James Corden's 3 Kids: All About Max, Carey and Charlotte

James Corden is looking forward to spending more time with his family.

The late-night host shares three children with his wife Julia Carey, whom he married in 2012 after three years of dating. Prior to saying "I do," James and Julia became first-time parents with the birth of their son, Max, 11, in 2011. Daughters Carey, 10, and Charlotte, 6, soon followed in 2014 and 2017, respectively.

When James signed on as the new host of The Late Late Show in 2015, his career took off in insurmountable ways — and Julia and the kids remained right by his side through it all. But in June 2022, the "Carpool Karaoke" star announced it was in his family's best interest to walk away from the show.

"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," Corden explained to Extra of his decision.

While balancing his rising fame and fatherhood has not always been easy, his kids make it all "worthwhile."

During a Jan. 2, 2022, appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Corden spoke further about his decision to leave The Late Late Show.

"Look it's not easy in any way to walk away from something that is so… I mean I'll never work in a better environment than the one I work in now," he said. "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."

The father of three recalled a moment when he told his son Max that he had to work on a Sunday. Corden recalled, "his face just kind of dropped."

"I got in the car and I called my wife Jules and I said, 'I've realized, best-case scenario we have six more summers where Max is like, even remotely wants to be around us and I cannot waste another one,' " he added.

Soon after announcing his retirement from The Late Late Show, Corden was seen spending quality time with his son Max and daughter Carey.

The actor brought his older kids to the Crypto.com Arena on Jan. 24, 2023, where they sat courtside to watch the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Los Angeles Clippers. The trio were photographed smiling and the kids were even seen dancing.

During his final episode of Carpool Karaoke in April 2023, which featured Adele, Corden said he was "certain" that it was time for his family "to go home" to England after living in Los Angeles for nearly a decade.

Keep reading for everything there is to know about James Corden's three children.

Max McCartney Kimberley Corden, 11

James and Julia welcomed their first child together in March 2011. Max has two middle names, one of which is a nod to Beatles legend Paul McCartney. James explained to PEOPLE that he had recruited the musician to participate in a Comic Relief sketch with the promise that he would name his son after him. "I always come through on a promise," James said. "I sent Paul a picture of Max's birth certificate and he was so lovely about that. He couldn't believe I went through with it."

In addition to taking his moniker from one of his dad's famous pals, Max has another star-studded influence in his life: his godfather Dominic Cooper. The actor actually introduced James to his future wife Julia, so it was fitting that the couple chose Cooper to be the godparent of their first child. During a 2018 appearance on James' show, however, the old friends engaged in some gentle ribbing after Cooper temporarily forgot Max's middle name.

When Max was little, work-life balance was very important for James. "My son calls Saturday, 'Dad-urday' and Sunday is Funday," he said in 2015. "We will get to have that and that's the most important thing."

It looks like Max may have inherited his dad's musical tune. For his school's talent show, he performed a number from Dear Evan Hansen. "My last moment of pride was sitting outside my son's bedroom while he had a singing lesson," James told PEOPLE in 2018. "I listened to him singing it, and it made me feel unbelievably proud that he would do such a thing."

The couple and their kids are a close bunch. While appearing on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's podcast, Archewell Audio, James reflected on the unexpected blessings that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think being able to spend time with my children, I feel like my relationship with them has changed," he told the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. "Being around them more, the five of us in our house has really brought quite a lot of joy to me."

That isn't to say parenthood hasn't come without its hardships, like caravanning a family of five to a restaurant, for example. Speaking with PEOPLE, James said family outings can sometimes be a "nightmare," especially if they involve food.

"You're asking for the check before you've sat down," Corden explained. "You're just shoveling pasta and butter into one of their mouths as you're trying to eat yours. You have to leave a huge tip, because the place is covered in crayons. And it's just not worth it."

Carey Corden, 10

The couple's older daughter, Carey, was born on Oct. 27, 2014, in London. She was named after Julia's maiden name. "She just grins really big," James told reporters of his newborn daughter at the time. "She's a cutie!"

A few weeks after Carey's birth, the family uprooted their lives in London so James could take over as host of The Late Late Show in Los Angeles. While a huge career milestone, James said it "pales in significance" to being a dad. "What's more scary? Being a father. No question," he said. "It's just a TV show. It all pales in significance."

With a house full of kids, James told PEOPLE he "sort of can't bear being away from everybody." Being a dad of three has also shifted his relationship with other parents. "It's such a wonderful thing to be a parent. You realize how indifferent you were before you had children," James explained. "People used to show you a photo and you'd go, 'Yea, that's a kid.' Now I go, 'Oh my God, look at that!' "

Fatherhood has also had a significant impact on the types of movie roles and projects James takes on. He told Baby that he decided to join the cast of Peter Rabbit because of his kids. Albeit, they were less impressed with their dad's voice work than he had hoped.

"It's funny though, you do these films expecting some kind of gushing recognition, adulation and love from your kids, then they look at you as if they genuinely couldn't care less," he told the magazine.

"At the same time though, that's the great thing about having a family. It doesn't matter who you are or what you do out there," he added. "When you're at home, behind closed doors, you're no one special. And that's fine. Even when they're 16 and 13 and 10, who cares. I'm just dad – I do the dishes and make funny faces, that's all I'm good for."

Charlotte Corden, 6

The couple welcomed their youngest child, daughter Charlotte, on Dec. 12, 2017. "Today we welcomed a beautiful baby daughter into the world. Both she and her mother are doing great. We can't stop smiling," the Late Late Show host wrote on Twitter at the time.

Charlotte's arrival came early and her dad almost missed the birth. As he later explained to PEOPLE, James was in New York when he got a text from Julia's nurse in L.A. that baby number three was on the way. "I jumped in a taxi, and I booked a plane ticket on my phone on the way to the airport, and I made it with about 20 minutes to spare before they'd have shut the gate," he said.

He continued, "Then I had five hours on the plane, and I was thinking, 'If I land and our daughter's arrived, this is going to really suck.' "

James made it back right in the nick of time, however, the couple were so caught up in Charlotte's early arrival that they didn't have time to pick out a name.

"After the baby was born — anyone who's been in this situation will know — we were both crying, I was crying my eyes out, my wife's crying her eyes out, the baby's crying and the doctor asked about her name," James recalled on his first show back. So, the late-night host jokingly told the doctor, "We're going to call her Beyoncé."

"My wife did not think that was funny," he added.

James did, however, miss a taping of the Late Late Show, but luckily his friend Harry Styles was able to fill in as host. "I was actually just at the hospital before I came to fill in and she looks a lot like James." The pop star added jokingly, "Mainly because James looks like a giant baby."

Much like their father, Charlotte and her siblings have some pretty famous friends. In May 2022, James revealed to The Sun that his kids have play dates with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's children.