The Amazing Race Wiki
Register
Advertisement

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
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:
     The team finished in first place
     The team finished in last place and was eliminated from the race
     The team finished in last place in a non-elimination leg
     The team that won The Amazing Race
     The team that crossed the Finish Line second
     The team that crossed the Finish Line third
The team used the Fast Forward pass
ϵ The team used the Express Pass somewhere during the leg
The team used the U-Turn
Recipient of the U-Turn
The team that used the second slot of the "Double U-Turn"
Recipient of a second U-Turn due to the "Double U-Turn" twist

Notes:
1: Denise & James Earl initially arrived 5th, but received a 30-minute penalty due to Denise verbally helping James Earl at the Roadblock. Logan & Chris checked in during this time, dropping them to 6th.
2: Denise & James Earl used their Express Pass to bypass the Crocs Detour.
3: Leg 6 featured two Roadblocks. The team member who sat out the first Roadblock was required to perform the second one.
4: Leg 6 had no mandatory rest period between legs, and all teams were ordered to continue racing. Denise & James Earl did not have to face a Speed Bump during Leg 7, despite coming in last during Leg 6.

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[]


References[]

The Amazing Race 27 Teams
 Alex & Adam
Cousins
S27 AlexAdam
 Cindy & Rick
Newlyweds
S27 CindyRick
 Denise & James Earl
Mother/Son
S27 DeniseJamesEarl
 Ernest & Jin
Brothers
S27 ErnestJin
 Jazmine & Danielle
Athlete Friends
S27 JazmineDanielle
S27 JustinDiana
 Kelly & Shevonne
TMZ Co-Workers
S27 KellyShevonne
 Kelsey & Joey
Dating News Anchors
S27 KelseyJoey
 Logan & Chris
Dating Paparazzi
S27 LoganChris
 Tanner & Josh
Best Friends
S27 TannerJosh
 Tiffany & Krista
Former Cheerleaders
S27 TiffanyKrista
Advertisement