Jamie Foxx Reveals How Daughter Fixed ‘Bad’ Vitals During Stroke

Jamie Foxx reflected on his 2023 health scare at the 2025 BET Awards, crediting his daughter for literally saving his life.

The multi-hyphenate star was given the Ultimate Icon Honor at the prestigious award show held on Monday, June 9.

Foxx, who is grateful for a “second chance” at life, got super emotional while discussing the near-fatal stroke.

Music legend Stevie Wonder presented Foxx with the Ultimate Icon Honor award, and he couldn’t help but fight back tears during his acceptance speech.

“I cannot even begin to express the love that I feel from everybody out there,” he said after thanking God for being good. “I gotta be honest, when I saw the ‘in memoriam’ [segment], I was like man, that could have been me.”

Following the emotional confession, the camera panned to show the actor’s two daughters, Corinne and Anelise, crying in the audience out of gratitude.

Discussing surviving the health scare that stemmed from a brain bleed, a tearful Foxx told the audience, “I don’t know why I went through what I went through, but I know my second chance, I’m not going to turn down. I’m not going to turn down.”

Barely holding back his tears, the “Gold Digger” singer confessed to asking God for “one more crack” at life because he still has so much love to give.

Continuing his emotional speech, the “Back in Action” actor revealed that he had vowed to God to do “right,” breaking down in tears again.

He then appreciated his daughters for caring for him during his health crisis, starting with his eldest, Corinne. Per People Magazine, he gushed over the 31-year-old, saying:

“I cannot say enough about you. You’ve always taken the backseat to everything. But when you needed to drive it, you drove. And you made sure I was here. And I ain’t going to turn down.”

Turning his attention to his youngest daughter, Anelise, 16, the Golden Globe winner praised, “My baby with the big hair. She hides under that hair because she’s got something special. You’re so beautiful, man.”

He then recalled how Anelise helped out while he was “fighting for his life” after doctors told him he would die because his vitals were “bad.”

“I didn’t want my 14-year-old to see me like that,” Foxx remembered. “But my Anelise overheard the conversation, and she snuck into my hospital room with her guitar and said, ‘I know what my daddy needs.’ And as she played the guitar, my vitals dropped.”

A grateful Foxx said, “God was in that guitar,” recalling how the nurses thought he was given medication.

During his 10-minute speech at the BET, the “Django Unchained” star touched on his Netflix Special, “Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was.”

It was Foxx’s first time speaking publicly about his stroke, but with humor.

The 57-year-old revealed the comedy special was dedicated to the Black community. “When I did my special, it was for the Black people. Black people [were] the ones that said, ‘Man, we got you,'” he shared.

He appreciated them for holding him down during the health scare, after which he gave a shout-out to his team. Foxx explained that despite his age and situation, they “stabilized” him.

Before getting on stage to share his speech, Foxx was serenaded by a heartwarming rendition of his songs performed by A-listers.

It began with Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and rapper Ludacris covering the honoree’s 2005 track “Unpredictable.”

Then Tank performed a rendition of Ray Charles’ “Night Time is the Right Time,” paying tribute to Foxx’s award-winning role as Ray Charles in the biopic “Ray.”

Still celebrating the actor’s “Oscar era,” Jennifer Hudson came on stage to join Tank in the performance, after which the EGOT winner belted out a country version of his 2005 hit, “Gold Digger.”

Closing the segment, Doug E. Fresh, Teddy Riley, and T-Pain then covered Foxx’s 2008 hit “Blame It,” closing out the night.