Jamie Foxx Biography

Comedian, actor, singer. Born Eric Morlon Bishop on December 13, 1967 in Terrell, Texas. A talented singer, comedian, and actor, Academy Award-winner Jamie Foxx has proved to be a triple threat in the entertainment industry. After his parents' marriage dissolved, Foxx was adopted by his maternal grandparents when he was less than a year old. He enjoyed sports and music as a child, and attended Terrell High School in his hometown.

After receiving a scholarship, Foxx enrolled at the U.S. International University in San Diego where he majored in music. It was during college that he was encouraged by friends to take the open mike one night at a comedy club, and his career in entertainment began.

Leaving college, Foxx moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy. In 1991, he was hired as a regular cast member on the Fox variety show In Living Color. Foxx also explored his interest in music during the 1990s, releasing the album Peep This, in 1994. With its traditional, smooth R&B sound, the album reached as high as No. 12 on the R&B and hip-hop charts with the single, "Infatuation," attracting some attention from listeners and radio stations.

That same year, Foxx left In Living Color, but he soon returned to television. Because of his huge popularity on the show, the network gave him his own series, The Jamie Foxx Show, in 1996. Foxx played a struggling Los Angeles actor who lived in a hotel owned by his aunt and uncle. During the show's five years on the air, his character had an on-again, off-again relationship with the front desk clerk played by Garcelle Beauvais.

By the time the show ended in 2001, Foxx was beginning to be viewed a talented dramatic actor. This was due in large part to his performance in the sports drama Any Given Sunday (1999). Playing football star Willie Beamen, Foxx showed incredible range in his performance and held his own against one of film's greats Al Pacino. His next notable film role was in Michael Mann's Ali, followed by two powerful performances in 2004: opposite Tom Cruise in the thriller Collatoral and starring in the eagerly anticipated biopic Ray. Foxx earned both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe award for his authentic turn as Ray Charles.

Following Ray, Foxx took an interesting array of roles with mixed results. The military action film Stealth (2005) with Josh Lucas and Jessica Biel was a critical and financial dud. That same year, he garnered some critical praise for his turn as a marine serving in the Middle East in Jarhead (2005) with Jake Gyllenhaal, but the movie failed to attract much of an audience.

In 2006, Foxx released a new album, Unpredictable (2006). The recording reached the top of pop and the R&B and hip-hop charts, driven by the title track single, "DJ Play a Love Song," and "Can I Take You Home." At the 2006 Black Entertainment Television Awards, Foxx won Best Duet/Collaboration with Kanye West for his work on the single "Gold Digger." Foxx released his third album, Intuition, in 2008, which featured Kanye West and Lil Wayne, among others. The album's second single, "Blame It," hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.