‘Big Brother’ Host Julie Chen Is All About Embracing Motherhood: Meet Her Son Charlie

Big Brother host Julie Chen has been leading the CBS competition show since it began airing in 2000. After becoming the face of the franchise, the New York native gained a huge following of fans that look forward to seeing her on their television screens each year. In the off-season, Julie loves spending time with her son, Charlie Moonves, with former CBS chairman Les Moonves.  

When Did Julie Chen Get Married?

Julie and Les were married in December 2004 in Mexico. Julie began her career at CBS as an anchor for CBS Morning News, CBS This Morning and The Early Show. Once she settled into the role of reality competition host, her fame soared to new heights. She wasn’t sure if starting a family was in her cards, and her husband already had three children from a previous marriage. “I never wanted kids and I never wanted to get married,” the former The Talk cohost told Buzzfeed in August 2015. 

When Was Julie Chen’s Son Born?

Julie revealed she was pregnant with her first child during season 11 of Big Brother. Her baby bump was on full display throughout the season, all the way up to the show’s finale on September 15, 2009. Two weeks after the season wrapped, the television personality gave birth to Charlie on September 29, 2009. 

The youngster has remained out of the spotlight for most of his life, making only a few rare public appearances on the red carpet with his mom. Julie did reveal in a December 2012 interview that there is a sentimental tradition of writing letters to Charlie that she started when he was 1. “We’ll save them until he’s 21, 25 or whenever he’s mature enough to appreciate what he means to us,” the Celebrity Big Brother host said. 

In addition to writing letters, Julie gushed about having a fun Christmas with Charlie in New York City that year. “I feel like I haven’t had a Christmas in New York for so long and I wanted to do that for my son,” she added. “While we’re here, I’m doing every touristy thing. Everything – the tree, ice skating. I’m going to play New York tourist.” 

Julie has established herself as a long-running reality show host, a role she takes tremendous pride in. Though it doesn’t look like she will be stepping down from her Big Brother job any time soon, she did joke about Charlie potentially taking over. 

“I cannot picture Big Brother without me hosting it. I mean, I’ve been there since the beginning. I feel like it’s my child, you know. It’d be giving up my child,” the CBS star told Us Weekly in July 2021. “No, and I’ve said this before, but Bob Barker hosted The Price is Right for 55 years. But that show did go on without him. I mean, at some point, I hope it only goes on without me if I’m six feet under, and I’m not hoping for that. Or pass it on to my son, I’ve told them. That would be funny.”