Denise Williams and James Earl Corley are a Mother/Son team on The Amazing Race 27.
Denise & James Earl came into the race looking to mend their relationship after not being on speaking terms for a while after James Earl came out. They regularly bickered during their time on the race, though this did not seem to affect their performance as they regularly finished near the top half of the pack, save for a slump in the middle of the race. Their strong performances, along with their ability to work well with other teams, allowed them to make it to the final five, though they lost time while searching for the Pit Stop at the end of the ninth leg. This put them behind the other teams in the following leg, which did not have any bunching points for them to catch up. Despite Logan & Chris being U-Turned, Denise & James Earl could not overcome the time deficit due to James Earl having problems at the Roadblock earlier in the leg, being eliminated in 5th place.
Profile[]
Retrieved from CBS.com[1]
Denise[]
Age: 51
Hometown: Prattville, Ala.
Connection to your teammate: Mother
Current occupation: Administrative Assistant
Describe what you do: I help law enforcement agencies in the great state of Alabama get military surplus property.
3 words to describe you: Energetic, athletic and flirtatious.
Favorite hobbies: Working out, watching Auburn football and watching movies.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? Raising the most wonderful son and getting a black belt in Taekwondo.
What famous person reminds you of yourself? Julia Roberts.
What famous person reminds you of your teammate? Doogie Howser, M.D.
What scares you most about traveling? I am so afraid of losing my luggage but more importantly my lipstick.
What excites you most about traveling? Traveling to other countries and seeing how people outside of America live. I love a new adventure!
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: He believes that I have a problem with him being gay. I want to prove to him that I don't.
Pet peeve about your teammate: He is too picky about keeping his house clean and gets mad when someone "messes it up" even though I'm just using the restroom.
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? I would love to go back to Japan. I had a great experience when I was living there and the people were terrific!
What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other than winning one million bucks)? I hope to show my son that I love him unconditionally.
James Earl[]
Age: 26
Hometown: Prattville, Ala.
Connection to your teammate: Son
Current occupation: Resident Physician
Describe what you do: I am a brand new internal medicine resident who gets to take care of sick folks in the hospital.
3 words to describe you: Driven, compassionate and enthusiastic.
Favorite hobbies: Running, baking and watching movies.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? I am most proud of being the head drum major for the Auburn University Marching Band - the highest level of student leadership and face of the program.
What famous person reminds you of yourself? Jim Parsons.
What famous person reminds you of your teammate? Kellie Pickler.
What scares you most about traveling? Traveling to places that have harsh anti LGBT laws. I am not one to hide the fact that I am gay.
What excites you most about traveling? Learning about the cultures of all the different people and places around the world.
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: We both usually have brilliant ideas but do not always listen to each other. Hopefully, the race will force us to start hearing what the other has to say.
Pet peeve about your teammate: She has no appreciation for quiet time. She will literally talk non-stop for hours!
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? I would love to visit Rome, Italy to see all of the great architecture and art it has to offer.
What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other than winning one million bucks)? I am hoping we can reconnect and bond. After I came out, we were not on speaking terms for some time. We have started fixing this but hopefully the race will bring us closer together than ever.
The Amazing Race 27[]
Race History[]
Denise & James Earl's Race History | ||||||
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Episode | Leg | Destination(s) | Detour Choice (underlined) |
Roadblock Performer |
Placement | Notes |
1 | 1 | United States → Brazil | Sand / Sidewalk | No Roadblock | 4 of 11 | |
2 | 2 | Brazil → Argentina | Cartoneros / Fleteros | James Earl | 3 of 10 | |
3 | 3 | Argentina | Horse / Carriage | James Earl | 6 of 9 | [1] |
4 | 4 | Argentina → Zambia → Zimbabwe | Co-Op / Croquet | Denise | 3 of 8 | |
5 | 5 | Zimbabwe | Crocs / Canoes | James Earl | 1 of 8ϵ | [2] |
6 | 6 | Zimbabwe → France | Drops Mic / Bust a Crab | Denise | 7 of 7 | [3][4] |
James Earl | ||||||
7 | 7 | France → Netherlands | Ship / Skip | Denise | 6 of 7 | |
8 | 8 | Netherlands → Poland | Mine / Music | James Earl | 3 of 6 | |
9 | 9 | Poland → India | Cans / Candy | Denise | 5 of 6 | |
10 | 10 | India | Bring the Groom / Bring the Fun | James Earl | 5 of 5 | |
Average | 4.30 | |||||
Legend:
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Notes:
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Post-Race[]
Trivia[]
External links[]
Interviews[]
- Josh Wigler at Parade (12/01/2015): "The Amazing Race 27's Team Alabama Opens Up About Their Experience "
- Sheryl Block at CTV.ca (12/02/2015): "Being on 'The Amazing Race' helped Denise and James Earl restore relationship"
- Amber Sutton at AL.com (12/03/2015): "How 'The Amazing Race' brought this Alabama mother-son duo back together"
- Elizabeth Kwiatkowski at Reality TV World (12/2015): "Exclusive: 'The Amazing Race' team Denise Williams and James Earl Corley talk" (Parts 1 & 2)
- Peggy Reisser at UTHSC (2017): "UTHSC Resident James Earl Corley Finds Lessons Learned as Contestant on CBS's "The Amazing Race" Make Him a Better Physician"
Social Media[]
- Denise's Facebook: /dmwilliams105
- James Earl's Facebook: /jecorley
- James Earl's Twitter: @jecorley
- James Earl's Instagram: /jamesearlcorley
References[]
The Amazing Race 27 Teams | ||||||||||||
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