After Will Smith Shouted Out Jamie Foxx On His Birthday, The Actor Shared 'So Many Reasons' To Be Grateful After Health Issues This Year

Will Smith/Jamie Foxx
(Image credit: WB)

Jamie Foxx turned 56 years old last week. As is usually the case for big stars, Foxx received well wishes from friends and fans, but this year was far from usual for Foxx. When friend Will Smith wished Foxx a happy birthday on social media this week, Foxx responded with a heartfelt post that made it clear that simply celebrating this birthday was incredibly special.

Will Smith’s Instagram post is a pretty hilarious video of Foxx talking about his experiences working with Smith, including on the movie Ali, which is apparently mostly the experience of working with somebody more famous than he is. But Foxx’s response to that was a lot more emotional than the funny video might have suggested, as he thanked his friend for being his friend, but also talked about how important this birthday was. Foxx said…

Tears in my eyes. This a special bday for so many reasons I want to thank you a billion! And also remind you of what you mean to us and the world. You have given us some many great artistic gems. Movies music culture!!! You are and will always be BIG WILL!!! See you in PARIS! 😜!! Biggups!!!

Earlier this year Jamie Foxx had some sort of health scare that landed him in the hospital, followed by rehab. It’s still not entirely clear what happened to the actor. The prevailing rumor is that Foxx suffered a stroke, and that would be consistent with what we know, but the Ray star has yet to speak publicly about what happened.

It was months before Jamie Foxx actually spoke himself at all. He thanked fans and friends for their support. He looked to be in good shape in the video, and he has been seen publicly in the last few months, so recovery does seem to be going well. Foxx appeared and accepted an award earlier this month. Without going into specifics he made it clear that what happened to him was as significant an ordeal as been reported, and as a result, he is appreciating life in a new way. 

Based on the fact that we are seeing Jamie Foxx appear in public again, it seems that he is truly on the road to recovery. He has stated that he is looking forward to returning to work, and so hopefully that will be happening soon. At the end of the day, it’s nobody’s business what happened to him, but there are millions of fans who will be there to see what he does next. 

Jamie Foxx has a couple of movies that he finished before his health scare that are on the 2024 movie release schedule. One movie whose release is still unclear is Back in Action, the film with Cameron Diaz that Foxx was filming when the emergency occurred. 

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.