Jamie Foxx has shared how his 16-year-old daughter, Anelise, supported him during the worst days of his mysterious illness.
The 56-year-old actor reflected on being hospitalized in April 2023 during his new Netflix special, Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was…, released on Tuesday (December 10).
For the first time, Foxx revealed he had suffered a brain bleed that led to a stroke, rendering him unconscious in a hospital for weeks.
“My vitals were so bad they were going to lose me,” he said. “That’s when a miracle happened. And that miracle was working through my youngest daughter.”
Foxx shares his youngest daughter Anelise Bishop with his ex, Kristin Grannis.
He said that while he didn’t want Anelise to “see [him]” in that condition, that didn’t stop her from coming into his room to comfort him.
“She snuck into my hospital room with her guitar. And she says, ‘I know what my daddy needs,’” he continued, with tears in his eyes. “She said, ‘That’s my daddy.’”
Foxx said his daughter kept him calm, noting that when she started playing the guitar, his “vitals went down.”
“The nurses at the nurses’ station were baffled,” the Django Unchained star added. “Like, ‘Wow, what did they give him?’ So they rushed into the room and [Anelise] said, ‘Shh, I got him.’”
He said it wasn’t until after his stoke that he realized “God was in” her instrument. He also called the guitar his “spiritual defibrillator.”
With her guitar in hand, Anelise then appeared on stage and hugged her father, prompting a standing ovation from the audience.
As Anelise began strumming her guitar, Foxx continued to tell her to “play, play, play,” through his tears.
“Let them see your talent. Let ‘em see. Shine Anelise, shine,” he said. Anelise wiped her tears from her eyes after her performance.
Foxx then expressed his gratitude for his daughter, saying: “Thank you so much for stepping up when all was lost.”
“You had to make it because I always dreamed that we’d perform together onstage one day,” she responded. Foxx went on to sing a song about his illness and how his family stood by his side.
In the tune, he also referred to his 30-year-old daughter Corrine, who he shares with his ex Connie Kline. “God don’t take me, my oldest daughter’s getting married, please let me walk her down the aisle,” he sang, referring to her wedding in September to Joe Hooten. He then showed the audience a video of him and Corrine at her wedding.
In April 2023, news broke that the actor was admitted to the hospital with what his family called a “medical complication.” At the time, details about his illness remained undisclosed, prompting rife speculation.
During his Netflix special, Foxx said that after he complained about a headache, his friends took him to the doctor in Atlanta and he got a cortisone shot, before being sent home. However, his sister Deidra Dixon “knew something was wrong,” so she took him to Piedmont Hospital, where she learned “some horrible news about her big brother.”
“[The doctor] said, ‘He’s having a brain bleed that has led to a stroke, and if I don’t go in his head right now, We’re going to lose him,’” he continued, adding his sister “knelt down outside the operating room and prayed the whole time.”
He also shared what his doctor told his sister about his recovery after the emergency surgery.
“[He said,] ‘We didn’t find where it was coming from, but he is having a stroke. He may be able to make a full recovery but it’s going to be the worst year of his life,’” the singer explained. “That’s what it was Atlanta. You finally got the story. You saved my life.”