Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967),[2][3][4] known professionally asJamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, singer, and film producer. He gained his career breakthrough as a featured player in the sketch comedy showIn Living Color from 1991 to 1994. Following this success, he was given his ownsitcom,The Jamie Foxx Show, in which he starred, co-created and produced from 1996 to 2001.
Born inTerrell, Texas,[5] Foxx is the son of Darrell Bishop (renamed Shahid Abdula following his conversion toIslam),[6] who sometimes worked as a stockbroker, and Louise Annette Talley Dixon. Shortly after his birth, Foxx was adopted and raised by his mother's adoptive parents, Esther[7] Marie (née Nelson), a domestic worker and nursery operator, and Mark Talley, a yard worker.[8][9] He has had little contact with his birth parents, who were not part of his upbringing.[10] He was raised in the black quarter of Terrell, which at the time was a racially segregated community.[10] He has often acknowledged his grandmother's influence as one of the greatest reasons for his success.[8][11]
Foxx began playing the piano when he was five years old.[12] He had a strictBaptist upbringing[8][13] and as a teenager was a part-time pianist and choir leader in Terrell's New Hope Baptist Church.[10] His natural talent for telling jokes was already in evidence as a third grader, when his teacher used him as a reward: if the class behaved well, Foxx would tell them jokes. He attendedTerrell High School, where he received top grades and playedbasketball andfootball (asquarterback). His ambition was to play for theDallas Cowboys, and he was the first player in the school's history to pass for more than 1,000 yards.[10][14] He also sang in a band called Leather and Lace.[10] After high school, Foxx received a scholarship toUnited States International University, where he studied musical and performing artscomposition.[10][15]
Foxx first told jokes at a comedy club's open mic night in 1989, after accepting a girlfriend's dare. When he found that female comedians were often called first to perform, he chose the stage name of Jamie Foxx, which he felt was ambiguous enough to disallow any biases,[10][16] with his surname being a tribute to the black comedianRedd Foxx.[16] Foxx joined the cast ofIn Living Color in 1991, where his recurrent character Wanda's name resembled the name of Redd's friend and co-workerLaWanda Page. Following a recurring role in the comedy-drama sitcomRoc,[17] Foxx went on to star in his own sitcomThe Jamie Foxx Show, from 1996 to 2001, which he also co-created and produced through his company Foxx Hole Productions and was aired on theWB network as he portrayed Jamie King and also did uncredited performances of reporter Tyrone Koppel.
Foxx made his film debut in the 1992 comedyToys. His first dramatic role came inOliver Stone's 1999 filmAny Given Sunday, where he was cast as a hard-partying quarterback,[8] partly because of his own football background.[8] During filming, Foxx fought with costarLL Cool J.[18][19]
In 2001, Foxx starred oppositeWill Smith inMichael Mann's biographical dramaAli. Three years later, Foxx played taxi driver Max Durocher in the Mann filmCollateral alongsideTom Cruise, for which he received outstanding reviews. CriticRoger Ebert praised Foxx's performance, stating that, "Jamie Foxx's work is a revelation. I've thought of him in terms of comedy ("Booty Call", "Breakin' all the Rules"), but here he steps into a dramatic lead and is always convincing and involving".[20] He went on to receive a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.[8]
In 1994, Foxx released an album (on theFox record label) entitledPeep This, which was not commercially successful. In 2003, Foxx made a cameo inBenzino's music video for "Would You", which featuresLisaRaye McCoy andMario Winans.
Foxx released his second studio album,Unpredictable, in December 2005. It debuted at No. 2, selling 598,000 copies in its first week,[22] rising to No. 1 the following week and selling an additional 200,000 copies.[23] To date, the album has sold 1.98 million copies in the United States, and was certified doublePlatinum by theRIAA.[24][25] The album also charted on theUK Albums Chart, where it peaked at No. 9.[26] Foxx became the fourth artist to have both won an Academy Award for an acting role and to have achieved a No. 1 album in the U.S., joiningFrank Sinatra,Bing Crosby andBarbra Streisand.
Foxx's first single from the album, the title track "Unpredictable" (featuringLudacris), peaked in theBillboard Hot 100 Top 10 singles and also made the UK Top 20 singles chart; the track samples "Wildflower" byNew Birth. The second U.S. single from the album was "DJ Play a Love Song", which reunited Foxx withTwista. In the UK, the second single was "Extravaganza", which saw Foxx once again collaborate withKanye West, although Foxx did not feature in the song's music video.
Following on from these successes, Foxx went on to appear in the box-office hitsJarhead,Miami Vice, andDreamgirls, which lifted his profile even higher as a bankable star in Hollywood.
Foxx's musical career has also included a number of collaborations. In 2007, he recorded the song "She Goes All the Way" with country superstarsRascal Flatts for theirStill Feels Good album. Foxx performed backing vocals for artist/songwriterTank. He featured alongsideThe-Dream onPlies' "Please Excuse My Hands". He also appeared alongsideFabolous on the remix ofNe-Yo's "Miss Independent". Foxx collaborated with rapperThe Game on the track "Around the World". Foxx also featured on T.I.'s single "Live in the Sky" from the albumKing.
On January 22, 2007, Foxx launchedThe Foxxhole, a channel onSirius Satellite Radio featuring talk-radio programs, stand-up comedy albums and music primarily by African-American performers, as well as much of Foxx's own material. Foxx's own talk-radio variety programThe Jamie Foxx Show airs Friday evenings on The Foxxhole with guests including musicians, actors and fellow comedians; co-hosts have included Johnny Mack, Speedy,Claudia Jordan,The Poetess, Lewis Dix,Yvette Wilson, T.D.P andTyrin Turner. On the April 17, 2009, episode ofThe Jamie Foxx Show, Foxx and his co-hosts made several sexually suggestive and disparaging jokes regarding the teenage singerMiley Cyrus.[29] Several days later Foxx issued a public apology onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno in response to growing public outcry and televised criticism by Cyrus's father, country singerBilly Ray Cyrus.[30]
On April 6, 2009, Foxx, a longtime fan ofcountry music, performed theGeorge Strait song "You Look So Good in Love" at the George Strait Artist of the Decade All-Star Concert. Jamie Foxx hosted the2009 BET Awards ceremony on June 28, 2009, which featured several tributes to pop starMichael Jackson, who had died three days prior to the show. As well as performing "Blame It" withT-Pain and "She Got Her Own" withNe-Yo andFabolous, Foxx opened the show with a rendition of Jackson's "Beat It" dance routine and closed the show with a cover ofthe Jackson 5's "I'll Be There" with Ne-Yo. "We want to celebrate this black man. He belongs to us and we shared him with everybody else.", said Foxx during the ceremony.
2010–2012: Career progression
In April 2011, Foxx voiced the canary Nico in the animated filmRio. During the summer of 2011, Foxx was involved as a producer ofIn the Flow with Affion Crockett onFox.[31]
In 2012, Foxx starred in the title role of theQuentin Tarantino written and directedDjango Unchained.[35] Foxx starred alongside hisRay co-starKerry Washington, as well asChristoph Waltz,Leonardo DiCaprio andSamuel L. Jackson. In an interview aboutDjango Unchained, Foxx toldVibe magazine: "As a black person it's always racial. ... when I get home my other homies are like how was your day? Well, I only had to be white for at least eight hours today, [or] I only had to be white for four hours."[36] The filming was emotional as Foxx said, "It's tough shooting when you're in plantation row and that's where your ancestors were persecuted and killed."[37]
On November 25, 2012, at BET'sSoul Train Awards, Foxx joked: "It's like church in here. First of all, giving honor to God and our lord and saviorBarack Obama."[38] The joke led to condemnation from some Christians, to which Foxx responded: "I'm a comic [and] sometimes I think people get a little too tight."[39] While hostingSaturday Night Live on December 8, 2012, to promoteDjango Unchained, Foxx joked about being excited "to kill all the white people in the movie".[40] Appearing at the 2013NAACP Image Awards, Foxx praised the achievements of black people, saying that "black people are the most talented people in the world".[41]
Foxx's October 2014 Deja Vu duet with Dionne Warwick appears on theFeels So Good album released by Warwick. He released his fifth studio album,Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses, on May 18, 2015. It debuted atop the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts and at No. 10 on theBillboard 200.[44] In 2015, Foxx's voice was featured in the chorus on theAriana Grande song, "Focus".[45]
Since its debut in 2017, Foxx has been the host and executive producer of theFox game showBeat Shazam, whose premise is similar to the once-popular game show formatName That Tune. On the show, three sets of two partners try to beat the software applicationShazam in correctly identifying the titles of popular songs for increasingly higher amounts of money, with one team eventually vying for a potential prize of $1 million. Foxx's daughterCorinne began co-hosting the show in its second season in 2018, replacing DJ October Gonzalez.[46] The show has aired four seasons so far.[47]
Foxx co-executive produced the 2017Showtime sitcomWhite Famous, which starredJay Pharoah as a young aspiring African-American comic, and was based on Foxx's own early career. Foxx also occasionally appeared on the show as himself.White Famous got middling reviews and ratings, and was cancelled after one season.[48]
Foxx co-created, executive produced and starred in the 2021 Netflix sitcomDad Stop Embarrassing Me!, in which he played the single father of two teenage girls. The series marked Foxx's return to the sitcom format afterThe Jamie Foxx Show ended in 2001.[59] The entire eight-episode series premiered April 14, 2021, on Netflix. It was cancelled after one season.[60]
In 2021, Foxx released the memoirAct Like You Got Some Sense: And Other Things My Daughters Taught Me, which focused on his family life, both as a child and as an adult.[62]
Upcoming projects
On May 29, 2018, Foxx was cast asAl Simmons inKing Spawn, to be directed byTodd McFarlane.[63] In 2015, Foxx became attached to portray former boxerMike Tyson in a biographical drama filmFinding Mike; in 2020, he began to exercise in order to gain muscle for the role.[64] In 2021, the project turned into a miniseries, to be directed byAntoine Fuqua.[65]
Personal life
Foxx in 2005
Foxx has two daughters: model, actress, and television producerCorinne Foxx, born in 1994;[10] and another daughter Anelise Bishop born in 2008.[66] Corinne made her formal debut at theBal des débutantes in November 2014 and was namedMiss Golden Globe 2016 on November 18, 2015.[67]
From 2013 to 2019, Foxx was rumored to be in a relationship with actressKatie Holmes.[70][71]
On January 18, 2016, he rescued a young man from a burning vehicle that crashed outside his home. The driver, Brett Kyle, was driving his truck "at a high rate of speed" when it left the road, traveled into a drainageditch, and rolled over several times. Kyle was arrested fordriving under the influence of alcohol.[72][73]
On October 26, 2020, Foxx announced that his sister DeOndra Dixon had died. She was 36 years old and had been born withDown syndrome. She had been an ambassador for the Global Down Syndrome Foundation.[74]
Health problems
On April 12, 2023, his daughter Corinne announced that he had been hospitalized after an unspecified medical emergency, but was recovering.[75][76] On May 12, amid conflicting reports about the nature of his condition, including rumors that he was gravely ill, Corinne said that her father had been "out of the hospital for weeks, recuperating".[77] He was reportedly treated in a "physical rehab facility in Chicago" that specializes in "strokes and brain injuries".[78] On July 22, Foxx posted a video clip commenting about his health, saying that he had been to "hell and back".[79][80][81] On December 3, 2023, he made his first public appearance since the hospitalization, to accept aCritics Choice Association's Vanguard Award. In his speech, he disclosed that he couldn't walk at first and discussed his recovery, without detailing exactly what led to his hospitalization.[82] Despite the news of his health challenges, he walked his daughter Corinne down the aisle in September 21, 2024 at his home inThousand Oaks, California.[83][84] On December 10, 2024, in his Netflix comedy special,Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was..., Foxx revealed that he had abrain bleed that led to astroke which resulted in his hospitalization in April 2023.[85]
Legal issues
On April 26, 2003, Foxx and his sister Deondra Dixon were confronted by security guards and had a physical struggle with police officers who arrested them atHarrah's casino inNew Orleans. Employees said the Foxx party failed to showidentification upon entry and "started yelling profanities" and fought with police officers after being told to leave.[86] Foxx's sister was subdued bypepper spray after breaking free while beinghandcuffed and then using the handcuffs to strike out at the police officers.[86] Two police officers were injured in the incident.[86] Originally charged withtrespassing,disturbing the peace,battery on police officers, andresisting arrest, Foxx pleadedno contest to disturbing the peace in exchange for the other charges being dropped and was sentenced to a six-monthsuspended jail term with two years ofprobation and a $1,500fine.[86][87]
In November 2023, Foxx was sued by a woman who accused him ofsexually assaulting her in 2015.[88][89] Foxx has denied the alleged wrongdoing.[90]
Foxx, Jamie, with Nick Chiles (2021).Act Like You Got Some Sense: And Other Things My Daughters Taught Me. New York: Grand Central Publishing.ISBN978-1-538-70328-1.OCLC1273729038.
^Daniels, Karu F. (August 12, 2009)."Jamie Foxx Actress Reveals Secret Baby". Entertainment Newswire. Archived fromthe original on August 17, 2009.We saw each other Easter Sunday at a friend's house and he came with his lovely daughter and he told me that he had a new baby," the actress dished to Wendy Williams during a live telecast of her eponymous daily show. "I said, 'Wow, Jamie do I know the baby mamma?' and he goes, ' No.' Then I go (jokingly,) 'Do you know the baby mama?'
.jpg)
