Fox 5 morning program “Good Day New York.”
As a legal analyst, she appears on numerous programs and serves as a substitute host on shows such as “Larry King Live,” “The Joy Behar Show,” and “Geraldo at Large.” She has appeared as a guest multiple times on Fox’s late-night satire program ‘Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld’.
The CW Television Network began producing her program ‘Judge Jeanine Pirro’ in 2008. In 2009, the second season of the program was broadcast. The program was nominated for an Emmy in 2010, and it won the award in 2011. Despite receiving positive reviews, the show was terminated in 2011 due to low ratings.
Based on her experiences as a youthful assistant district attorney in Westchester, she published the novel ‘Sly Fox’ in 2012. This work was written with author Pete Earley’s assistance. She has also written “Clever Fox” and “He Killed Them All: Robert Durst and My Search for Justice.” This novel was featured in the HBO documentary The Jinx.
She appeared in the six-part HBO series ‘The Jinx’ in 2015. In the series, she emphasized her perspective on the 1983 high-profile disappearance of Kathie Durst. She was the investigating counsel at the time. She has also hosted two episodes of You the Jury, an American reality court program. Following two episodes, the program was canceled.
As a popular legal expert, she has appeared on ‘The Today Show’ on NBC, ‘Good Morning America’ on ABC, ‘The Early Show’ on CBS, ’60 Minutes, ’48 Hours’, ‘Nightline’, ‘The View’, and ‘The O’Reilly Factor,’ among others.
The reality legal program ‘Justice with Judge Jeanine’ is hosted by Pirro on Fox News Channel. It is broadcast live each Saturday evening during prime time. She provides her legal opinion on a selection of the week’s news stories, including high-profile cases, crime and justice news, trends, and political issues. The series debuted in January 2011.
Judge’s Major Opera
Her efforts to establish the Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Bureau are one of Jeanine Pirro’s most notable accomplishments. As the name suggests, the bureau focuses on domestic violence. Her office was awarded the grant to establish the bureau, and she became its first director. She became known as an aggressive bureau chief who was extremely strict against abandoning cases at the request of a victim.
Although her passion and accomplishments as bureau chief were praised, her attention-seeking attitude attracted criticism. Her current Fox News Channel primetime program, ‘Justice with Judge Jeanine,’ consistently receives the highest ratings. As a result of her judicial career, she has become quite popular as the host of this program, in which she presents her impartial opinions on high-profile cases, political and legal issues, and crime and justice.
Awards & Achievements
People magazine included Jeanine Pirro on its 1997 list of the “50 Most Beautiful People.” She has been the subject of profiles in publications such as the ‘New Yorker,’ ‘New York Times Magazine,’ ‘More Magazine,’ and ‘New York Magazine.’ In 2011, ‘Judge Jeanine Pirro’ was awarded the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program.
Pirro’s Personal Life
Jeanine Pirro wed Albert Pirro in 1975; they had met in law school. They moved to Harrison, New York, where she worked as an assistant district attorney and he became a lobbyist, following their marriage. They have a daughter and a son.
In the late 1990s, her spouse Albert became a powerful lobbyist and Donald Trump’s associate. He amassed a million-dollar fortune and acquired a home in Harrison, a vacation home in West Palm Beach, two Mercedes-Benz automobiles, and a Ferrari.
In 2000, Jeanine’s reputation was placed at risk when her husband Albert Pirro was sent to prison for evading millions of dollars in federal taxes. The damage to her career was so severe that she contemplated resigning as the district attorney of Westchester. She was accused of using Albert’s corporate credit card to purchase a personal oil portrait and of using the letterhead of the district attorney to negotiate a personal deal with the artist.
She is rumored to have undergone plastic surgery to appear younger. She was also criticized for defending Fox CEO Roger Ailes against allegations of sexual harassment. When she boasted of sending Robert Durst, an heir to a New York real estate fortune, to prison, she once again sparked controversy.
Estimated Net Worth
The net worth of Jeanine Ferris Pirro is $2 million.