This Is Really Why Jamie Foxx Changed His Name

There's no doubt that, when Jamie Foxx enters a room, all eyes are on him. A lot has been said about his charisma and his undeniable charm. In fact, he was called a real-life Prince Charming when he attended a "Cinderella Ball" at the National Capital Arena back in 2018, per The Washington Post. That said, though, Foxx has always remained rather humble about his career and his success. In an interview with Men's Journal, he admitted he didn't get this far in life without years of hard work. Foxx said, "People can become anything. I'm from a little town of 12,000 people in Terrell, Texas. Anything is possible."

But little do some of his fans know that the same boy from Texas who grew up to become a huge Hollywood star wasn't called Jamie Foxx from the get-go. In fact, Foxx's real name isn't what you would expect at all.

His fans might know him as Jamie Foxx, but the Academy Award-winning actor was actually born Eric Marlon Bishop. Foxx was raised mostly by his maternal grandparents and, for the most part, had a happy and healthy childhood. However, during an interview on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," Foxx told the host that, at one point, he noticed there were more women getting stage time at stand-up gigs. That's when he got the idea of choosing a neutral name in the hopes that he would finally get his time in the spotlight, too, seeing how the female comics would always get a spot on stage before him. He chose the name "Jamie" and "Foxx" because Redd Foxx was his favorite stand-up comedian, per the Independent. 

During an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Foxx admitted that he sometimes operates with two different personas — his real name and his Hollywood name. He said, "Having a stage name is like having a Superman complex. I go into the telephone booth as Eric Bishop and come out as Jamie Foxx." Needless to say, changing his name has certainly helped make Foxx the household name that he is today. But that's not the only time that being "Jamie Foxx" has helped the actor and comedian land his gigs.

Being Eric Bishop has made him the man that he is, but being Jamie Foxx has afforded him some great opportunities in the entertainment industry. During his sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey, Foxx said that he first came up with his stage name when he was trying to come up with something clever for his stand-up routines during his early days in Los Angeles. Recalling how he was trying to come up with names for both him and his partner, Speedy Caldwell, Foxx said, "One night I put us down as Stacy Green and Jamie Foxx because those sounded like women's names, and we got picked. When you hear the name Foxx — as in Redd Foxx — you automatically think funny." The name change certainly worked, as Foxx went on to star in huge blockbuster hits, such as "Collateral," "Ray," "Django Unchained," "Dreamgirls," and much more, per IMDb.

That said, it seems like it doesn't really matter if he goes by Eric Bishop or Jamie Foxx because one thing is for certain: this young boy from Terrell, Texas is making everyone laugh both on-screen and off and no amount of name changes will change that.