Paula Deen is back in the spotlight over a decade after courting major controversy and losing all of her major contracts and shows. The cookbook author, restaurateur and Food Network star's reputation seemingly plummeted overnight after being sued by an employee at her brother's restaurant for racial and sexual discrimination, and then admitting in her deposition that she did in fact use a racial slur (specifically, the N-word). Since then, she's kept a much lower profile while continuing her work in the restaurant and TV space.
Now, at 78, the TV chef is the star of Billy Corben's new documentary, Canceled: The Paula Deen Story, which provides her own take on what allegedly happened concerning the lawsuit, how she feels her reputation has been "tainted" in the past decade, and how she and her family members have been living and working in the 12 years since.
Thoroughly involved in every process from start to finish, and featured in the documentary as well, are her two sons, Jamie and Bobby Deen. The pair have been by their mother's side from the very beginning, born to her first husband Jimmy Deen, who she married when she was just 18. Read on to learn more about Jamie and Bobby's lives in the spotlight, and where they stand on Canceled now…
Paula Deen with her sons Jamie [far left] and Bobby [right]
Jamie Deen, 58
Jamie Deen, the older of Paula and Jimmy's two sons, was born in 1967, two years after they got married. Following her divorce in 1989, Jamie stepped up with his brother to support their mom in her business venture, The Bag Lady, preparing lunches for workers. Jamie and his younger brother Bobby would act as delivery boys.
In 1996, Jamie partnered with Paula and Bobby to open their restaurant The Lady & Sons in Savannah, Georgia. The restaurant was a success, eventually becoming what propelled the family to nationwide fame, followed by cookbooks and a deal with the Food Network that began in 1999. Jamie featured often on his mom's shows Paula's Home Cooking and Paula's Party, although not as prominently as his brother.
The Lady & Sons closed in July 2025, but Jamie remains a business partner with his mom and brother. He co-authored four cookbooks with Bobby, and he now lives in Savannah, Georgia with his wife Brooke and their three children. He also participated in Canceled, telling The Hollywood Reporter: "I'm here for Mom. That's it. Mom feels like this is an opportunity, and my prayer is she will get what she needs from this."
Bobby Deen more prominently assumed the spotlight compared to his older brother. While he found fame in the same avenues, as a business partner for The Lady & Sons and his mom's Food Network shows, he also was instrumental in branching out with their own shows like Road Tasted. He's also helmed shows of his own like Not My Mama's Meals, Holiday Baking Championship, Spring Baking Championship and Junk Food Flip.
He wrote his own cookbook, From Mama's Table to Mine, which was a bestseller, and made his feature film debut in the 2017 project In Search of Liberty. In 2013, he married his wife Claudia Lovera, and they welcomed triplets in 2019. Speaking with THR, Bobby was less keen about the documentary, saying: "It just felt like a lot of time had passed. I didn't see the reason to go back and over it and rehash it. Because we had survived it. As a family, we had survived it. Our business had survived it."
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