JAMIE FOXX

Name & Birth Details

Full Name: Eric Marlon Bishop (professionally known as Jamie Foxx)
Date of Birth: December 13, 1967 (now 57 years old)
Place of Birth: Terrell, Texas, USA 

Family & Early Life

• Born to Darrell Bishop (later Shahid Abdula after converting to Islam) and Louise Annette Talley Dixon. Shortly after his birth, Jamie was adopted and raised by his maternal grandparents, Estelle (Esther Marie) and Mark Talley .

• Grew up in the racially segregated Black neighborhood of Terrell. At age five, he began piano lessons by his grandmother’s insistence, and as a teenager, sang in church choir and led members of his congregation .

• Attended Terrell High School—excelling in basketball, football (as quarterback, surpassing 1,000 passing yards), and music through the band “Leather and Lace” .

Education & Early Comedy

• Earned a scholarship to United States International University, earning a BA in Musical and Performing Arts Composition .

• Worked in amateur comedy clubs—changing to the stage name “Jamie Foxx” (a tip of the hat to Redd Foxx) to secure more stage time for a male performer .

Rise in Television & Acting Debut

• Joined the cast of In Living Color (1991–94), earning acclaim for impressions and comedic characters, including “Wanda” .

• Starred in his own sitcom, The Jamie Foxx Show (1996–2001), which he also co-created and executive-produced through his Foxx Hole Productions .

• Early film roles included Toys (1992) and Any Given Sunday (1999), the latter tapping into his athletic background .

Breakthrough Performance & Awards

• 2004 was pivotal:

  • Nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Collateral

  • Won Best Actor Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globe for portraying Ray Charles in Ray .

• Became the third man in Oscar history nominated in both acting categories in the same year .

Music Career Highlights

• Achieved No. 1 hits with features on "Slow Jamz" (Twista & Kanye West) and "Gold Digger" (Kanye West) .

• Released chart-topping albums: Unpredictable (2005), Intuition (2008), Best Night of My Life (2010), and Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses (2015) .

• Won a Grammy in 2010 for Best R&B Performance ("Blame It") .

Career Diversity: Film, Voice & Hosting

• Starred in blockbusters such as Django Unchained, Baby Driver, Just Mercy, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Electro), and voiced Joe Gardner in Pixar’s Soul (2020) .

• Since 2017, has been the host and executive producer of Fox’s hit game show Beat Shazam, alongside daughter Corinne .

Recent Projects & Creative Ventures

• Starred in Netflix’s Back in Action (2025) with Cameron Diaz—a spy-action comedy that launched to record-breaking streaming numbers .

• Released memoir Act Like You Got Some Sense (2021), focusing on lessons learned from his daughters .

Health Journey & Family Support

• In April 2023, suffered a brain bleed and stroke while filming Back in Action, which left him hospitalized for approximately 20 days and required significant rehabilitation .

• Returned to work in January 2024. In June 2025, at the BET Awards, received the “Ultimate Icon” honor and dedicated it to his daughters Corinne (31) and Anelise (16), lauding their emotional and physical care during his recovery—particularly Anelise playing guitar at his hospital bedside, which led to a medical turning point .

Awards & Honors

• Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe (2005), multiple Grammy nominations and wins

• 2025 Golden Globe nominee for Best Performance in a Stand-Up Special (What Had Happened Was…) .

Summary

From his roots in a small Texas town, Jamie Foxx has evolved into a cultural force: an Oscar-winning actor, Grammy-winning musician, stand-up comedian, memoirist, and TV host—not to mention a loving father and survivor of a life-threatening stroke. With new creative work ahead and a powerful story of resilience and family love, his legacy continues to unfold.