Jamie Foxx’s 2023 Hospitalization Happened After a ‘Bad Headache’

We’ve been getting sporadic health updates about Jamie Foxx ever since he was hospitalized in April 2023 following what has so far vaguely been described as a “medical complication.” In July 2023, Foxx assured fans in an Instagram video that he was not paralyzed, though he acknowledged that he had gone “to hell and back, and my road to recovery had some potholes as well.” In March 2024, during an acceptance speech for the African American Film Critics Association’s Producers Award, Foxx teased that he would address the medical scare in an upcoming comedy special. Until then, here’s what we know about what happened, including what initial reports said, how his Hollywood projects have been affected, and the latest details he’s shared about a “bad headache” on April 11, 2023 that was followed by a hospital stay.

Why was Jamie Foxx in the hospital?

He was hospitalized in April 2023 after experiencing an unspecified “medical complication.” Whatever happened, TMZ claimed it was serious enough that family members who were out of town came to the hospital. Per TMZ, Foxx had been working in Atlanta on a film with Cameron Diaz and Glenn Close called Back in Action. Foxx has said that he begged Diaz to do the project, her first since Annie in 2014. “We just begged and pleaded on my knees, like, ‘Just give the people one more again,’” told Daily Pop in August 2023. “We love her, we’ve been waiting on her, and this is just gonna be fantastic.” Two days after being photographed on the set of Back in Action, Foxx suffered the aforementioned medical complication.

Foxx’s daughter, Corinne Foxx, said in an Instagram Story on April 12 that her dad was already doing better thanks to “quick action and great care.” She added, “We know how beloved he is and appreciate your prayers. The family asks for privacy during this time.”

On April 17, CNN reported that Georgia doctors were still trying to determine what led to his medical complication. “They are running tests and still trying to figure out what exactly happened,” a source told CNN. In the meantime, friends sent Foxx prayers and well wishes when news of his hospitalization arrived. “Get well and back to yourself SOONER THAN LATER! God willing,” LeBron James tweeted. “A @iamjamiefoxx appreciation post,” Kerry Washington wrote in a tweet. “Sending you all the love and prayers my movie huzbin.” At Martin Lawrence’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony on April 20, attendees sent kind words to the star. “I hear he’s doing better … My prayers go out for him every night and just wishing the best for him, one of the best that we got in Hollywood,” Lawrence said. “Not only one of the best entertainers but a good person.” Tracy Morgan and Steve Harvey reiterated Lawrence’s sentiment. Meanwhile, a source told People on April 21, “They’re keeping him under observation.”

How did he initially say he was doing?

On the pickleball court, you mean? Corinne Foxx, Jamie Foxx’s daughter, wrote in May 2023 that Foxx was recuperating and even thriving. “Sad to see how the media runs wild,” she said in a post on her Instagram Story. “My dad has been out of the hospital for weeks, recuperating. In fact, he was playing pickleball yesterday!” Outside of the court, friends were sharing brief updates on how Foxx was healing. “I have heard that he’s doing well,” Tiffany Haddish told Entertainment Tonight at Tiffany and Co.’s reopening on April 27. “We have a lot of mutual friends that are keeping me updated. I’ve been praying really hard for him.” Sources, including Nick Cannon, said Foxx was “alert” in the days prior to Haddish’s update: “He’s still in the hospital and doctors are running tests but he’s awake and alert.” Foxx made his first statement on May 3, almost a month later, on Instagram. “Appreciate all the love!!!” he wrote. “Feeling blessed.”

In July 2023, Foxx was spotted boating on the Chicago River; TMZ said it was the first sighting of Foxx post-hospitalization. Later that month, he posted a video on his Instagram thanking his fans for their support through his unnamed illness. “I went through something that I thought I would never ever go through,” he explained. “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 man… I didn’t want you to see me with tubes running out of me and trying to figure out if I was gonna make it through.” In his message, Foxx also addressed some rumors regarding his health status. “As you can see, the eyes are working, the eyes are working just fine,” Foxx said half-jokingly as he moved his eyes from side to side. “I’m not paralyzed, but I went to hell and back, and my road to recovery had some potholes as well. But I’m coming back and I’m able to work.”

What projects were affected?

Foxx and his daughter Corinne were slated to host the game show We Are Family, but they were ultimately replaced before the January 2024 premiere. Beat Shazam, another game show hosted by Foxx, had to find a replacement host for its sixth season, which began production just days before the Oscar-winning actor’s 2023 hospitalization. But Foxx returned as host for the Beat Shazam’s seventh season, which premiered in May 2024 with an episode titled “Jamie’s Back!” The film Back in Action, co-starring Cameron Diaz, paused filming in the immediate aftermath of Foxx’s medical emergency but later resumed production with two doubles standing in for Foxx — one for stunts and one for photography. Back in Action is currently scheduled to drop on Netflix on November 15, 2024.

What else has Foxx shared about his experience?

Foxx offered a few new details about his hospitalization in a video shared on social media by The Art of Dialogue on July 2, 2024. In the 33-second clip, the actor told a small group of people at an outdoor cafe that he had a “bad headache” on April 11, 2023. “I asked my boy for an Advil,” he recalled. He then snapped his fingers and added, “I was gone for 20 days. I don’t remember anything.” Foxx said he was later told that his sister and daughter took him to a doctor, who gave him a cortisone shot. He pointed to his head when he noted that a second doctor concluded that “something’s going on up there.” What exactly was going on? For now, the medical complication will remain unspecified: “I won’t say it on camera,” Foxx said.

This post has been updated throughout.