Jamie Foxx reveals health issue: I had a brain bleed that led to a stroke

Jamie Foxx (Isabel Infantes/PA)

Jamie Foxx has revealed that a near-death experience he suffered last year was a “brain bleed” that caused a stroke.

The family of the American actor, 56, said in April 2023 that he was recovering from a “medical complication”, which Foxx later said was like going  “to hell and back”.

Foxx has addressed the circumstances of his condition for the first time in a Netflix comedy special Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was… – which was released on Tuesday.

During the programme, he says that his illness is still a “mystery” and “we still don’t know exactly what happened to me”.

Emotional, he arrives on stage, saying “you have no idea how good it feels, Atlanta” as he was “fighting” for his life to recover.

Foxx, who had been filming the Netflix spy action film Back In Action with Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz, recalls how he was treated at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta after suddenly falling ill.

He says it started as a “bad headache”, before he went to a doctor, where he received a “cortisone shot”, a steroid injection.

Foxx says his sister Deidra Dixon “knew something was wrong” as he was lethargic, and took him to the hospital.

“She didn’t know anything about Piedmont Hospital, but she had a hunch that some angels were in there,” he added.

“Atlanta saved my life.”

He also said the doctor told his sister that Foxx was “having a brain bleed, that led to a stroke”.

“You don’t dream that something would go wrong, but when something does go wrong, you need a sister,” Foxx added.

He says his sister was then told “if I don’t go in his head right now, we’re going to lose him”, and he was sent for surgery, and “my sister knelt down outside the operating room and prayed the whole time”.

“Your life doesn’t flash before your face,” Foxx added.

“It was kind of oddly peaceful, I say this all the time; ‘I saw the tunnel. I didn’t see the light. I was in that tunnel, though’. It was hot in that tunnel.

“Shit, am I going to the wrong place in this motherf*****?”

Foxx also said that the doctor said the medical staff “didn’t find” the origin of the brain bleed, but he was diagnosed with a stroke.

Jamie Foxx (Matt Crossick/PA)

The doctor said that he would recover, which would probably “be the worst year of his life”, Foxx added.

He says his family protected him from public scrutiny, and the extent of his illness that saw his head shaking at one point, and difficulties walking.

“Twenty days I don’t remember, but on May 4 I woke up,” Foxx added.

“When I woke up, I found myself in a wheelchair, I couldn’t walk.”

The Netflix special begins with his daughter, Corinne Foxx, welcoming her father to the stage, and saying: “This is a special moment for me and my family. It is a blessing to even be here.”

Also during the programme, Foxx says that he explained how he had difficulties coming to terms with his condition, and he was “down in the dumps” at one point.

He says that seeing a psychiatrist helped him, which also allowed him to rediscover his relationship with God.

“If I can stay funny, I can stay alive,” he added.

According to the Stroke Association, more than 88,000 people survive a stroke every year in the UK, but surviving a stroke is just the start of a “long and traumatic battle to finding their way back to life”.

Ms Foxx shared an Instagram post with a photo of the surgeon who saved her father’s life and wrote: “You shared your truth, your story in the most beautiful and honest way. I will never forget those months of uncertainty and recovery.

“You were resilient, brave, strong… and funny. Even on the hard days, even when you didn’t remember it, you were always funny. It’s just who you are.”

Will Smith, a friend of Foxx who worked with him on the movie Ali, also posted on the social media site saying: “I’m glad to see you back doing what you LOVE. Welcome home. I can’t wait to check it out.”