Judge Judy Sheindlin seems like she's been part of our TV lives forever with her show, "Judge Judy." And while it hasn't been quite that long, 23 years is a pretty impressive achievement.
As she explained to Ellen DeGeneres on Friday's show, she's got a little over two years left in her contract, after which ... she has no plans to go anywhere.
"What would you do every day?" the 76-year-old judge asked about retirement. "This job, believe it or not, it's an anchor because it gives you someplace to go."
"I work every other week," she added. "So that's my anchor, and it gives me plenty of downtime to get bored, and when I get bored I usually harass people."
That all ties in with her philosophy on aging, too.
"You have two choices as you get older," she said. "You know who told me that age is just a number for the first time? Florence Henderson."
She explained how she and the former "Brady Bunch" mom had gone out to dinner for Henderson's 70th, and afterward the older actress said she was fine to drive home on her own. "I said, '70 is 70,'" Sheindlin recalled, "and she said, 'Judy, 70 is the new 50. It's just a number.'"
That was an important ruling for the judge.
"The people I know who are older and spirited look like they're having a good time," she continued. "The people who are older and don't do anything to keep themselves younger don't look like they're getting the best bang for their buck out of life."
Clearly, we know what category Judge Judy is in! But even she has her moments of doubt.
"I feel young — except when I look in a full-length mirror," she quipped. "Naked."
