As one of the most talked-about figures, Petri Hawkins-Byrd has built a significant fortune. Our team analyzed the latest data to provide a clear picture of their income.

What Is Petri Hawkins-Byrd's Net Worth and Salary?

After finding out that Sheindlin would be filming a new show in Los Angeles, Byrd sent her a letter of congratulations and stated, "If you ever need a bailiff, my uniform still fits." Judy called Petri and offered him the role, and Byrd appeared on the show from 1996 to 2021. After being cast on the show, Petri added "Hawkins" to his name in honor of his late mother.

Interestingly, Petri was not asked to be a bailiff on Sheindlin's Amazon show "Judy Justice," and when he reached out to Judy to find out why, she told him his salary was not in the budget.

Petri Hawkins-Byrd is an American bailiff, television personality, actor, writer, and producer who has a net worth of $2.5 million. Also known as Bailiff Byrd, Petri Hawkins-Byrd began working as a bailiff in the Brooklyn court system in the early 1980s, and then he moved to the Family Court in Manhattan. While serving as a bailiff in Manhattan, Byrd began working for Judge Judith Sheindlin, and after hearing that Judge Sheindlin was going to be featured on her own court show, he wrote her a letter of congratulations. She subsequently called him and invited him to serve as her bailiff on the show, and Petri has become famous all over the United States in his capacity as bailiff on "Judge Judy." Byrd wrote, executive produced, and starred in the 2017 TV movie "Tom Hennessy," and he also produced and starred in the 2022 film "A Polished Soul." Petri has more than 25 acting credits to his name, including the films "Playing Mona Lisa" (2000), "Redemption of the Ghost" (2002), "A Deeper Love" (2007), "In the Eyes of a Killer" (2009), "Under the Palm Tree" (2021), and "Amy's F**k It List" (2023) and the television series "Nash Bridges" (1997), "The Parkers" (2000), "Everybody Hates Chris" (2006), "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (2017), "The Bold and the Beautiful" (2021), and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (2022). In 2023, he began serving as a bailiff on the Amazon Freevee court show "Tribunal Justice," which was created by Sheindlin.

Petri Hawkins-Byrd was born Petri Adonis Byrd on November 29, 1957, in Brooklyn, New York. Byrd began doing impressions at an early age, and his father thought he was so funny that he and his friends often called young Petri from prison to hear his impressions. Byrd imitated celebrities such asBill Cosby,Flip Wilson, Sammy Davis Jr., andDean Martin. He was raised by a stay-at-home mom who he has described as a strict disciplinarian who stressed the importance of treating people with respect and getting a good education. Byrd has said of his childhood, "My escapes were going to school, reading, television and movies—anything that would take me out of the world I was in and put me in a world that could be." Petri attended Eastern District High School, then he enrolled at Hostos Community College. He had become interested in law during his youth due to the civil rights movement and Jim Crow laws, and in the early '80s, he began working as a court officer for the New York City court system's Brooklyn circuit.

Petri Hawkins-Byrd's salary during his time on "Judge Judy" is not known, but it is known that he was paid on a per-episode basis, as opposed to annual salary. Using comparable earnings from similar daytime television personalities, let's say he earned $5,000 per episode. That would have worked out to around $1.2 million per 250-episode season. If he earned $1,000 per episode, that would have worked out to $250,000 per season.

Byrd was transferred to Manhattan's family court division in 1986 while he was studying at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which led to him meeting the Supervising Family Court Judge for Manhattan, Judge Judy Sheindlin. From 1986 to 1989, Petri served as a courtroom officer for various judges in the Manhattan family court system. He said of working as Sheindlin's bailiff during this time, "I was never bored in her courtroom. Her get-to-the-point style didn't always sit well with the litigants, and there were times she was definitely glad to have me around." Byrd earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 1989, and the following year he moved to California to reconcile with his then-wife, Felicia, and worked as a Special Deputy U.S. Marshall in San Mateo. In 1992, he took a job at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, California, as a student counselor, and he stayed at the job until 1996.

(ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

Ultimately, Petri Hawkins-Byrd's financial journey is a testament to their success.

Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.