Sonia Montejano

Sonia Montejano grew up in the Los Angeles area where she continues to call home. She is a native of Mexico, and is fluent in Spanish. Sonia attended California State University Los Angeles prior to graduating from Rio Hondo Police Academy at the age of 21. Wanting to have a positive effect on gender equality and having a strong sense of justice, it was a natural choice for Sonia to begin her law enforcement career with the Los Angeles County Marshal's Department. There she was assigned to the enforcement of civil judgments, soon after, the Department merged with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. Deputy Montejano was promoted to Senior Deputy, and remained assigned to Court Services Division where she supervised personnel and courthouse operations. Sonia used her strategy skills to prepare security plans for high profile court cases at the Beverly Hills Courthouse, and it was there that she became involved with the celebrity court trials of Winona Ryder and Courtney Love. The real Deputy became the first armed Hollywood Bailiff when producers of the Judge Joe Brown show took notice of Senior Deputy Montejano, and offered her the position of bailiff on the CBS syndicated show. Deputy Montejano retired from her nearly twenty-year career to accept the role. Sonia became known as Madam Sonia and remained on the show for seven years, until its unexpected ending in 2013. Today Sonia Montejano continues to keep the peace and personifies courtroom decorum as she plays herself on Hot Bench, a Judge Judy Production, on CBS. She is the only bailiff to have worked in two different such reality programs. Sonia is passionate about life, and enjoys staying fit by taking long walks with her dog Lola, as well as jogging, hiking and mountain biking. Another subject dear to Sonia's heart is historic preservation, and she has devoted countless hours to this cause, restoring Spanish Revival homes, and volunteering with The Glendale Historical Society where she serves as Director of the Doctors House, a Victorian House Museum. In her free time, Sonia has spoken with children at various schools on the importance of education, as well as teaching etiquette to help promote confidence. Additionally, she is also an avid chess player, photographer, model, traveler, a devotee to the art of Flamenco dance, and typically finds herself in the midst of a new and exciting project. Though much has been noted about her professional careers and numerous activities consuming her free time, equal mention should be made to her ability to remain a feminine figure despite her male dominated chosen profession. Some fans have described her as the epitome of grace. To see her speak and walk into a room, one can't help but notice a natural elegance surrounding her demeanor. Sonia has managed to accentuate her natural feminine qualities by embracing them. Some close to her have suggested she is a "professional lounger". Her own admissions reveal she has a fetish for silk robes, inspired by images of Geisha's and Golden Era Hollywood starlets. Sonia enjoys salt baths after a long days work, and then wrapping herself in a luxurious robe to read a book.