Jamie Foxx

He was born as the son of Louise Annette Talley and Darrell Bishop. His parents separated when he was young and he was brought up by his maternal grandparents in a racially segregated community.

He was musically inclined from childhood and started playing the piano when he was five. He also had a knack for telling jokes and making people laugh.

He attended Terrell High School. He was academically brilliant and was very skilled at playing sports like football and basketball. He also played music with a band called Leather and Lace.

He earned a scholarship to the United States International University to study classical music and composition.

He started performing stand-up comedy in 1989. During this time he adopted the name Jamie Foxx as his professional name.

His acting career began in 1991 when he joined the cast of the sketch comedy television series ‘In Living Color’ where he appeared as a recurring character in 95 episodes.

He made his movie debut in 1992 as Baker in the fantasy comedy movie ‘Toys’. The film was a box office failure and could not help launch his Hollywood career.

He released his debut music album ‘Peep This’ in 1994. The album reached No. 78 on the U.S. Billboard 200. It would be 11 years before he brought out another album.

He got his first substantial movie role in 1999 when he was cast as footballer Willie Beamen in ‘Any Given Sunday’. Since the actor had played football during his younger days, he performed this role to perfection and was hugely appreciated for it.

He played the title character in the biographical film ‘Ray’ which was based on the life of the rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles. The film was critically acclaimed and won several prestigious awards.