Get To Know Petri Hawkins-Byrd From Early Life and Rift with Wife to Career and Net Worth

Publish date: 2024-05-21

Petri Hawkins-Byrd is a family man who loves his wife and children wholeheartedly.

Unfortunately, there was a point in time when this family man's relationship with his wife was on the verge of destruction. Thankfully, the couple took steps to mend their differences and made it work in the end.

Brooklyn native Hawkins-Byrd is a television personality famous for the role of Bailiff in the Emmy award-winning court show Judge Judy.

Besides Judge Judy, he is also a stand-up comedian and has lent his voice for many commercials, TV shows, video games, and radio.

Bio, Career, and Family

Born on 29 November 1957 in Jacksonville, North Carolina as Petri Adonis Byrd, the man of age 63 currently, was the youngest among his family of five siblings. His father was a drug dealer and his life revolved around the prison system, and rehab.

Besides his father, he is very close to his mother, siblings and often shares pictures with them on his Instagram.

As a child, his escape was school, movies, and TV shows. He attended Southwest High School and then Hostos Community College.

In 1989 he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

His Journey From Courtrooms to TV Shows

During his time at John Jay, he worked as a court officer in the Brooklyn Family Court system. In 1986 he worked for several judges including Judge Sheindlin at Manhattan Family Court System.

After graduating from John Jay, he moved to California to serve as Special Deputy for the U.S Marshall in 1990. After three years, he accepted an offer to work as a counselor at Monta Vista High School.

His life turn around when he sent a letter congratulating Judge Scheindlin for her new book and upcoming TV show in 1995. He also jokingly stated his will to work with her again to which Judge Sheindlin replied with a phone call and a job offer.

And that’s how got his breakthrough job as a bailiff on the TV show Judge Judy!

Blissful Marriage With Wife Once Faced Downfall

Hawkins's love life is an outcome of second chances!

Petri is married to his wife Felicia and has a family of six, including four children. But their relationship faced some struggles in 1989 after which the couple lived separately. His wife and children moved to the West Coast.

But the couple still had some feelings left for each other which led the pair to join cross-country counseling. And that step did turn out to be fruitful. After five months of counseling Petri reconciled with his wife. They have been together ever since.

The loving husband also turned out to be a great father as he is very close to his children. He even reflected his love towards them through a sweet poem composed by himself.

Petri Hawkins dedicates a poem showering love for his children and grandchildren (Source: BlackAmericaWeb)

The sweet poem will definitely be passed onto many generations in the family too as he also dedicated it to his grandchildren!

Net Worth and Salary

Hawkins-Byrd has accumulated a net worth of $3.5million. This amount is hardly surprising given that he has worked in a variety of different fields.

He's worked in courtrooms his whole life, he was also the deputy officer to a counselor and he has credits in TV shows, videogames, and movies.

However, the most significant chunk of his earnings undoubtedly comes from his 25-year long career on Judge Judy.

From just the TV show he earned an estimated average salary of $1 million a year.

'Judge Judy' Wraps Up After Season 25

After 25 years of being on-air, Judge Judy is finally putting down its hammer once and for all. However, Judith Sheindlin will be back in the courtroom and on our screens with Judy Justice. The new show is expected to launch anytime between late 2021 and early 2022.

Apparently, the show was picked up for 120 episodes. This comes as no surprise given how monumental Judge Judy was.

We can only assume that Hawkins-Byrd, who was with Sheindlin in roughly 12,500 cases on Judge Judy, will be back as the bailiff on Judy Justice.