- The Oscar-winning actor detailed his experience with a brain bleed and stroke in his new Netflix special.
- Foxx emphasised the crucial role his sister and daughters played in his recovery.
- His recovery allowed him to participate in family events, such as walking his daughter down the aisle.
Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx has opened up about a life-threatening medical emergency he endured in April 2023 while filming a Netflix film in Atlanta. Foxx experienced a brain bleed that culminated in a stroke and has since detailed the life-threatening incident in his newly released Netflix special, Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was, which premiered on Tuesday 9th December. Foxx ultimately described the event as a complete mystery, saying:
“It is a mystery. We still don’t know exactly what happened to me.”
Jamie Foxx
A Race Against Time
On April 11th 2023, Foxx had an intense headache and took the sensible though ultimately inadequate step of nabbing some aspirin from a friend. However, things soon spiralled and the situation became a medical emergency to which his friends and colleagues were unsure how to respond. Before he could take the aspirin, Foxx, in his own words, “went out” and subsequently lost all memory of the following 20 days. Thankfully his sister, whom he affectionately described as “four foot eleven of nothing but pure love,” immediately drove him around Atlanta, looking for medical assistance.
Shortly thereafter they arrived at Piedmont Hospital where doctors diagnosed Foxx with a brain bleed that had led to a stroke. The prognosis was grim; without immediate surgery, Foxx was unlikely to survive. Following the critical operation, doctors remained cautiously optimistic, suggesting that while a full recovery was within the realm of possibility, Foxx was in for the most challenging year of his life.
Family Support in a Time of Crisis
Foxx’s family made the decision to keep the star out of the public eye while in hospital, which is entirely understandable and considerate given his ongoing symptoms; his dizziness was so severe that his head would involuntarily bob, and his internet-savvy daughter Corinne was worried his condition could become fodder for memes. On May 4th, Foxx regained consciousness in a wheelchair, only to discover he was unable to walk. On learning he had a stroke, his reaction was one of denial:
“Jamie Foxx don’t get strokes.”
Jamie Foxx
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Foxx was transferred to Chicago for rehabilitation. Here, he faced a humbling process that saw him totally alter some of his most enviable and iconic personality traits, specifically his “arrogant” persona, to facilitate a full recovery. This period was apparently marked by intense physical therapy as well as extensive personal reflection, as Foxx worked diligently to regain his health.
Social media updates that emerged in drips and drabs from the star during this time give us an insight: in July 2023, he addressed the rumours surrounding his hospitalisation: “I know a lot of people were waiting or wanting to hear updates but to be honest with you, I just didn’t want you to see me like that, man.” By August, he shared another update expressing his gratitude and a renewed sense of optimism:
“You’re looking at a man who is thankful… finally startin’ to feel like myself… It’s been an unexpected dark journey… but I can see the light.”
Jamie Foxx
Sharing the Journey in His Netflix Special
In his Netflix special, Foxx provided a heartfelt account of the whole ordeal, revealing that during the first 13 to 15 days of his stay in hospital, his vital signs were dangerously unstable, and medical staff continued to fear for his life. It was during this period that his teenage daughter Anelise intervened in the only way she could: by playing her guitar at his bedside.
Not only did Foxx describe this act as miraculous, believing that “God was in that guitar” and it served as his “spiritual defibrillator”, but doctors reportedly saw improvement in his vitals during these renditions.
Jamie Foxx’s long journey culminated in a heartwarming moment when he was finally well enough to walk his eldest daughter, Corinne, down the aisle at her wedding in September 2023. Corinne married TV director Joe Hooten, and Foxx’s ability to participate in this milestone capped off his remarkable recovery.
