Jeanine Pirro

In 1975, Jeanine Pirro married Albert Pirro, whom she had met while she was in law school. After marriage they moved to Harrison, New York, where she worked as an assistant district attorney and he took up a job as a lobbyist. They have a son and a daughter.

By the late 1990s, her husband Albert had become a powerful lobbyist and an associate of Donald Trump. He became a millionaire, owned a house in Harrison, and a vacation property in West Palm Beach, two Mercedes-Benz vehicles, and a Ferrari.

In 2000, Jeanine’s reputation was at stake when her husband Albert Pirro was sent to jail for federal tax evasion of millions. Her career was so badly affected that she considered resigning from her position as Westchester District Attorney. She herself was accused of using Albert's corporate credit card to get a personal oil portrait made and of using her district attorney's letterhead to negotiate a personal deal with the artist.

Jeanine Ferris Pirro was born on June 2, 1951 in Elmira, New York, to Lebanese-American parents Nasser ‘Leo’ and Esther ‘Awad’ Ferris. Her father was a salesman for mobile homes and her mother worked as a department store model. She has a sister called Lulu.

She went to Notre Dame High School, and during that time, interned at the Chemung County District Attorney's office. She stated in an interview that she knew that she wanted to be an attorney when she was only six. She graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo with Bachelor of Arts degree.

In 1975, she received her Juris Doctor degree from Albany Law School of Union University in New York. While attending law school, she served as an editor of the Law Review.

In 1975, Jeanine Pirro joined as an Assistant District Attorney at the Westchester County Court. In 1978, she set up the Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Bureau, and was appointed the first chief of the bureau.

In 1986, she was selected as the Westchester County Executive. That same year, she announced her lieutenant gubernatorial candidacy, but just one day prior to the voting for the nomination, she withdrew from the race, as she stated that her husband could not disclose his business information, which was a requirement.

Her career as a prosecutor was a successful one, with almost 100% conviction rate. In November 1990, she was elected as Westchester County's first female judge after she was successful in the run as a Republican against Democratic and Right to Life Party nominees.

In November 1993, she was elected the first woman District Attorney of Westchester County. She held the post till 2005. After been re-elected in 1997 and 2001, she did not run for a fourth term.

She was also the first female President of the New York State District Attorneys Association. As the district attorney, she chaired important commissions including the Commission on Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board.

One of Jeanine Pirro’s most significant achievements is her effort to establish the Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Bureau. The bureau specializes in domestic violence as the name suggests.

Her office won the grant to start the bureau, and she became the first chief of the bureau. She came to be known as an aggressive bureau chief and was very strict against dropping cases at a victim's request. Although her passion and achievements as the bureau chief were praised, she drew criticism as well due to her attention-seeking attitude.

Her current TV show ‘Justice with Judge Jeanine’ is a consistently highest-rated primetime show on Fox News Channel. After her judicial career, she has become quite popular hosting this show as she presents her unbiased views on high-profile cases, political and legal issues, and crime and justice.