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Jamie Foxx reveals the health condition that hospitalized him for 20 days© Gilbert Flores

Health news

Jamie Foxx finally opens up about dangerous 'mystery illness'; 'I went to hell and back'

Foxx was hospitalized for 20 days in 2023


Maria Loreto
Senior Writer
DECEMBER 10, 2024 8:48 PM EST

Jamie Foxx is finally speaking up about what happened to his health in 2023. While shooting a film in Atlanta at the time, news broke out that Foxx had been hospitalized and that family members from all over the country rushed in to support him. 

Foxx is finally revealing what happened in a new Netflix special titled "Jamie Foxx: What Happened Was...

Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx© Courtesy of Netflix
Jamie Foxx was filming "Back in Action" with Cameron Diaz when he had a stroke

Foxx revealed that he suffered a brain bleed that resulted in a stroke. 

"I went to hell and back," he said in the special. The symptoms initially appeared as a headache, but as they didn't improve, he went to a hospital. There it was determined that he needed emergency brain surgery. 

"I don't remember 20 days," he said.

"They thought they were going to lose me because my vitals were out of control. That's when a miracle happened and that miracle was working through my youngest daughter," he said, referring to Anelise, who was playing music to him in his room. 

"When she was playing my vitals went down. It was God in that guitar."

Foxx revealed that doctors shared that he might make a full recovery  “but it’s going to be the worst year of his life." 

Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was… | Official Trailer | Netflix

Foxx couldn't believe he had suffered a stroke

After he came back to his body, Foxx shared that he was in a wheelchair and didn't know what had happened. A friend told him he'd had a stroke. “Jamie Foxx don’t get strokes,” he remembered saying. 

He made his rehab in Chicago and shared that he had to drop his arrogance in order to recover fully and get back to the life he was living previously. Throughout the special, Foxx showed how well he had recovered, performing three sold-out nights as he sang, danced, and played the piano for the audience. 

Jamie Foxx at this year's Governos Awards© Jason Armond
Jamie Foxx at this year's Governos Awards

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