Background and career
Julie Chrisley (née Hughes; born January 9, 1973) is an American reality-television personality. She rose to fame as the matriarch of the USA Network series Chrisley Knows Best (2014–2023) and its spin-offs. In 2022, she and her husband, Todd Chrisley, were convicted of bank fraud and tax evasion. After a series of appeals, U.S. President Donald Trump in May 2025 granted them full presidential pardons.
Julie Hughes was born in Westminster, South Carolina, to Baptist minister Harvey Hughes and his wife, Pam, and grew up in a modest double-wide trailer. She attended local schools and worked in a bank before meeting real-estate investor Todd Chrisley in the mid-1990s.
Julie joined Chrisley Knows Best when it premiered on USA Network in March 2014, becoming known for her deadpan humor and traditional Southern cooking. She later hosted the digital cooking series What's Cooking with Julie Chrisley (2019) and appeared on the family spin-off Growing Up Chrisley (2019–2022).
With her husband she co-hosts the weekly podcast Chrisley Confessions, launched in 2018, discussing faith, parenting and, more recently, the couple’s legal battles.
In August 2019, the Chrisleys were indicted on 12 counts including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and tax evasion. Following a three-week trial, a federal jury found both guilty on all counts in June 2022. On November 21, 2022, Julie was sentenced to seven years in prison, probation and US$17.8 million restitution, while Todd received 12 years. They reported to prison in January 2023 and filed notices of appeal the same month.
On June 21, 2024, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit upheld the convictions but ruled that Julie’s sentencing guidelines had been miscalculated, remanding her case for resentencing. At a September 25, 2024, hearing the district court imposed the same 84-month term.
