Jamie Foxx

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
• 2004: Jamie Foxx, Ray


Jamie Foxx (born December 13, 1967) is an actor, singer, and stand-up comic. Foxx is possibly best known for his portrayal of musician Ray Charles in Ray, and for his collaborations with director Michael Mann. With Ray, he became the third African-American to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Born Eric Marlon Bishop, Foxx studied music at Juilliard and San Diego's United States International University. Foxx changed his name while doing stand-up comedy, choosing his last name as a tribute to fellow comedian and actor Redd Foxx. After a small part on the TV series Roc, Foxx joined the cast of In Living Color in 1991. Here he won over viewers with many unusual characters and impressions. His impersonation of comedian/actor Garrett Morris would eventually find him starring against the former Saturday Night Live cast member in his self-titled television sitcom, The Jamie Foxx Show.

Foxx is only the second male actor, and the first African-American, in history to receive two acting Oscar nominations in the same year for two different movies, Collateral and Ray. The only other male actor to achieve this was Al Pacino.