Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx
Foxx promoting Stealth in July 2005
Birth name	Eric Marlon Bishop
Born	(1967-12-13) December 13, 1967 Terrell, Texas, United States
Medium	Stand-up, film, television, music
Nationality	American
Years active	1992–present
Genres	Black comedy, Musical comedy, Satire/ Political satire, Observational comedy, Character comedy, Blue comedy
Subject(s)	Race relations, racism, African-American culture, pop culture, human sexuality, American politics, current events, self-deprecation
Notable works and roles	In Living Colour Jamie King on The Jamie Foxx Show Alvin Sanders in Bait Drew 'Bundini' Brown in Ali Ray Charles in Ray Lt. Henry Purcell in Stealth Staff Sgt. Sykes in Jarhead Curtis Taylor Jr. in Dreamgirls
Website	Official site

Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, R&B singer, stand-up comedian, and talk radio host. As an actor, his work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a musical/comedy. He is also a Grammy Award winning musician, producing two albums which have charted highly on the Billboard 200: Unpredictable, which topped the chart, and Intuition.

Early life

Foxx was born as Eric Marlon Bishop on December 13, 1967, in Terrell, Texas. He is the son of Louise Annette Talley Dixon and Darrell Bishop. Foxx was abandoned seven months after birth, and was subsequently adopted and raised in Terrell by his mother's adoptive parents, Estelle and Mark Talley. Terrell was a racially segregated community at the time. Foxx had a strict Baptist upbringing and began piano lessons at the age of five by his grandmother's orders. As a teenager, he was a part-time pianist and choir leader in Terrell's New Hope Baptist Church.

Foxx attended Terrell High School, where he received top grades, played basketball and football as quarterback, and had an ambition to play for the Dallas Cowboys. He was the first player in the school's history to pass for more than 1,000 yards. He also sang in a band called Leather and Lace. After completing high school, Foxx received a scholarship to United States International University, where he studied classical music and composition. He has often acknowledged his grandmother's influence in his life as one of the greatest reasons for his success.

Early career and In Living Colour

After accepting a girlfriend's dare, Foxx told jokes and did impressions at a comedy club's open mic night in 1989. When he found that female comedians were often called first to perform, he changed his name to Jamie Foxx, feeling that it was an ambiguous enough name to disallow any biases. He chose his surname as a tribute to comedian Redd Foxx. In addition his recurrent In Living Colour character LaWanda shared names with Redd's friend and co-worker, LaWanda Page.

Foxx joined the cast of In Living Colour in 1991 and subsequently played a recurring role in the comedy-drama sitcom Roc. From 1996 to 2001, Foxx starred in his own sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show, and in 1992 he made his film debut.

Film career

Foxx made his film debut in the 1992 comedy Toys. His first dramatic role came in Oliver Stone's 1999 film Any Given Sunday, where he portrayed a hard-partying American football player. He was cast in the role in part because of his background as a football player. Foxx has since evolved into a respected dramatic actor. Following Any Given Sunday, Foxx was featured as taxi driver Max Durocher in the film Collateral alongside Tom Cruise, for which he received outstanding reviews and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. His standout performance, however, was his portrayal of Ray Charles in the biopic Ray (2004), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Foxx is the second male in history to receive two acting Oscar nominations in the same year for two different movies, Collateral and Ray. The only other male actor to achieve this was Al Pacino. In 2005, Foxx was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Following these successes, Foxx appeared in Jarhead, Miami Vice, and Dreamgirls, which were box-office hits, and lifted his profile even higher as a bankable star in Hollywood. 2007 brought him the lead role in the film The Kingdom opposite Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner and Ashraf Barhom.

In September 2007, Foxx was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He said, upon receiving the honour, "[it was] one of the most amazing days of my life."

In April 2009, Foxx played the lead role in the dramatic film The Soloist.

Music

Foxx began piano lessons at age five. In 1994, Foxx released an album (on the Fox record label) entitled Peep This. His music career shifted into a higher gear when, in 2004, he was featured on rapper Twista's song, " Slow Jamz", which also featured Kanye West. The song reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, as well as number three on the UK singles chart. Foxx's second collaboration with Kanye West, " Gold Digger," in which he sang the "I Got a Woman" Ray Charles-influenced hook, went straight to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and remained there for 10 weeks. In 2005, Foxx was featured on the single "Georgia" by Atlanta rappers Ludacris and Field Mob. The song sampled Ray Charles' hit " Georgia on My Mind."

Foxx released his second studio album, Unpredictable, in December 2005. It debuted at number two, selling 598,000 copies in its first week. The following week, the album rose to number one, selling an additional 200,000 copies. To date, the album has sold 1.98 million copies in the United States, and was certified double Platinum by the RIAA. The album also charted on the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at number nine. Foxx became the fourth artist to have won an Academy Award for an acting role and to have achieved a number-one record album in the US. (The other three to accomplish this feat were Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Barbra Streisand.) Foxx's first single from the album, the title track "Unpredictable" (featuring Ludacris), samples " Wildflower" by New Birth. The song peaked inside the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and also made the UK top 20 singles chart. The second US single from the album was "DJ Play a Love Song," which reunited Foxx with Twista. In the UK, however, the second single was "Extravaganza," which saw Foxx once again collaborate with Kanye West. He was not, however, featured in the song's music video.

At the 2006 Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards, Foxx won Best Duet/Collaboration with Kanye West for "Gold Digger" and tied with Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You" for Video of the year. On December 8, 2006, Foxx received four Grammy nominations, which included Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for Love Changes featuring Mary J. Blige, Best R&B Album for Unpredictable, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for Georgia by Ludacris & Field Mob featuring Jamie Foxx, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for Unpredictable featuring Ludacris.

On January 22, 2007, Foxx was on Sirius Satellite Radio, announcing his new channel The Foxxhole. The channel features talk-radio programs, stand-up comedy albums, and music primarily by African-American performers, and features much of Foxx's own material as well. The Jamie Foxx Show, Foxx's own talk-radio variety program, airs Friday evenings on The Foxxhole, and features Johnny Mack, Speedy, The Poetess, Lewis Dix, and T.D.P., as his co-hosts. Guests include popular musicians, actors, and fellow comedians.

He recorded a song with country superstars Rascal Flatts entitled "She Goes All the Way" for their album, Still Feels Good. Foxx also performed background vocals for artist/songwriter Tank. He and The-Dream are featured on Plies' " Please Excuse My Hands." He also appeared on the remix of Ne-Yo's " Miss Independent" entitled "She Got Her Own." The track also features Fabolous. Foxx then collaborated with rapper The Game on the track "Around The World."

Foxx released his third album titled Intuition in 2008, featuring such artists as Kanye West, T.I., Lil Wayne, and T-Pain. The album's first single, " Just Like Me" featuring T.I., was promoted by a video directed by Brett Ratner and featuring an appearance by Taraji P. Henson. The second single " Blame It" featured T-Pain and became a top 5 single on the Billboard Hot 100 and a number-one single on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The "Blame It" music video, directed by Hype Williams, features cameo appearances by Forest Whitaker, Samuel L. Jackson, Ron Howard, Quincy Jones, and Jake Gyllenhaal, among others. Foxx was also featured on T.I.'s single " Live in the Sky" from the album King.

On April 6, 2009 Foxx performed the George Strait song "You Look So Good in Love" at the George Strait Artist of the Decade All-Star Concert. Foxx has been a fan of country music for many years.

Jamie Foxx hosted the 2009 BET Awards ceremony on June 28, 2009, which featured several tributes to pop star Michael Jackson, who had died three days prior to the show. Aside from performing " Blame It" with T-Pain and " She Got Her Own" with Ne-Yo and Fabolous, Foxx opened the show with a rendition of Jackson's " Beat It" dance routine and closed the show with a cover of The Jackson 5's " I'll Be There" with Ne-Yo. Foxx stated during the ceremony, "We want to celebrate this black man. He belongs to us and we shared him with everybody else."

Foxx released his fourth album, Best Night of My Life, on December 21, 2010. The first single is " Winner", featuring Justin Timberlake and T.I.. The second single is "Living Better Now" featuring rapper Rick Ross and the third single is "Fall For Your Type" featuring rapper Drake.

Personal life

Foxx, being from Texas, is a Dallas Mavericks Fan.

Foxx has a daughter, Corinne Bishop, who was born in 1994. Former Jamie Foxx Show co-star Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon made a public announcement on The Wendy Williams Show stating that Foxx has a second child. Foxx was spotted with the baby in Miami for New Year's Eve 2010, and it was revealed to be a girl.

Foxx performed a public service announcement for Do Something to promote food drives in local communities.

Discography

• Peep This (1994)
• Unpredictable (2005)
• Intuition (2008)
• Best Night of My Life (2010)

Tours

• The Unpredictable Tour (2006)
• The Blame It Tour (2009)

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1992	Toys	Baker
1996	The Truth About Cats & Dogs	Ed
	The Great White Hype	Hassan El Ruk'n
1997	Booty Call	Bunz
1998	The Players Club	Blue
1999	Held Up	Michael
	Any Given Sunday	Willie Beamen	Nominated — BET Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Male Performance
2000	Bait	Alvin Sanders
2001	Date from Heaven
	Ali	Drew 'Bundini' Brown	BET Award for Best Supporting Actor NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
2003	Shade	Larry Jennings
2004	Breakin' All the Rules	Quincy Watson	Nominated — BET Award for Best Actor, Musical or Comedy
	Collateral	Max	BET Award for Best Supporting Actor Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
	Ray	Ray Charles	Academy Award for Best Actor BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role BET Award for Best Actor Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture National Board of Review Award for Best Actor National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Seattle Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
	Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story	Tookie	BET Award for Best Actor, Network/Cable Television NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Male Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2005	Stealth	Lt. Henry Purcell
	Jarhead	Staff Sgt. Sykes	Nominated — Black Movie Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor
2006	Miami Vice	Ricardo Tubbs
	Dreamgirls	Curtis Taylor, Jr.	Nominated — BET Award for Best Actor Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2007	The Kingdom	Ronald Fleury
2009	The Soloist	Nathaniel Ayers	Nominated- Black Reel Awards- Best Actor
	Law Abiding Citizen	Nick Rice	Nominated- BET Awards- Best Actor Nominated- Image Awards- Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
2010	Valentine's Day	Kelvin Briggs
	Due Date	Darryl
2011	Kane & Lynch	James Seth Lynch
	Horrible Bosses
	Rio

Awards and nominations

Television Awards

• Image Awards
  • 1998, Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series: The Jamie Foxx Show
  • 1999, Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series: The Jamie Foxx Show (nominated)
  • 2000, Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series: The Jamie Foxx Show (nominated)
  • 2001, Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series: The Jamie Foxx Show (nominated)

Music awards

• American Music Awards
  • 2009, Favorite R&B/Soul Male Artist (nominated)
  • 2006, Favorite R&B/Soul Male Artist (winner)
  • 2006, Favorite R&B/Soul Album: Unpredictable (nominated)

• BET Awards
  • 2006, Best Male R&B Artist (nominated)
  • 2006, Best Collaboration ("Unpredictable") with Ludacris (nominated)
  • 2009, Best Collaboration ("Blame It") with T-Pain (Winner)
  • 2009, Video of the Year: ("Blame It") (nominated)
  • 2009, Best Male R&B Artist (nominated)

• Grammy Awards
  • 2010, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group ("Blame It") with T-Pain (winner)
  • 2010, Best Contemporary R&B Album (Intuition) (nominated)
  • 2010, Best R&B Song ("Blame It") (nominated)
  • 2007, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration ("Unpredictable") with Ludacris (nominated)
  • 2007, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group ("Georgia") with Ludacris & Field Mob (nominated)
  • 2007, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group ("Love Changes") with Mary J. Blige (nominated)
  • 2007, Best R&B Album (Unpredictable) (nominated)
  • 2006, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration ("Slow Jamz") with Twista & Kanye West (nominated)
  • 2006, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("Creepin") (nominated)

• Image Awards
  • 2009, Outstanding Male Artist (winner)
  • 2006, Outstanding Male Artist (winner)

• MOBO Awards
  • 2006, Best R&B Act (nominated)

• MTV Video Music Awards
  • 2006, Best Hip-Hop Video: "Gold Digger" with Kanye West (nominated)
  • 2006, Best Ringtone: "Gold Digger" with Kanye West (nominated)
  • 2006, Best R&B Video: "Unpredictable" featuring Ludacris (nominated)
  • 2004, MTV2 Award: "Slow Jamz" with Twista & Kanye West (nominated)

• Soul Train Awards
  • 2009, Record of the Year: "Blame It" (winner)
  • 2009, Album of the Year: Intuition (nominated)
  • 2007, Best R&B/Soul Album, Male: Unpredictable (winner)
  • 2006, Best Music Video: "Gold Digger" with Kanye West (winner)
  • 2006, Best R&B/Soul Dance Cut: "Gold Digger" with Kanye West (nominated)

• Vibe Awards
  • 2005, Best Collabo: "Gold Digger" with Kanye West (nominated)
  • 2004, Best Collabo: "Slow Jamz" with Twista & Kanye West (nominated)

Movie/TV Awards

• Academy Awards
  • 2004, Nominated Best Supporting Actor - Collateral
  • 2004, Won Best Actor - Ray

• BAFTA Awards
  • 2005, Won Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Ray
  • 2004, Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - Collateral

• BET Awards
  • 2006, Nominated Best Actor
  • 2005, Won Best Actor

• Black Movie Awards
  • 2006, Nominated Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - Jarhead

• Black Reel Awards
  • 2007, Nominated - Best Actor - Dreamgirls
  • 2005, Won Best Actor, Drama - Ray
  • 2004, Won Best Actor - Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (TV)
  • 2004, Won Best Supporting Actor - Collateral
  • 2004, Nominated - Best Actor, Musical or Comedy - Breakin' All the Rules
  • 2002, Won Theatrical - Best Supporting Actor - Ali
  • 2000, Nominated - Best Supporting Actor - Any Given Sunday

• Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
  • 2000, Nominated - Favorite Supporting Actor - Drama - Any Given Sunday

• Boston Society of Film Critics Awards
  • 2004, Won Best Actor - Ray

• Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
  • 2005, Won Critics Choice Award Best Actor - Ray
  • 2004, Nominated Critics Choice Award Best Supporting Actor - Collateral

• Florida Film Critics Circle Awards
  • 2004, Won FFCC Award Best Actor - Ray

• Golden Globes
  • 2005, Won Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Ray
  • 2004, Nominated Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television - Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (TV)
  • 2004, Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Collateral

• Hollywood Film Festival
  • 2004, Won Hollywood Breakthrough Award Breakthrough Actor

• Image Awards
  • 2007, Nominated Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture - Dreamgirls
  • 2005, Won Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture - Ray
  • 2004, Won Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special - Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (TV)
  • 2004, Nominated Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture - Collateral
  • 2002, Won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture - Ali
  • 2001, Nominated Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series - "The Jamie Foxx Show"
  • 2000, Nominated Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series - "The Jamie Foxx Show"
  • 1999, Nominated Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series - "The Jamie Foxx Show"
  • 1998, Nominated Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series - "The Jamie Foxx Show"

• Independent Spirit Awards
  • 2005, Nominated Best Male Lead - Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (TV)

• Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards
  • 2005, Won Best Actor - Ray (2004/I)

• Kids' Choice Awards
  • 2001, Nominated Favorite Television Actor - "The Jamie Foxx Show"
  • 2000, Nominated Favorite Television Actor - "The Jamie Foxx Show"

• Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards
  • 2005, Won Sierra Award Best Actor - Ray

• London Critics Circle Film Awards
  • 2005, Won ALFS Award Actor of the Year - Ray

• MTV Movie Awards
  • 2005, Nominated Best Male Performance - Ray
  • 2000, Nominated Breakthrough Male Performance - Any Given Sunday

• MovieGuide Awards
  • 2005, Won Grace Award Most Inspiring Television Acting - Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (TV)

• National Board of Review
  • 2004, Won Best Actor - Ray

• National Society of Film Critics Awards
  • 2005, Won Best Actor - Ray

• Online Film Critics Society Awards
  • 2005, Nominated Best Actor - Ray
  • 2004, Won Best Supporting Actor - Collateral

• People's Choice Awards
  • 2008, Nominated Favorite Leading Man
  • 2006, Nominated Favorite Leading Man

• Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
  • 2004, Won Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Ray

• Prism Awards
  • 2005, Won Performance in a Feature Film - Ray

• Satellite Awards
  • 2005, Won Golden Satellite Award Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television - Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (TV)
  • 2004, Won Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical - Ray
  • 2004, Nominated Golden Satellite Award Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Drama - Collateral

• Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • 2007, Nominated Actor Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture - Dreamgirls
  • 2005, Won Actor Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Ray
  • 2004, Nominated Actor Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture - Ray
  • 2004, Nominated Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role - Collateral
  • 2004, Nominated Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries - Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (TV)

• Seattle Film Critics Awards
  • 2004, Won Best Actor - Ray

• Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards
  • 2004, Won Best Actor - Ray

• TV Land Awards
  • 2007, Nominated Little Screen/Big Screen Star
  • 2006, Nominated Little Screen/Big Screen Star

• Teen Choice Awards
  • 2007, Nominated Choice Movie: Liplock - Dreamgirls
  • 2005, Nominated Choice Movie Actor: Drama - Ray

• Vancouver Film Critics Circle
  • 2005, Won Best Actor - Ray

• Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards
  • 2004, Won Best Actor - Ray
  • 2004, Won Best Supporting Actor - Collateral