Early Childhood
Jamie Foxx was born Eric Morlon Bishop on December 13, 1967, in the small railroad town of Terrel in Texas. He was only seven months old when his parent's marriage fell apart and his grandparents, Mark and Esther Talley, stepped in to adopt him. Though his grandparents weren't affluent, they made sure the youngster was provided with many opportunities, such as joining a local scouts group, piano lessons, and sporting activities.
Education
Jamie's first love was music and he won a scholarship to study classical piano at university in San Diego. He soon dropped out of college, however, to try and break into show business. Although he had planned on a career as a recording artist, all that changed in 1989 when a girlfriend dared him to take to the stage on an open mike night at an LA comedy club.
The young Texan, who had long been a fan of Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor, proved naturally confident on stage, wowing audiences with his hilarious impressions of Eighties icons Ronald Reagan, Bill Cosby and, ironically, Ray Charles. He cut his teeth on the tough LA club circuit by night while holding down various day jobs including selling shoes. Around this time the budding comedian adopted the stage name Jamie Foxx a tribute to TV icon Redd Foxx.
© Albert L. OrtegaAfter being spotted by a cast member from the American comedy series In Living Color, which helped launched the careers of Jim Carrey and Jennifer Lopez among others, Jamie was offered a slot on the show. The hilarious characters and outrageous routines he delivered led to a five-year run in his own hit series The Jamie Foxx Show as well as comic roles on the big screen. He also headed up a series of stand-up specials, featuring guests including the likes of JLo.
Movie Career
While Jamie's comic exploits kept him busy, he was keen to tackle more serious roles on the big screen. Capitalising on his athletic prowess he was given a chance to prove himself as a dramatic actor when he landed a role as hot-shot quarterback Willie Beaman in Any Given Sunday. His performance garnered much critical acclaim and led to offers for other dramatic roles including a supporting stint opposite Will Smith as Mohammed Ali's feisty trainer Drew Bundini Brown in Ali.
© George PimentelIt was to be 2004 which established Jamie as one of Hollywood's leading dramatic players, however. That year he delivered a hat-trick of highly thought of movies including Ray, Redemption, and Collateral. He also became the first person to be nominated for Golden Globes in three separate roles in the same year, as well as joining an elite group of actors to be tipped both as best actor (Ray) and best-supporting actor (Collateral). Between films, Jamie still does stand-up comedy and enjoys playing music. He released an R&B album in 1994 called Peep This that rose to number 12 in the US charts, wrote the theme song from Any Given Sunday and enjoyed success collaborating with rappers Kanye West and Twista on the smash hit single, Slow Jamz.
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Throughout his impressive career, Jamie has accumulated a number of impressive plaudits. As well as his aforementioned Oscar award for his role in Ray, he also won a BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAGA award for the movie. He has also won a Grammy alongside T-Pain for their song Blame it amongst a slew of many more nominations.
Personal Life
Jamie is the proud dad of his daughters, Corrine Foxx, 29, whom he welcomed with his ex Connie Kline, and Anelise Bishop,14, whom he welcomed with his ex Kristin Grannis. Talking about dad life to People Magazine in 2017, Jamie revealed that Corinne and Anelise can: "Come tell me anything and we can talk about anything. I know that sounds simplistic but that's everything in the world."
