Biography
JAMIE FOXX won an Academy Award® for Best Actor in 2005 for his portrayal of the legendary Ray Charles in the Taylor Hackford-directed biopic “Ray”. In addition to winning the Oscar®, Foxx swept the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild (SAG), BAFTA, and NAACP Image Awards, as well as numerous critics awards, for his performance in “Ray”. He also shared in a SAG Award nomination received by the film’s ensemble cast.
Also in 2005, Foxx garnered Oscar®, Golden Globe, SAG Award, BAFTA Award, and Image Award nominations in the category of Best Supporting Actor for his work in Michael Mann’s dramatic thriller “Collateral”, in which he starred with Tom Cruise. That same year, Foxx also earned Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations and won an Image Award for Best Actor in a Television Movie for his portrayal of condemned gang member-turned-Nobel Peace Prize nominee Stan “Tookie” Williams in the FX Network’s movie “Redemption.”
This marked the first time that a single actor has received three Golden Globe nominations and four SAG Award nominations in the same year. Foxx is also the first African-American actor to be nominated for two Oscars® in the same year, and is only the second man in history to receive two acting Oscar® nominations in the same year for two different movies.
Christmas 2006 Foxx was seen in the highly anticipated screen adaptation of the Broadway musical “Dreamgirls” from Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures. The film was written and directed by Bill Condon and costars Beyonce Knowles and Eddie Murphy. The film won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Musical Comedy, and received a SAG nomination for Best Ensemble Cast. “Dreamgirls” was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture, and Foxx was nominated in the Best Actor Category for performance as Curtis Taylor Jr .
Under Foxx’s production company, Foxx King Entertainment, he recently executive produced the film "Life Support." The film closed the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and stars Queen Latifah. It is an inspirational true-life story of a mother who overcame an addiction to crack and became a positive role model and an AIDS activist in the black community. The film debuted on HBO in March.
In addition to his outstanding work in front of the camera, Foxx has also achieved a thriving career in music. The release of Foxx’s long-awaited J Records debut, “Unpredictable,” was just one taste of his recent unprecedented accomplishments as an artist. “Unpredictable” topped the charts in late December 2005 and early 2006, as it held the number one spot for five weeks, sold over one million units in 20 days. Foxx was nominated for eight Billboard Music Awards, three Grammy Award, one Soul Train Music Award, and two American Music Awards, where Foxx won Favorite Male Artist. His NBC special Unpredictable was a creative live performance of his album, which included an all-star line up of artists such as Mary J. Blige, Common, Snoop Dogg, The Game and Angie Stone. The album was nominated for three Grammy Awards in 2006—including Best R&B Album; the track “Love Changes,” featuring Mary J. Blige, for Best R&B Performance By a Duo or Group; and the track “Unpredictable,” featuring Ludacris, for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.
In January 2007 Foxx announced his partnership with SIRUS Satellite Radio to start his own 24 radio station called Foxxhole. The station is a combination of comedy and music and launched in May.
The Texas native first came to fame as a comedian. 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 1993, Foxx released his first HBO Comedy Special titled “Jamie Foxx: Straight from the Foxxhole.” Follwing the release, in 1996 he launched his own TV series, “The Jamie Foxx Show,” which was one of the top-rated shows on the WB Network during its five-year run. Foxx not only starred on the series but was the co-creator and executive producer, and also directed several episodes.
Foxx’s big-screen break came in 1999 when Oliver Stone cast him as star quarterback Willie Beamen in “Any Given Sunday,” with Al Pacino. In 2001, he played Drew “Bundini” Brown in Michael Mann’s “Ali,” alongside Will Smith. Foxx followed “Ali” with his first HBO Comedy Special, “Jamie Foxx: Straight from the Foxxhole,” in 1993.
He recently starred in Michael Mann's feature film "Miami Vice" along side Colin Farrell and Sam Mendes’ Gulf War drama “Jarhead,” with Jake Gyllenhaal.
In September 2007 Foxx will be seen in “The Kingdom,” in which he will portray the leader of a counter-terrorist team on the hunt for those responsible for a deadly bombing attack on Americans working in the Middle East.
Foxx wrapped up his North American “Jamie Foxx Unpredictable Tour 2007” selling out all markets for the last six months doing both stand up and music.
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