Foxx began his career as a stand-up comedian before landing his own sitcom just a few years later -- and then he awed the world. His portrayal of Ray Charles in "Ray" (2004) earned Foxx one accolade after another and even relaunched his music career. Fresh off his Oscar win, the multi-hyphenate teamed with Kanye West and took home a Grammy for the Ray Charles-inspired "Gold Digger." This fall, he's back on the big screen as Dean "MF" Jones in the star-studded comedy "Horrible Bosses 2" (you can also catch him in "Annie" December 19).
From his real name to the dare that launched his career, here are 33 things you probably don't know about Jamie Foxx.
1. Jamie Foxx was born December 13, 1967 in Terrell, Texas to Louise Annette Talley and Darrell Bishop.
2. He was adopted by his maternal grandparents after his parents' relationship came to an end when he was just seven months old.
3. Foxx's grandparents had also adopted his mother when she was a child.
4. Foxx had a very strict Baptist upbringing. He credits his grandmother's influence in his life as a primary reason for his success.
5. Growing up, he played basketball and football. Foxx was the first player in the high school's history to pass for more than 1,000 yards.
6. Foxx also began playing piano at the age of 5 and was a choir leader and pianist in the local New Hope Baptist Church.
7. His musical talent helped him land a scholarship to Alliant International University for classical music and composition.
8. While his musical career has been overshadowed by his acting, Foxx released his debut album "Peep This" in 1994.
9. His follow-up album -- released in 2005 -- debuted at No. 2.
10. The album followed collaborations with Kanye West, in particular the song "Gold Digger" that featured a Ray Charles hook ("I Got a Woman") and went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 2005.
11. The song earned Foxx and West the Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance.
12. In 2010, he won a second Grammy with T-Pain for the song "Blame It."
13. Before his Grammys, however, Foxx's acting career began as a stand-up comic -- on a dare. In 1989, a girlfriend egged Foxx on to participate in a comedy club's open mic night.
14. Foxx was no stranger to making a room laugh, though. In second grade, his teacher would often reward the class by letting a young Foxx tell his classmates jokes.
15. When Foxx found out that female comedians often performed first, he took up the ambiguous sounding stage name -- Jamie Foxx -- to avoid biases.
16. His birth name is Eric Marlon Bishop.
17. The surname "Foxx" was a nod to comedian Redd Foxx.
18. Foxx's successful stand-up led to roles on "In Living Color" and "Roc" in the early '90s.
19. By 1996, he had his own TV series -- "The Jamie Foxx Show" (1996 - 2001).
20. While starring in his show, Foxx's film career began to pick up. His first starring role was in "Booty Call" (1997).
21. A couple of years later, he landed his first dramatic starring role in Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday" (1999).
22. Foxx's first screen role, however, was also his film debut. In 1992, the actor had a minor role in the Robin Williams-starring "Toys" (1992).
23. From "Booty Call" to Oscar glory. In 2004, Foxx became a bona fide star after receiving two Oscar nominations in the same year for "Collateral" and "Ray." He's only the second male in history to receive two acting Oscar nominations in the same year. The other was his "Any Given Sunday" co-star Al Pacino.
24. Although he didn't win the Best Supporting Oscar for "Collateral," Foxx won Best Actor for his portrayal of the late musician Ray Charles in "Ray."
25. He hasn't been nominated since.
26. He's one of only five people to have both an Oscar for acting and a No. 1 hit on the Billboard charts. The others are Cher, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby.
27. Foxx wore prosthetic eyelids for the production of "Ray" so he could better play the blind pianist. The prosthetic eyelids made him virtually blind for the majority of each day.
28. Oddly enough, the actor did impersonations of Ray Charles when he was working on "In Living Color."
29. Kerry Washington played Jamie Foxx's wife in "Ray" and, then again, eight years later in Tarantino's "Django Unchained" (2012).
30. In real life, Foxx has never been married.
31. Although he's never tied the knot, Foxx has two children: Corinne (b. 1994) and Annalise (b. 2009).
32. Corinne accompanied him to the Oscars in 2005.
33. Bonus Fact: Jamie Foxx once hijacked a Moviefone Unscripted! See the hilarious video below.
[Sources: IMDb, Wikipedia]
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