Here's what you need to know about the life and career of Jamie Foxx, who started his career as a comedian and continued as a musician, proving his success, and finally winning awards with his acting performances.
Jamie Foxx, real name Eric Marlon Bishop, was born on December 13, 1967 in Terrell, Texas. He was born to Darrell Bishop (renamed Shahid Abdula after his conversion to Islam), whose father sometimes worked as a stockbroker, and to his mother, Louise Annette Talley Dixon. Shortly after his birth, Foxx was raised by his grandmother, Estelle Marie, who was a domestic worker and nursery operator, and his grandfather, Mark Talley, who was a gardener. Thus, he had little contact with his biological family.
Having started playing the piano at the age of five, Foxx was raised a staunch Baptist. He had proven his natural talent for jokes when he was a third-year student. Growing up in Terrell's black neighborhood, Foxx attended Terrell High School, where he got top grades and played basketball and football. After high school, Foxx won a scholarship to the United States International University.
Foxx first made jokes at a comedy club open mic night in 1989. When he learned that female comedians are often called upon for their first performances, he chose his stage name as Jamie Foxx. Foxx was cast in the sketch comedy TV series "In Living Color" in 1991, where he played the recurring character Wanda. He then appeared in a recurring role in the comedy-drama TV series "Roc". He then appeared in his own sitcom "The Jamie Foxx Show" which ran from 1996 to 2001. He also co-created and produced through his company "Foxx Hole Productions".
He made his film debut with the fantasy comedy "Toys"(1992) directed by Barry Levinson. In 1994, Foxx released a studio album called "Peep This", which was not commercially successful. His first dramatic role came as a hard-partying quarterback in Oliver Stone's sports drama "Any Given Sunday"(1999), partly due to his football background. The movie was successful at the box office and was met with generally positive reviews.
In 2001, Foxx appeared with Will Smith in the biographical sports drama film "Ali" directed by Michael Mann. Three years later, he played the role of taxi driver Max Durocher alongside Tom Cruise in the action thriller "Collateral" (2004), directed by Michael Mann. The film was met with outstanding reviews and was a box office success. While critics praised Foxx's performance, his performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
In 2003, Foxx appeared with Kanye West on rapper Twista's single "Slow Jamz". The song peaked at number 1 on the singles chart and number 3 on the UK Singles chart. Foxx's second collaboration with Kanye West came with the duet "Gold Digger", which went straight to #1 on the charts, where it stayed for 10 weeks.
Foxx also played the lead role in the biographical musical drama film "Ray" (2004), which focuses on the life of rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles. The film, which received positive responses from critics, was also praised especially for Foxx's performance. Additionally, it was successful at the box office with its worldwide earnings against its production budget. Foxx won the Academy Award for Best Actor and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Foxx became the third man to be nominated for two acting Oscars in two different films in the same year.
He released his second studio album, "Unpredictable", in December 2005. The album debuted at number 2 in its first week and peaked at number 1 the following week. The album was certified double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album, which is also on the UK Albums Chart, peaked at number 9 on the chart. Foxx became the fourth artist to win an Academy Award for his acting role as well as the #1 album in the US. "Unpredictable", Foxx's first song and title track from the album, topped the chart and additionally ranked on the "UK Top 20" track list.
Foxx and Kanye West won the Best Duet/Collaboration Award for the song "Gold Digger" at the 2006 Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards. On December 8, 2006, Foxx also earned four Grammy Award nominations. After these successes, Foxx continued to raise his profile as a trusted star in Hollywood. He followed this up with starring alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Lucas Black and Chris Cooper in the biographical war drama film "Jarhead" (2005), directed by Sam Mendes and based on the memoir of the same name. The film, which received mixed reviews, did not do well at the box office.
He then made his debut with Colin Farrell in the action crime movie "Miami Vice," written and directed by Michael Mann and based on the TV series of the same name. It grossed moderately at the box office, receiving mixed reviews, with praise on some issues and harsh on others. That same year, he starred in the musical drama movie "Dreamgirls", written and directed by Bill Condon and based on the musical of the same name. The film was a commercial success, earning several awards and nominations in various categories.
In 2007, he co-starred with Chris Cooper, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner and Ashraf Barhom in the action thriller "The Kingdom" directed by Peter Berg. That same year, Foxx starred alongside Robert Downey Jr. in the drama film "The Soloist." The film, which did not do well at the box office, was met with mixed reviews. A few months later, he co-starred with Gerard Butler in the lawless action thriller "Law Abiding Citizen" directed by F.Gary Gray. The film, which received generally negative reviews, achieved a successful box office revenue. Additionally, he earned a nomination for the NAACP Image Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture for his performance.
The following year, Foxx released his third album "Intuition", appearing with Kanye West, T.I., Ne-Yo, Lil' Kim, and T-Pain. He also sang the album's second song "Blame It" with T-Pain, and the single reached the top 5 on the Hot 100 and number one on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single won several awards, including a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with a Vocal at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.
The following year, he recorded with Rascal Flatts the single "She Goes All the Way" for the group's album "Still Feels Good". He also appeared with Fabolous in the remix of singer Ne-Yo's single "Miss Independent". Later, Foxx sang along with rapper The Game on the track "Around the World". That same year, Foxx founded "The Foxxhole," a channel featuring most of his own material. While the channel was broadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio, it featured talk radio programs, stand-up comedy albums and music by predominantly African-American artists. In addition, Foxx's own talk-radio variety show "The Jamie Foxx Show" was also broadcast on this channel.
Foxx hosted the 2009 BET Awards ceremony, which featured several tributes to pop star Michael Jackson, who died three days before the show on June 28, 2009. Foxx opened the show with a rendition of Jackson's "Beat It" dance routine, closing the show with a cover of The Jackson 5's song "I'll Be There" with Ne-Yo.
Foxx's fourth album, "Best Night of My Life", was released on December 21, 2010. The album also included the songs "Winner", "Living Better Now" and "Fall for Your Type". In 2012, Foxx starred in the western movie "Django Unchained," written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, with Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson. The movie, which was released in theaters on December 5, 2012, became director Tarantino's highest-grossing film to date with its worldwide gross. In addition, it received many positive reviews and sparked controversy on different topics.
In 2013, Foxx played President James Sawyer in the political action thriller "White House Down," in which he co-starred with Channing Tatum. The film was well received at the box office, with mixed reviews. The following year, Foxx starred as the villain Electro in the sequel superhero movie "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," directed by Marc Webb. Later that year, he co-starred with Quvenzhané Wallis in "Annie," a musical comedy-drama directed by Will Gluck. The generally acclaimed film was also successful at the box office.
Foxx released their fifth studio album, "Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses", on May 18, 2015. The album was a success, debuting at number 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts and the Billboard 200.
In 2017, he appeared in the action movie "Baby Driver" written and directed by Edgar Wright. The film, which premiered on March 11, 2017, was well received despite some aspects. In addition, it earned a huge amount of money at the box office, while earning awards and nominations in various categories. Since its debut in 2017, Foxx has hosted and executive produced the Fox musical game game show "Beat Shazam", which is based on the format of the once popular "Name That Tune". The show has aired for four seasons so far. Foxx produced "White Famous" (2017), a sitcom based on Foxx's own career, starring his co-director Jay Pharoah as a young African-American comedian. Although the sitcom received moderate reviews and ratings, it was canceled after one season.
In 2019, Foxx portrayed wrongfully convicted death row convict Walter McMillian alongside Michael B. Jordan and Brie Larson in "Just Mercy," a biographical legal drama film written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and based on a memoir. The film received positive reviews and grossed $50.4 million at the box office. Additionally, Foxx was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards and won NAACP Image Awards for their respective roles alongside Michael B. Jordan.
On August 14, 2020, Foxx appeared alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Dominique Fishback in the Netflix sci-fi action movie "Project Power" directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost. The film was met with mixed and positive reviews. Later, he voiced the main character, jazz pianist and music teacher Joe Gardner, in the Pixar animated comedy-drama movie "Soul" (2020), directed by Pete Docter. The movie was released directly on Disney+ in most countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was received positively in every detail and was named one of the ten best films of 2020.
The following year, Foxx co-produced, executive produced and starred in the Netflix comedy TV series "Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!" (2021), in which he played the single father of two teenage girls. While the entire eight-episode series aired on Netflix on April 14, 2021, it was canceled after one season. That same year, he reprized the role of Electro in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero movie "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (2021). The film, which was released in theaters on December 17, received generally positive reviews and was a huge worldwide success. Thus, it became the top-grossing and highest-grossing Spider-Man movie of 2021.
Later, Foxx released the memoir "Act Like You Got Some Sense: And Other Things My Daughters Taught Me", which focuses on family life as both a child and an adult. In 2022, he appeared alongside Dave Franco and Snoop Dogg in the action horror comedy "Day Shift" directed by JJ Perry. Released on August 12, 2022, the film received mixed reviews.
In 2023, he co-starred with Cameron Diaz, Kyle Chandler and Glenn Close in the action comedy movie "Back in Action" directed by Seth Gordon. The shooting of the film, which was completed at the end of April, was completed in mid-April using his stunt double instead of Foxx, who was hospitalized due to illness. Foxx's daughter announced that she had an unclear medical emergency about Foxx, but was recovering with the prompt response of the doctors who treated her father.
Private life
Foxx has two daughters. The first is Corinne Foxx, a model, actress and television producer born in 1994. The second is another daughter named Anelise, born in 2009. Debuting with Bal des débutantes in November 2014, Corinne was selected as the "Miss 2016 Golden Globes" on November 18, 2015.
Foxx was listed in People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" list in 2005. Additionally, Foxx continued his success by awarding it with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2009.