James Corden in a tuxe and wife Julia in a silver off-the-shoulder gown on the red carpet© Richard Young/Shutterstock

Meet James Corden and wife Julia's three kids who had royal playmates

The former Late Late Show host used to live near the Duke and Duchess of Sussex

Deputy Lifestyle Editor
Parenting Editor
23 hours ago

Now that he's stepped down as host of The Late Late Show, James Corden can focus on family time with his wife Julia and their three young children.

While Gavin and Stacey star James is a larger-than-life personality who is comfortable in front of the cameras, the same cannot be said of his private family, who followed the TV star on transatlantic moves from the UK to the US and back again. See everything you need to know…

James Corden's home

James Corden, Julia Carey arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 12, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California© Steve Granitz, Getty
The former The Late Late Show host relocated to the UK, where he is building a new home

James and his family relocated from Los Angeles to the UK in 2023. He sold his seven-bedroom, eight-bathroom Brentwood home, which he purchased in 2017 from Modern Family creator Steve Levitan, for $17 million.

His former home featured a swimming pool, a spa, a library and a 20-seat movie theatre.

The actor and comedian has a countryside mansion worth £8 million in Wokingham with a heated pool house and a tennis court. His plans to demolish the property and build another two-storey five-bedroom mansion in its place were granted by the local council in 2023.

James also hoped to build a two-storey pool house, which was removed from the application after English Heritage voiced concerns over its proximity to a Grade II-listed ancient druid stone circle, relocated from Jersey in 1788.

Speaking to Jimmy Fallon about the motivation behind his move, he said: "I'm just leaving the show primarily because we're a long way from home, and we really want our children to know what it's like to grow up in London, to have a solid relationship with their grandparents, and that is time that you don't get back." 

It did not come as a huge surprise that he wanted to return to the UK, since he had made it clear that the US was never his "final destination."

"I love where we live, I love being in Los Angeles… I love it but we always knew it was an adventure and not a final destination.

"This place [the UK] is amazing, this little island. The things it's created, the things it's given the world. I've always been very proud to call it home."

TV producer wife Julia

© John Shearer, Getty
James met his wife at a Save the Children charity event

James married TV producer Julia Carey in 2012 at Babington House in Somerset, three years after they were introduced by James' then-housemate Dominic Cooper at a Save the Children charity event.

Recalling their first meeting, he told People: "I said, ‘I’m really enjoying this sort of thing – like, cooking dinner, falling asleep, not really drinking.' And [Dominic] said, 'Come on, let’s go, it’ll be fun.' Thank God he persuaded me.

"I said, 'Hi, Jules. You might be the most beautiful woman in the world.' She said, 'Well, thank you very much. That sounds like something you say a lot.' And I said, 'I've never said it before in my life.' That was it. That was it, really. I was in. And by an absolute miracle, so was she."

He sang his wife's praises during an appearance on Good Morning Britain. "I absolutely knew minute one that I couldn’t do any better than this. When I met Jules," he said, and Richard Arnold replied: "Were you punching?"

James joked: "It's a miracle. Every day she must just look at me and think, 'What did I do? It’s a huge mistake!'

James and Julia's children

© Allen Berezovsky, Getty
The couple share three kids

James and Julia have three children together: Max, Carey and Charlotte.

The star opened up about his fears for his children's future in a rare interview with The Los Angeles Times, admitting that he expects his kids will want to enter showbiz.

He explained: "I do feel like there is a strong chance that certainly one of our children will want to seek a life in performing arts. But I don't know that we need to kick that off now. I see little evidence that being thrust onto television as a minor is necessarily good for your perspective."

The actor previously spoke of lockdown life with his family on The Ellen Show.

He explained: "Anytime I find myself, or me and my wife and in particular our kids, thinking, 'Oh man this is tough' you just go, 'Well, right around the corner, there's going to be a glorious moment, and I have no idea how long away it is but it'll be spectacular.'"

James Corden's royal playdates

© Getty
James and Julia's kids used to have playdates with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, whose wedding they attended in 2018

James and Julia previously spent time with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex when he lived not far from their Montecito neighbourhood.

Speaking in an interview in The Sun, James was asked if he had been to the couple’s home, to which he replied: "I have. It was more a sort of play date scenario [with the kids]. Then we went out for dinner after, it was lovely."

DON'T MISS: Hailey Bieber's dad Stephen Baldwin shares rare glimpse of what baby Jack is really like

More Parenting

See more