Golden Globes, Grammys, BAFTAs. There is a lot that can be associated with actor, singer, and producer Jamie Foxx on his 54th birthday.
Born Eric Marlon Bishop on this day in 1967, Foxx's start in life was far from the glamorous lifestyle he has earned today.
Per Empire, Foxx was abandoned by his birth mom at just seven months old, and was eventually adopted and raised by his mother's adoptive parents, Estelle and Mark Talley.
His upbringing was strict, with Foxx being raised in a Baptist household in Terell, Texas, and ordered to take piano lessons at the age of five. But it was his upbringing that he credits for making him the man he is today.
After winning the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biopic Ray, Foxx dedicated the award to his late grandmother and said in his acceptance speech: “My late grandmother Estelle was my first acting teacher. She would say stand up straight, act like you've got sense. She still talks to me now, but now in my dreams.”
On that red carpet night, Foxx became the second male to receive two acting Oscar nominations in the same year for two different movies. The other feature film alongside Ray was Collateral.
Foxx got his big break in a comedy club in 1989. He created his stage name to disallow any bias towards female comedians. It was also a tribute to another comedian named Redd Foxx.
He told SiriusXM in 2016: “It was a tip of the hat to him so I’ve gotta be thankful for him blazing the trail as a comedian and allowing me to ride on his coattails.”
On the silver screen, his first film was an appearance in the 1992 comedy Toys, before landing a breakthrough role in the 1999 American Football classic Any Given Sunday as Willie Beamen.
In between these roles, Foxx had his own sitcom, The Jamie Foxx Show, which ran from 1996 to 2001.
But Foxx never turned his hand away from his musical roots. Whenever you hear "She take my money" on Kanye West’s hit song ‘Golddigger', that's Foxx providing his vocal talents
He has produced four albums that all featured within the Billboard 200.
The most successful of these was Intuition (2008), which landed him a Grammy for Best RnB Performance by a duo with rapper T-Pain on their track 'Blame it'.
More successful roles followed in Hollywood with Miami Vice, Jarhead, Dream Girls, and most recently, his portrayal of Spider-Man villain Electro in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
For his efforts, Foxx earned a place on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with his own star in September 2007.
On top of his work in the entertainment industry, he is also an ambassador for the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, in honor of his sister, Deondra Dixon, who passed away aged 36 in 2020.
Fans of Foxx will be happy to know that he has producer credits on two movies set to be released in 2023; They Cloned Tyrone and Strays.
Happy birthday, Jamie Foxx!