- James Corden is a comedian from England who hosted ‘The Late Late Show’ between 2016 and 2023
- He is the husband of Julia Corden and father to three kids
- James retired from ‘The Late Late Show’ in an effort to spend more time with his family
James Corden‘s success as a comedian and television host has made him a celebrity in his own right, but in reality, most of his job is to speak with celebrities. Despite his show’s popularity, James, 44, announced that he would be ending The Late Late Show in April 2023 after eight years of hosting. “My kids are getting older, their grandparents are getting older, and it perhaps just felt like the right time for us as a family to be freer in our decisions,” he explained of his exit in a June 2022 interview with Extra.
“Nothing about leaving the show was to do with not enjoying it. I love it, but the truth is it became a very easy decision because I always knew it was an adventure and I never ever considered it to be the final destination,” he explained of his departure further on The Drew Barrymore Show in Jan. 2023. “I will know at my core that the best thing for me and the best thing for us as a family is to put down some roots in London, and it feels absolutely right in every single way.”
The Tony Award winner is married to Julia Corden, nee Carey, and has welcomed three kids with her following their 2012 nuptials. Read on to learn all there is to know about James’ kids, who he keeps out of the spotlight.
Max Corden
James and Julia welcomed their son, Max, in 2011. While naming your first child may be a difficult undertaking, James did so with the help of Beatles Legend Sir Paul McCartney. Apparently, James gave Max the middle name McCartney as an unusual form of payment for Paul to appear in a sketch for UK-based charity Comic Relief. “I laid it on very thick, telling him, ‘People won’t die if you do our sketch,'” he recalled on a 2013 episode of The Graham Norton Show (via Mirror). “It makes it very difficult for people to say no,” he added. Paul agreed to appear in the sketch after James promised to name his child after him, and the rest is history. Max has a second middle name, Kimberley, which also serves as James’ middle name.
It appears that James has always been concerned about how much time he spends with his kids. Shortly before he took the reigns of The Late Late Show, he revealed that he and his son Max always spend their Saturdays together. “My son calls Saturday, ‘Dad-urday’ and Sunday is Funday,” he said at the Vanity Fair Young Hollywood party in 2015, per PEOPLE. “We will get to have that and that’s the most important thing.” Max was 3 years old when his father raved about their special time together. He is now 11 years old.
In 2018, the talented television host revealed that Max is a trained singer. “My last moment of pride was sitting outside my son’s bedroom while he had a singing lesson. He’s going to do his school’s talent show and he was singing a song from Dear Evan Hansen. I listened to him singing it, and it made me feel unbelievably proud that he would do such a thing,” he gushed to PEOPLE.
Carey Corden
James and Julia’s second child and first girl, Carey Corden, was born two years into their marriage in 2014. Her first name is Julia’s maiden name. While Carey was born in the UK like her brother, she’s been primarily raised in America, as the growing family moved to the US in 2015 when James landed his hosting gig on The Late Late Show.
While very little is known about Carey, who is now 8 years old, James revealed at the Vanity Fair Young Hollywood that his little girl smiles a lot. “She’s a cutie!” he proudly stated.
Charlotte Corden
Charlotte Corden made her way into the world in 2017 on a filming day for James. Luckily, fellow Brit Harry Styles was happy to take over and host the Late Late Show that evening so James could support Julia through labor. Bryan Cranston stepped in the following night as James and Julia became acclimated to being a family of five. James joked in 2018 that he was only able to have a third child after moving to Los Angeles, as there wasn’t enough space across the pond in London. “I feel so lucky that we have three healthy children. I just feel really blessed with all of it,” he told PEOPLE.
James Has Been Brutally Honest About Fatherhood
Despite being thrilled to be a father of three, James has been quite frank about the struggles of parenthood. In 2018, he recalled an eye-opening experience when he and his wife attempted to take all three of their kids out to eat. “It’s just a nightmare. I got back from Liverpool on Sunday, and we thought, ‘Let’s take the kids out. Let’s go for lunch,'” he divulged to PEOPLE. “I mean, it’s a joke. We actually went to a place at the end of our road for lunch, and we looked like we were fleeing the country. We had that much stuff. It’s absurd.”
He also told the publication that he hates being away from his family ahead of the 2018 Grammys, which was hosted in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, across the country from his family in California. “I sort of can’t bear being away from everybody,” he stated. “We just had a daughter and it feels a little soon to try and travel as a family. So unfortunately they will be in Los Angeles and I will be in New York.”
“I think there will be a lot of FaceTiming before the show, with my wife saying, ‘Breathe, shut up, get over yourself, it’s not about you,’” he joked. “She’s an incredible sort of calming presence for me.”
Now, it appears Corden will get all the time he needs with his family as he moves on from The Late Late Show to his next adventure.