Bio: Jamie Foxx is an American actor, singer and comedian. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, for his work in the biographical film Ray (2004). The same year, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the action film Collateral (2004). Other prominent acting roles include the title role in the film Django Unchained (2012), the supervillain Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), and William Stacks in the modern version of Annie (2014).Jamie Foxx was born Eric Marlon Bishop in Terrell, Texas, to Louise Annette Talley and Darrell Bishop, who worked as a stockbroker and had later changed his name to Shahid Abdula. His mother was an adopted child. When her marriage to his father failed, his maternal grandparents, Mark and Estelle Talley, stepped in and, at age seven months, adopted Jamie too. He has said that he had a very rigid upbringing that placed him in the Boy Scouts and the church choir. During high school, he played quarterback for his high school team and was good enough that he got press in Dallas newspapers. He studied music in college. He released a music album, "Peep This" (1994), and sings the theme song for his movie, Any Given Sunday (1999). However, in 1989, his life changed when a girlfriend challenged him to get up onstage at the Comedy Club. In fact, he says he took his androgynous stage name because he learned that women got preference for mike time on open stage nights. That led to his being cast on Roc (1991) and In Living Color (1990).Foxx had his own WB television show from 1996 to 2001, the sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show (1996), in which he played Jamie King Jr. Foxx is also a Grammy Award-winning musician, producing four albums which have charted highly on the US Billboard 200: "Unpredictable" (2005), which topped the chart, "Intuition" (2008), "Best Night of My Life" (2010), and "Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses" (2015). In 2012, Foxx starred in the title role of the Quentin Tarantino written and directed Django Unchained (2012). Foxx starred alongside his Ray co-star Kerry Washington, as well as Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson. In 2013, Foxx was cast as President James Sawyer in White House Down (2013) alongside Channing Tatum. The following year, Foxx appeared as the villain Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), and co-starred with Quvenzhan�� Wallis in Annie (2014), Sony's Will Smith and Jay-Z produced update of the comic strip-turned-musical.He has two children, including Corinne Foxx, (born 1994), who resides with her mother.
Tivia: As a second grader, he was so talented in telling jokes that his teacher used him as a reward. If the class behaved, Foxx would tell them jokes.While performing as a stand-up comedian, changed his last name to Foxx after one of his favorite comics Redd Foxx and changed his first name to Jamie because it could be a girls name as well. In comedy clubs, female comics often perform before the male comics so when a club manager read his name on the list, he would often be moved up on the list of performers.In Ray (2004), he wore prosthetic eyelids which made him virtually blind.Won 22 awards for his performance as Ray Charles in Ray (2004).Is only the second male in history to receive two acting Oscar nominations in the same year for two different movies. The first male to do so was Al Pacino.He said that Richard Pryor is his idol in comedy, Denzel Washington is his idol in acting, and that Steve Hardin is his idol in music.His performance as Ray Charles in Ray (2004) is ranked #31 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).Is one of only five performers to have both a Billboard #1 single and an Oscar for acting. The others are Barbra Streisand, Cher, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.His piano lessons started at the age of three at his grandmother's insistence.Only one of a few actors to win the quadruple award crown during motion picture award season. Foxx won a Golden Globe Award, the SAG Award, the BAFTA Award and topped this off with the Academy Award.At the 2005 Grammy Awards, he performed "Georgia on My Mind" with Alicia Keys as a tribute to Ray Charles, whom he portrayed in Ray (2004) the previous year and became good friends with him before he passed away.Began his career as a stand up comedian.Is the first person to have been nominated for three acting awards at the Golden Globe Awards in the same year.His Oscar win for Ray (2004) along with Morgan Freeman's win for Million Dollar Baby (2004), was the second time two African-Americans won Oscars in the same year. The first was in 2002 when Denzel Washington won Best Actor for Training Day (2001) and Halle Berry won Best Actress for Monster's Ball (2001).To play Ray Charles from the years 1949 to 1979 for the movie Ray (2004), he dropped more than 30 pounds, going from 189 to 157.Auditioned for the role of Rodney "Rod" Tidwell in Jerry Maguire (1996), which went to Cuba Gooding Jr..He often impersonated Ray Charles when he was a cast member on In Living Color (1990), satirizing Charles' 1992 Diet Pepsi advertisements.Has played Kerry Washington's husband in two movies: Ray (2004) and Django Unchained (2012). As of 2018, those are the only two Best Picture Oscar nominated films that either has appeared in.Is the first African-American to be nominated for two Academy Awards in the same year.His three Golden Globe Award nominations were announced on his 37th birthday.Is one of 14 actors to have won an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, Critics' Choice Award, and SAG Award for the same performance. The others in chronological order are Geoffrey Rush for Shine (1996), Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote (2005), Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland (2006), Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men (2007), Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood (2007), Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (2008), Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009), Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010), Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2010), J.K. Simmons for Whiplash (2014), Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant (2015), Sam Rockwell for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), and Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour (2017).Was a football quarterback in high school.He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on September 14, 2007.He and Holly Hunter have both won Oscars for playing pianists - and for playing the piano themselves in their respective roles. In 1993, the same year that Hunter won Best Actress, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The Firm (1993) in which she appeared opposite Tom Cruise. In 2004, Foxx was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Collateral (2004), also opposite Cruise.Had the role of Slim in The Wood (1999), but had to drop out when he got the role of Willie Beamen in Any Given Sunday (1999).When he sings "I Got a Woman" for Ray (2004), he recites almost the same backup refrain in Ye's "Gold Digger".Started out as a stand-up comedian, often doing imitations of former president Ronald Reagan.Second actor to receive an Academy Award for "Best Actor" and to have had a #1 Billboard single ("Gold Digger" by Ye). The first to do so was Bing Crosby.During 2005, he was nominated nine times for both Best Actor in Ray (2004) and Best Supporting Actor in Collateral (2004). Eight out of those nine times he won Best Actor for Ray (2004) and lost for Best Supporting Actor for Collateral (2004).His 10-year-old daughter, Corinne Foxx, accompanied him to the Academy Awards (2005).Along with Fay Bainter, Teresa Wright, Barry Fitzgerald, Jessica Lange, Sigourney Weaver, Al Pacino, Holly Hunter, Emma Thompson, Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett and Scarlett Johansson, he is one of only twelve actors to receive Academy Award nominations in two acting categories in the same year. He was nominated for Best Actor for Ray (2004) and Best Supporting Actor for Collateral (2004), winning the former award.As of January 25, 2005, he became the sixth actor nominated for playing a pianist. The first to be nominated (and win) was F. Murray Abraham, who beat out co-star Tom Hulce for the Best Actor Oscar in Amadeus (1984). The second to be nominated was Holly Hunter, who won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance as a mute pianist in The Piano (1993). Geoffrey Rush won the Best Actor Oscar for his work in Shine (1996). In 2002, Adrien Brody won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in The Pianist (2002). Foxx was nominated, and won, for his performance as the legendary musician Ray Charles in the hit biopic Ray (2004).Was considered for the role of Ordell Robbie in Jackie Brown (1997), which went to Samuel L. Jackson.Is a huge fan of the Miami Heat basketball team and professional wrestling.Currently resides in Hidden Valley, California.Named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World (2005).[January 2000] First man of the decade and century to host Saturday Night Live (1975).Pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of disturbing the peace, involving charges of battery against a New Orleans policeman in a casino in April 2003. He received two years probation and a $1500 fine. (February 2004)His top five favorite songs are "Do Me, Baby" by Prince, "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye, "Always and Forever" by Heatwave, "It's All About the Benjamins" by Sean 'Diddy' Combs and "Lady" by Lionel Richie.Ray (2004), which he played the titled role in, is ranked #99 on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time (2006).Attended United States International University (now known as Alliant International University) from 1986 to 1988 on a music scholarship.At the AFI tribute to Al Pacino he credited ''Any Given Sunday'' and his work with Oliver Stone and Al Pacino for helping him become a better actor and cementing his path to win an Oscar five years later for ''Ray.''.Like some of his fellow actors, Jamie has featured with Barbra Streisand on her 2016 album "Streisand Encore - Movie Partners Sing Broadway" where the couple duetted on the Rodgers & Hammerstein song "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" (from The Sound of Music (1965)).Named one of People magazine's "Hottest Bachelors" (2006).Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2006 Razzie Award nominating ballot. He was suggested in the Worst Actor category for his performance in the film Stealth (2005). However, he failed to receive a nomination.Best friends with Garcelle Beauvais.Friends with Terrence Howard, Tom Cruise, Meagan Good, Idris Elba, Amber Rose, Luenell and Odell Beckham Jr..His character Staff Sergeant Sykes in Jarhead (2005) ironically took place the same time (during the Gulf War of 1990) as his In Living Color (1990) stint.Actor-director F. Gary Gray celebrated his 50th birthday at Jamie's Los Angeles home.Invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in 2005.