Jamie Foxx opens up about his brain bleed and stroke in new Netflix special

Jamie Foxx has opened up in a new Netflix special about the illness that left him hospitalised last year and unable to remember a 20-day period from April to May 2023.

Foxx, 56, revealed in his Netflix special — Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was... released on Dec. 10 — that he suffered “a brain bleed that led to a stroke”.

The news of Foxx’s “mystery illness”, as he referred to it in the special, first broke in April 2023, when his daughter Corinne Fox shared a statement announcing her father had been hospitalised after experiencing a “medical complication.” It was later revealed his condition was serious enough that family had travelled to be by his bedside.

Since then, the Oscar winner has sporadically shared some details, including that he had suffered from a bad headache prior to the incident and didn’t remember 20 days of his life.

In the special, he went into detail about what he did remember from that time period, found humor in his recovery and explained how he wouldn’t have gotten through it without his family, including his daughters, Corinne Foxx and Anelise Bishop, and his sister Deidra Dixon.

Foxx also reflected on being in rehab in Chicago, since when he woke up in early May, he was in a wheelchair and unable to walk.

And Foxx consistently stressed throughout the special how close he was to death due to his condition and thanked fans for their support and prayers.

In addition to his comedy, Foxx sprinkled imitations and musical performances throughout, even bringing teenage Anelise on the stage at one point.

Here’s what Jamie Foxx shared about his health during his new Netflix special.

What was Jamie Foxx’s illness?

In his new Netflix special, Jamie Foxx revealed that he experienced “a brain bleed that led to a stroke”.

He said that on April 11, 2023, he began experiencing a bad headache and asked a friend for an aspirin. At the time, he was working on the film Back in Action alongside Glenn Close and Cameron Diaz, which will be released on Netflix in January 2025.

The initial headache began a harrowing time for Foxx.

“I don’t remember 20 days,” he said in the special.

Once in the hospital, doctors performed surgery on Foxx almost immediately. While they couldn’t find the original source of the brain bleed, they believed it would be possible for him to make a full recovery, though they told his sister it would be difficult.

The cause of the medical emergency is still unknown, according to Foxx.

“It is a mystery,” he said early in the special.

“We still don’t know exactly what happened to me. All I can tell you is that I appreciate every prayer, because I needed every prayer.”

Foxx said he woke up on May 4 in a wheelchair and then was flown to Chicago to do his rehabilitation.

Foxx’s first update following his ordeal came in July 2023, when he spoke about his hospitalisation in an emotional Instagram video.

“I cannot even begin to tell you how far it took me and how it brought me back,” he said in the video.

“I went through something that I thought I would never ever go through. I know a lot of people were waiting or wanting to hear updates, but to be honest with you, I just didn’t want you to see me like that.”

He shared another update on Instagram a month later.

“You’re lookin at a man who is thankful… finally startin to feel like myself… it’s been an unexpected dark journey… but I can see the light,” he wrote.

Jamie Foxx reveals new details about health scare

In the special, Foxx revealed that his headache, an early symptom of his brain bleed, was dismissed by the first doctor he saw, who gave him a cortisone shot and sent him home. He joked about wanting to give the doctor “half a star” in an online review.

However, Dixon felt like something was still wrong because Foxx was “lethargic”, Foxx said.

Dixon drove “aimlessly” around Atlanta with Foxx in the car looking for hospitals until she came upon Piedmont Hospital.

“What’s interesting was as she drove around, she didn’t know anything about Piedmont Hospital, but she had a hunch that some angels were sending her,” Foxx said. “Because she said that’s what we’re going to need.”

A “cool doctor” in a Los Angeles Lakers jersey then told Foxx’s sister that he was “having a brain bleed that has led to a stroke, and if I don’t go into his head right now, we’re going to lose him.”

“And (Dixon) fired back and said, ‘You can go in his head, but you’re not going to find anything, because I already talked to God.’”

Foxx was later told that he was taken into the operating room as his sister knelt down outside the room and prayed the entire time.

“Your life doesn’t flash before your face,” he said. “It’s kind of oddly peaceful. I say this all the time, I saw the tunnel, I didn’t see the light.”

The doctor then came out after surgery and said that they didn’t find what caused the brain bleed but did confirm he was having one, Foxx said.

“He may be able to make a full recovery, but it’s going to be the worst year of his life,” Foxx said the doctor relayed to his sister.

The actor credited Dixon and his daughters for helping him throughout the ordeal.

“My daughter didn’t want nobody to see me because I was dizzy from the stroke,” he quipped. “So my head would do this (shakes head).”

What is a brain bleed?

A brain bleed, also known as an intracranial haemorrhage, is a type of stroke, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The blood pools between the brain and the skull and prevents oxygen from getting to the brain. The condition can be fatal and requires fast treatment.

Common symptoms, according to Cleveland Clinic, include:

• Sudden tingling, weakness, numbness in the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden, severe headache, also known as a thunderclap headache
• Nausea and vomiting
• Confusion and dizziness
• Slurred speech
• Lethargy

Did Jamie Foxx have a stroke?

Yes, Jamie Foxx had a stroke in April 2023. He revealed in his Netflix special, released December 2024, that he had suffered a brain bleed, which led to a stroke.

A stroke occurs when the brain is not able to get necessary blood flow, usually due to a blockage or a blood vessel in the brain bursting, as was the case with Foxx.

Both scenarios can lead to damage to the brain. Strokes can cause long-term disability or death, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.