Jamie Foxx

He showed up at an open mic in 1989 because his girlfriend dared him. He changed his name from Eric Bishop to Jamie Foxx because female comedians got called first, and he figured a gender-neutral name improved his chances of getting onstage. In Living Color (1991-1994) made him a sketch comedian. Ray (2004) made him a movie star. He wore eye prosthetics that blinded him up to 14 hours a day, already knew piano, and spent months replicating Ray Charles's fingering technique. The Academy gave him Best Actor. That same year, he earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Collateral, one of only three men in Oscar history to earn two acting nominations in the same year.

In April 2023, a headache became a brain bleed that became a stroke. He didn't regain consciousness for 20 days and woke up unable to walk. He turned the whole ordeal into a Netflix stand-up special, What Had Happened Was..., which is either ruthless self-promotion or the best possible response to nearly dying. Probably both. Back in Action with Cameron Diaz followed his return. His public profile didn't shrink, it got harder to look away from.

Eric Marlon Bishop chose 'Jamie Foxx' for two reasons: 'Foxx' as a nod to Redd Foxx, and 'Jamie' because it reads as female and open mics called women first. He grew up in Terrell, Texas, raised by his grandmother, who adopted him at 60 and ran a nursery school out of the house. He started playing piano at five, led the church choir as a teenager, and earned a classical music scholarship. The fact that he's also charted R&B albums and won a Grammy for 'Blame It' tells you he doesn't know how to have just one career.