Oprah Talks to Jamie Foxx
![Oprah and Jamie Foxx Oprah and Jamie Foxx](https://static.oprah.com/omagazine/200512/images/omag_200512_ocut_125x163.jpg)
The brilliant Oscar®-winning star of Ray (and a stand-up guy besides) in one of the most candid interviews you'll ever read—about racism, fame, family, fathers, daughters, accomplishment and what really brings him pleasure.
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First I heard the pre-Oscar hullabaloo about Jamie Foxx: He'd portrayed legendary singer Ray Charles so convincingly that critics called him a shoo-in for the Academy Award. Next I became anxious for Jamie. I knew those very predictions might invite a force to rise up and block a victory. Yet I also knew about a woman named Estelle—the extraordinary grandmother who raised Jamie in Terrell, Texas. When Jamie lost his 95-year-old grandmother to Alzheimer's in October 2004, I said to my friend Gayle, "We've got this one." Because here's what I believe: When you lose someone who has loved you, part of that person's spirit and energy is left with you—so you can become more powerful than you've ever been. I was convinced that nothing could overcome Estelle's energy, but there was a moment as the names were being called out on Oscar night when I thought, "Are you with us, Estelle?" She was. Four months after her death, Jamie stood on a stage before millions and received his award in honor of Estelle's strength, courage, and care.![Listen](https://static.oprah.com/images/global/global_icons_audio_11x10.gif)
Estelle would be proud of the man who sat across from me at the Setai hotel in Miami this fall. We met up in the sprawling 10,000-square-foot penthouse, with its view of the skyline and the sea. (Jamie was filming Miami Vice , which had brought him to Florida.) Between us, no subject was off-limits—whether it was fatherhood, race, or the years before he adopted his now-famous stage name and was still Eric Bishop, a church musician. Today Jamie is a 37-year-old dad to an 11-year-old, a bachelor who's not exactly looking—and a man who couldn't be clearer about his mission.
Start reading Oprah's interview with Jamie Foxx
Note: This interview appeared in the December 2005 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.