James Dorough

James Hoke Dorough was born to webmaster and film producer Leigh and Backstreet Boys member Howie Dorough. When he was nine months old, he and his parents moved to Florida near his paternal family. Then, he became a brother when Holden was born, who is three years nine months younger than him. He is the third child of all the children of the Backstreet Boys. He is the third boy and son of the Backstreet Babies. Surprisingly, he was supposed to be born in June but was born a month and 6-7 weeks prematurely early and was a Mother's Day gift to his mother instead. Hence, his parents weren't even ready for that. They anxiously awaited their newborn son's release from the NICU at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Hospital, which cared for him for three weeks. According to Howie, his late paternal grandfather passed away in 2008, and his father felt his presence around, so that is where he got his middle name from. James is Puerto Rican-Irish and Italian-Dutch but has eastern European and Czechoslovakian, like his best friends Mason and Maxwell Richardson, heritage through his mother and, according to the band's YouTube page, also has Scandinavian, African, Iberian, Native American, Central and South American, Scottish, Welsh, Balkan, and Middle Eastern ancestry through his father. Between him and Holden, James is the creative one like his dad but was raised to be a gentleman and has both his parents' personalities. Dorough's love for music happened when he was four months old, accompanying his dad on the road on the This Is Us Tour. However, he only got into music around five years old by attending band/theater and acting . He even started making songs with his dad and little brother when he was 6-7. He even began taking lessons in acting, and vocal/singing from his aunt, and father. When he was not singing, Dorough started taking lessons in karate with his dad and tennis when he was 4, and he plans on taking ice hockey. He also participated in taking classes in acting, hip-hop dance, and singing. Despite being raised in an entertainment family, Dorough was strictly disciplined with his brother, coming from a huge mixed catholic family, and did his best to work hard and train well throughout elementary and middle school. He may have the show biz bug like his father did, but he still managed to have an average school experience like his parents, such as participating in choir and school theater and spending quality time with his friends. While he has the show biz bug, Dorough's not sitting around waiting for offers to land in his lap as his dad reveals that the driven young kid is carving out his own path in entertainment, having started his own YouTube channel, titled James the Great, where he shared game videos and is quickly cultivating a growing fan base with his parents initially wary of letting him share his life with the online world and monitor his filming projects and make cameos in episodes. Before that, he used to post vlogs, his first house tour, and live streams. "He's a little ham," says Dorough, the youngest of five siblings. "He has his own little fan club out there and always says, 'Dad, I got more followers!' He tours our house, brings in his friends, and shows people how to play Minecraft. He loves it." Already taking school theater since he was 7, he began appearing in No Place before acting in his dad's music video, No Hablo Español, as a younger version of his dad being his mini-me. At just eight years old, he and his father enjoyed a recent father-son trip back to L.A. to film the USA Network's Big Star Little Star, which Cat Deeley hosts, which sees celebrities team up with their kids and compete to see which parent-child duo knows each other best. Quizzed on topics like how their parents annoy each other, each team wins money for their chosen charity. Dorough chose Lupus L.A. in honor of his sister Caroline, who died from the disease in 1998, and the musician couldn't help reflecting on the "strong, healthy, well-spirited boy" his son has grown into and shares that the Hollywood visit even cemented James' dreams to follow in his footsteps. In ET's exclusive sneak preview of the series, the pair are seen hilariously performing a song they made up about Dorough's younger son, 4-year-old Holden, while competing against Meet the Parents star Teri Polo and her daughter, Bayley, and Dancing with the Stars runner-up David Ross and son, Cole. "James loved filming the show," says Dorough, 43. "He's already like, 'Are there any more shows coming up that we can do, Dad?'" On November 30, he is set to appear in A Very Backstreet Holiday, which was scheduled for December 14, 2022, with his family and the rest of the Backstreet families. Dorough resides in Cocoa Beach, Florida, with his parents, brother, and puppy, Sugar. According to his dad, he is highly allergic to dogs with dander, so his parents were looking for hypoallergenic pets before their new puppy. Based on his background, he has an uncle, John, a step-uncle, Carr, four aunts, Stacey O'Neil, a talent agent and manager, Pollyanna, Angela "Angie," Caroline, who passed from lupus in September 1998 prior, and cousins, Ayla, Chelsea, Danielle, Gianna, Kassidy, JJ, Mae and Matthew, grandmother Karen Bonifide and grandfather Ralph Boniello and Kevin Bonifide (stepgrandfather) and grandmother Paula Flores Dorough. His middle name is taken from his late grandfather.