Cristina Perez (born October 27, 1964) is an American actress, television personality, writer and TV judge.

Biography

She was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, raised in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

to parents of Colombian descent, received two

BAs Bas may refer to: People * Bas (name), a given name and a surname * Bas (rapper) (born 1987) Chemistry * Boron arsenide (BAs), a chemical compound * Barium sulfide (BAs), a chemical compound Other uses * ''bas'' (French for "low"), as in bas- ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

and her JD at

Whittier Law School Whittier Law School was a law school in Costa Mesa, California founded in 1966. The law school was part of Whittier College, a private institution. After several years being ranked among the poorest-performing law schools in the United States ba ...

. Perez is best known for presiding over cases in the shows ''

La Corte del Pueblo ''La Corte del Pueblo'' (translated ''The People's Court'') is a Spanish-language reality court show that originally aired on KWHY-TV in Los Angeles but later moved to Telemundo. The show was presided over by Cristina Pérez in its first season ...

'' (1999–2000) and ''

La Corte de Familia ''La Corte de Familia'' (translated ''Family Court'') is a Spanish-language reality court show that aired on Telemundo from 2000 to 2005. The show was presided over by judge Cristina Pérez.

'' (2000–2005) on the

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast. It provides content nationally with prog ...

network. In September 2006, Perez's book ''Living by Los Dichos: Advice from a Mother to a Daughter'' was published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pub ...

. In March 2010, Perez's second book ''It's All about the Woman Who Wears It: 10 Laws for Being Smart, Successful and Sexy Too'' (published by

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.syndicated Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

arbitration-based reality

court show A court show (also known as a judge show, legal/courtroom program, courtroom series, or judicial show) is a broadcast programming subgenre of either legal dramas or reality legal programming. Court shows present content mainly in the form of lega ...

, ''Cristina's Court'', from 2006 to 2009. It was filmed at KRIV, the

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

owned-and-operated station In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an network af ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

. This made Perez one of four Hispanic judges that presided over an English-language American TV judge show, along with

Maria Lopez Maria Lopez (born September 12, 1953) is a Cuban-American former judge and a former television jurist on the syndicated court show, ''Judge Maria Lopez''. Judge Lopez made legal history as the first Latina appointed to the bench in Massachusetts ...

(''

Judge Maria Lopez ''Judge Maria Lopez'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show, presided over by Maria Lopez. On the show, guests themselves presented and argued small claims civil actions before the judge. The half-hour series, produced and distri ...

''),

Alex Ferrer Alejandro Enrique Ferrer (born October 18, 1960), known professionally as Judge Alex, is an American television personality, lawyer, and retired judge who presided as the arbitrator on the eponymous '' Judge Alex''. Early life Ferrer was born ...

(''

Judge Alex ''Judge Alex'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show that was presided over by retired police officer, lawyer, and Florida Judge Alex Ferrer. The series premiered on September 12, 2005, 4 months after ''Texas Justice'' conclude ...

''), and

Marilyn Milian Marilyn Milian (born May 1, 1961) is an American television personality, lecturer, and retired Florida Circuit Court judge. Since March 12, 2001, Milian has presided over the American courtroom television series ''The People's Court''. She is ...

(''

The People's Court ''The People's Court'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show, featuring an arbitrator handling small claims disputes in a simulated courtroom set. Within the court show genre, it is the first of all arbitration-based reality st ...

''). The show was

executive produced Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

by Peter Brennan and directed by

Arthur Bergel Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

. Perez is the first Hispanic judge to cross over from Spanish-language to English-language television. Her ancestry is Colombian, rather than Mexican or Cuban, as had been thought by some of her viewers. The show won the

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The 3 wins was a record until it was tied by

Judge Judy ''Judge Judy'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin. The show featured Sheindlin as she adjudicated real-life small-claims disputes within a simulated court ...

in 2017. Perez participated in a weekly radio segment called "Sex In the News" on the

Playboy Radio Playboy Radio was an internet radio station originally launched on XM Satellite Radio on September 1, 2002. Its programming was dedicated to similar topics and celebrity personalities found in its parent publication, Playboy Magazine. It was ...

, which is broadcast on

Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CMa ...

satellite radio. According to the

Syndicated Network Television Association Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

, Cristina ranked as one of the most trustworthy and influential syndicated hosts on television, ranking second behind Oprah Winfrey among adults 18 to 34 years old.Syndicated Network Television Association
/ref> Ms. Perez returned to the court show genre with ''

Justice for All with Judge Cristina Perez ''Justice for All with Judge Cristina Perez'' is an American nontraditional/dramatized court show that debuted in first-run syndication on September 17, 2012. The series, which is created by Byron Allen through his production company, Enterta ...

'', which has aired from 2012 to now. The program is produced by

Entertainment Studios Entertainment Studios, Inc., also known as Allen Media Group, is an American media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles. Owned and founded in 1993 by businessman Byron Allen, the company was initially involved in the production and ...

which produces two other court shows, ''

America's Court with Judge Ross ''America's Court with Judge Ross'' is an American syndicated court show produced by Entertainment Studios (ES). The program features former Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kevin A. Ross presiding over nontraditional/dramatized small clai ...

'' and ''

We the People With Gloria Allred ''We the People'' (originally ''We the People with Gloria Allred'', upcoming ''We the People with Judge Lauren Lake'') is an American dramatized court show that originally ran for 1 season, debuting on September 12, 2011, and airing in first-r ...

'', all of which have real cases that are re-enacted with actors and scripts. ''Justice for All'' airs in both English and Spanish.

References

External links

Official website for Cristina Perez

Official MySpace page for Judge Cristina Perez

Official Twitter page for Judge Cristina Perez
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Cristina 1968 births Living people Lawyers from Los Angeles University of California, Los Angeles alumni Whittier Law School alumni Television judges American women judges American people of Colombian descent 21st-century American women Colombian actresses Colombian actors