Born in St. Louis, Charles Eames studied architecture at the Washington University. In 1936 he received a fellowship at the Cranbrook Academy of Arts in Michigan. His collegues there included Bertoia, Saarinen and Ray Kaiser whom he married in 1941.

During the second world war Charles and Ray produced plywood leg and arm splints, developing an new method of bending plywood over three geometric planes into complex curves. In 1946 Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen designed the winning entry for the competition Organic Design in Home Furnishing held at the MOMA. Charles and Ray Eames worked closely together with the manufacturer Herman Miller, creating highly innovative home and office furniture. Later the Eames concentrated on film making, photography and exhibition design.