Jamie Foxx's Real Name: Eric Marlon Bishop

Quick answer: Jamie Foxx's documented birth name is given as Eric Marlon Bishop by Encyclopaedia Britannica, which dates his birth to December 13, 1967, in Terrell, Texas. Encyclopedia.com gives the same date and place but names him Eric Bishop (Encyclopaedia Britannica; Encyclopedia.com).

Real name and early life

Britannica lists Eric Marlon Bishop and says his parents separated soon after his birth and that he was adopted by his maternal grandparents. Encyclopedia.com names the birth parents as stockbroker Shaheed Abdullah and Louise Annette Talley and says he was adopted at the age of seven months by his maternal grandparents, Mark and Esther Talley. He began playing piano about age five, both accounts agree. Britannica says he later earned a scholarship to United States International University (later Alliant International University) in San Diego to study classical piano and music theory, and that while in school he began performing at comedy clubs. Discovering that it was easier for women to get stage time at open-mike nights, he adopted the gender-neutral name Jamie Foxx, Britannica records.

Career highlights

In 1991 he won the Bay Area Black Comedy Competition, which led to a regular role on the Fox sketch series In Living Color, where he was known for impersonations and the character Wanda. Encyclopedia.com also records that 1991 break. His sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show ran for five seasons beginning in 1996. After film roles in Any Given Sunday (1999) and Ali (2001), he won the Academy Award for best actor for playing Ray Charles in Ray (2004) and was nominated for best supporting actor the same year for Collateral. Later films include Dreamgirls (2006), opposite Eddie Murphy, and Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (2012). He has also recorded as a singer. Britannica says his debut album, Peep This, appeared in 1994; Unpredictable (2005) reached the top of the Billboard album chart, and he sang on Kanye West's "Gold Digger" (2005). The album Intuition (2008) included the Grammy-winning single "Blame It," and later albums included Best Night of My Life (2010). Britannica also lists Grammy Awards in 2009 and 2010 and a 2021 memoir, Act Like You Got Some Sense.

Name notes for searchers

Britannica gives the birth name Eric Marlon Bishop; Encyclopedia.com gives Eric Bishop. He has been known professionally as Jamie Foxx since his early stand-up career. Searchers looking for the In Living Color cast member or the Oscar-winning star of Ray are usually aiming at the same person.