Foxx first came to fame as a comedian. Still as Eric Bishop, he got his start in showbiz in 1989 when he tried his hand at standup on a dare at an open mic night. After realizing that the women who signed up for open mic nights were always selected, he used different unisex names with hopes of getting stage time. After bringing down the house as Foxx , the name Eric Bishop was relegated to the past. After spending time on the comedy circuit, he joined Keenan Ivory Wayans, Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans and Tommy Davidson in the landmark Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color, creating some of the show’s funniest and most memorable moments.
In 1996, he launched his own series, The Jamie Foxx Show, which was one of the top-rated programs on the WB Network during its five-year run. Foxx not only starred on the series but was also the co-creator, executive producer, and director of several episodes. He received critical acclaim for his riveting work in Any Given Sunday and as Bundini Brown in Ali. These dramatic breakout roles led to 2004, the Year of the Foxx, when he delivered a trio of powerful performances in Ray, Collateral and Redemption.
He won an Academy Award for his portrayal of the legendary Ray Charles as well as the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild (SAG), BAFTA and NAACP Image Awards. Foxx simultaneously garnered Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG Award, BAFTA Award, and Image Award nominations in the category of Best Supporting Actor for his work in Collateral. And he landed Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations and won an Image Award for his portrayal of condemned gang member-turned-Nobel Peace Prize nominee Stan Tookie Williams in the television movie Redemption.
That amazing feat marked the first time that a single actor has received three Golden Globe nominations and four SAG Award nominations in the same year. Some of his other films include: Dreamgirls, Miami Vice, Jarhead, The Kingdom, The Soloist, Law Abiding Citizen, and Valentine’s Day.
Besides his outstanding work in front of the camera, in January 2006, Foxx launched his own radio channel called The Foxxhole with SIRUS Satellite Radio. The station is a combination of comedy and music.
Foxx has also achieved a thriving career in music. His J Records debut, Unpredictable, released in December 2005 was nominated for three Grammy Awards, eight Billboard Music Awards, one Soul Train Music Award and two American Music Awards, for which he won Favorite Male Artist. Foxx received three Grammy nominations including Best R&B Album for his Platinum-selling Intuition, which debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart in December 2008. On January 31, 2010 Foxx won a Grammy for his record breaking smash hit Blame It featuring T-Pain in the category of Best R&B performance by a duo/group with vocals _ at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. Blame It , the second single from Intuition , broke records including holding the number one position for 12 consecutive weeks on the Urban Mainstream Chart.
