Jamie Foxx has had a blessed career, but his story has been anything but easy. The award-winning
actor has faced numerous challenges over the course of his life, and there are some tragic
details about Jamie Foxx that even his biggest fans may not know.
Jamie Foxx didn't have an easy start in life. His parents split before his first birthday
and left Foxx behind. Luckily, as he told O, the Oprah Magazine in 2005, he was taken
in by his grandmother, who he has referred to as a role model. He told Oprah -
"Although my parents weren't around, my grandparents adopted me when I was 7 months old. I was
never short on the love of a mother and father, though it came from an earlier generation
of family."
But his grandmother didn't have a blood obligation to take in her grandson. As the Oscar winner
explained to Entertainment Weekly in 2020, she wasn't actually his mother's biological
mother, revealing -
"[My mother] was adopted by the same lady as well, so literally, legally, she's my sister,"
Opening up about the powerful impact his grandma's selfless act had on his life, Foxx fought
back tears during a 2017 episode of Beat Shazam as he told viewers,
"My grandmother, that's not actually my biological grandmother, that's somebody who said, 'I
see something in that little boy that's very special' and she made sure I had every tool
that I needed to grow and expand."
When Oprah asked Foxx in 2005 whether or not he truly missed his mom and dad, the actor
let his guard down, revealing that he used to wonder if his mother would come back and
give him a different life. As he told O magazine -
"I wanted my mom to show up, but for a different reason: She was so fly and good-looking. We
were country, but my mom was straight city. She had the new hair, the gold earrings, the
Stingray Corvette."
As for his father's absence, Foxx was left with questions, like -
"Why couldn't he drive 28 miles to check on a son who passed a football more than 1,000
yards?"
During a 2004 interview with GQ, Robert Daniels, who coached Foxx in both track and football
in high school, shared a similar story, telling the outlet that Foxx always held out hope
that his dad would show up to watch him compete, but he never did.
Foxx told Winfrey that his biological father was not currently a part of his life but he
was quick to brush it off, adding -
"It's not necessary."
Through the years, Jamie Foxx and his biological father have been unable to reconcile, despite
the Ray star's efforts. Getting candid about their failed attempts, he told Oprah Winfrey,
"I think some of his absence has to do with his being a Muslim. He drew a line in the
sand: 'I'm a Muslim, and since you're not, I can't be your father.'"
Foxx recalled that the last time they spoke, he said -
"Listen, I understand observing your religion, but is that worth missing out on your son's
life?"
Ultimately, that argument didn't persuade him. As Foxx told GQ, when his father showed
up at his Grandmother's funeral in 2004, he asked his son -
"Am I in the family? Are you my son? Are you not my son? I wanna reconcile but I'm scared."
Then he disappeared again.
And while Foxx told The Sunday Times in 2014 that reconciling is still possible, he admitted
that he still had questions from his childhood they'd have to work through, like -
"'What happened? Where were you? Were you stricken with something? Could you not make
it?' Growing up, I would always go, man, I'm a good dude. I wasn't the kid getting in trouble."
While Foxx's biological mother didn't come back for her young son, she did go on to have
and raise two more children. As GQ reported in 2004, Foxx has two half-siblings from his
mother's side who were both raised by her. He's adamant that he holds no grudges against
any of them, however. As he told Oprah Winfrey, he's never wondered why his siblings were
offered a different opportunity.
And it seems he wasn't kidding. Once he found fame, Foxx actually invited his half-sisters,
one of whom was born with Down syndrome, to live with him in his L.A. home. According
to the outlet, he was also happy to help support them financially — a decision that had his
friends worried, but as he shared -
"I said, 'You know what? If I can't take care of my sister who has Down syndrome, what will
people think of me' sittin' up in Mr. Chow, drinking Dom Pérignon and doing interviews
with GQ?'"
Jamie Foxx was always open to reconciling with his biological parents, telling GQ -
"It's just kind of like, my arms are open if you wanna get the hug. And if you don't,
my arms are still open."
Gilbert Willie Jr, Foxx's best friend since childhood told GQ in 2004 that the situation
wasn't easy, adding that she wouldn't ask Foxx for anything despite his success. When
he took the mag to visit Louise, she didn't even open the door. He explained the reason
was -
"She doesn't want to answer the tough questions."
In 2005, Foxx told O magazine that he and his mother weren't communicating but in 2008,
things changed. As he revealed on The Graham Norton Show in 2020 -
"I would always send her tickets on Christmas, [saying] 'If you ever wanna come, you know,
for Christmas,' so finally she accepted. She comes, we have a good Christmas and then New
Year's comes."
Before he knew it, she was staying with him, and Foxx shared that his mother has been living
with him ever since.
"It's, it's a weirdly fun household."
"Yeah!"
"Love it!"
It was not an easy transition, but it has been powerful, as he told The Sunday Times
and through their time living together, he began to understand himself a little bit better
as well.
Foxx has never shied away from praising his grandmother, gushing to Oprah Winfrey that
she taught him confidence and put him on the path to success, revealing -
"I'd been playing piano since I was five, when my grandmother said, 'This is how you're
going to make your money.'"
He also noted that because of her, he received a scholarship to United States International
University.
Sadly, in 2004, Estelle Marie Talley died at the age of 95 after an 11-year battle with
Alzheimer's. A few weeks after her passing he told GQ -
"If you could go to heaven right now and say, 'Where is Estelle Talley?' Do that interview
[...] that's who knows me. Nobody else."
To this day, Talley's loss weighs heavily on the Oscar winner, who celebrated her would-be
birthday in 2019 by posting a sweet snap of the two of them to Instagram and writing,
"My rock... Miss u always... #iwishyouwerehere."
Sitting down with Hip Hollywood in 2018, Foxx gave fans a glimpse into his secret struggle
with mental health.
"Are you flying that plane?"
"Uh no, no I'm right here."
"... I don't know how God works."
He revealed he'd had an experience similar to friend Kanye West's mental breakdown, saying
-
"When he talked about the drugs, the mental drugs, I've had an episode of that. When he
was talking about, 'Yo, I went in for two pills, and then [got] seven pills,' that's
real."
Foxx went on to say that he felt like he might be losing his mind, which had been a fear
of his since childhood.
The actor told fans that it all started with an incident at a college party in which his
drink was spiked with PCP, a hallucinogenic drug.
"It happened to me when I was 18, and I had 11 months of harsh flashbacks, and then when
I was 26 I had a flashback just like that, and another one when I was 32, and that was
the last one, but I always worry about it coming back."
While his grandparents raised him, Foxx did find another father figure: his stepfather,
George Dixon, who is one of his mother's ex-husbands. Foxx opened up with GQ about their relationship,
telling the outlet that they bonded over sports.
"When I was running track, I'd always be looking for my stepfather [in the stands]. Sometimes
he'd stand outside the fence and say, 'C'mon, man!' And I'd make it. I'd make the high jump."
Then, hardship struck once more, as Foxx revealed on The Graham Norton Show in 2020 that the
man who had taught him so much in his life had to face legal issues, saying -
"They put my father in jail for $25-worth of illegal substance [...] for seven years."
Describing how difficult it was to come to terms with his stepdad being sentenced to
time behind bars, he admitted -
"I told my pops, 'I can't come see you because I see you as a king.'"
Meanwhile, speaking with GQ, the Django Unchained star admitted to feeling let down, but he
pushed through, telling Graham Norton -
"I wrote him a letter, I said, 'Hey, you know, things have gotten good for me, when you get
out I'll save your life.' And he's been living with me for 20 years now."
Jamie Foxx was just 16 years old when half-sister DeOndra Dixon entered his life and changed
it forever. As he told Dateline in 2018, it was thanks to her that he, quote, "learned
how to live."
"DeOndra has a light on that has been on since she's got here, since she was born."
Sadly, the blows just kept coming for Foxx when 36-year-old DeOndra passed away in October
2020. Taking to Instagram to confirm the tragic news, he began,
"My heart is shattered into a million pieces."
Foxx reminisced about how DeOndra would dominate the dance floor during parties and went on
to say -
"Deondra you have left A hole in my heart. I will fill it with all of the memories that
you gave me... I love you with every ounce of me... our family is shattered but we will
put the pieces back together with your love."
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