Jamie Foxx Reveals Daughter Anelise Helped Save His Life by Playing Guitar at Hospital Bedside: 'It Was Touch and Go'

Mar. 15, 2025

Jamie Foxx and daughter Anelise.Photo:Jamie Foxx/Instagram

Jamie Foxx/Instagram

Jamie Foxx’s daughter has an emotional musical performance showcased in her dad’s new Netflix special.

Tuesday, Dec. 10, marked the debut ofJamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was…,in which the Oscar winner, 56, reveals he had abrain bleed that led to a stroke, plus more about his April 2023 medical emergency and recovery.

At one point in the special, Foxx says his 16-year-old daughterAnelise, whom he shares with ex Kristin Grannis, helped him through a period in the hospital when it was “touch and go” for the actor.

“They said at one point, the first 15 days, they thought they were going to lose me because my vitals were out of control,” Foxx recalled of being in Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. “There was a 13 or 14 day period where they said, we’ve gotta keep him calm and we’ve given him every medication that they could. It’s not working, we gotta keep him calm because his vitals are so high we’re going to lose him.”

Foxx then joked, “Do you know what the worst thing to have in a hospital room when you’re trying to keep calm? Black family members,” before adding, “That’s when a miracle happened, and that miracle was working through my youngest daughter. She’s 14. I didn’t want her to see me like that but she snuck into my hospital room with her guitar and she said, ‘I know what my daddy needs … that’s my daddy.’ "

Foxx became tearful as he recalled his youngest daughter’s actions and told the audience, “They said when she was playing, my vitals went down. The nurses at the nurses station were baffled. Like, ‘Wow what did they give him?’ They rushed into the room and she said, ‘Ssh. I got him.’ … Do you know what I found out? That God was in that guitar. That’s my spiritual defibrillator.”

The actor then emotionally welcomed Anelise onto the stage with her guitar and the two shared a tearful hug before she started to perform.

The dad of two then turned to his youngest daughter and tearfully told her, “Anelise, thank you so much for stepping up when all was lost.”

“You had to make it because I always dreamed that we’d perform together onstage one day,” Anelise responded before the pair performed a song about his medical emergency with Foxx rapping and singing and Anelise playing the guitar.

Jamie Foxx and his daughter Anelise.iamjamiefoxx/Instagram

iamjamiefoxx/Instagram

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In the track, Foxx sang, “God don’t take me, my oldest daughter’s getting married, please let me walk her down the aisle,” referencing his 30-year-old daughterCorinne’sSeptember weddingto Joe Hooten where he did indeedwalk her down the aisle. A photo of the special moment also flashed up on the screen.

For Father’s Day back in June, Foxxshared a videoof himself singing next to Anelise as she played guitar outdoors. “#daddydaughtertime father’s day vibes. Static wind feedback and a lot of love! happy Father’s Day my daughter’s guitar brought me through a lot. More to come,” he wrote at the time.

Jamie Foxx in ‘Jamie Foxx: What Happened Was…'.Parrish Lewis/Netflix

Parrish Lewis/Netflix

Corinne firstconfirmed her dad’s “medical complication” in a statementback in April 2023. The actor suffered the stroke while in Atlanta, where he was filming the Netflix movieBack in ActionwithCameron Diaz.

In the comedy special, Foxx commends Corinne and his sister Deidra Dixon for how they dealt with his medical emergency.

“They held me the f— down,” Foxx said. “Nobody sees him. They cut it all off. They didn’t want you to see me like that and I didn’t want you to see me like that. I wanted you to see my like this.”

“There’s another reason too why my daughter didn’t want no one to see me,” Foxx continued, adding, “I was so dizzy from the stroke so my head would do this [makes a wobbling motion with his head].”

“She said, ‘They gone meme the f— out of this mother——,’ " he joked of Corinne, who introduced him onto the stage at the start of his performance and told the audience, “This is a very special moment for me and my family. A blessing to even be here, so give it up for my dad, the real Jamie Mother—-ing Foxx.”

The special was taped at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta in October, which Foxx noted was “just 400 yards away” from Piedmont Hospital where they “saved my life.” Foxx previously wrote on Instagram about hisemotional experience discussing his health scareon stage: “My heart and my soul is filled with nothing but pure joy” after he “had an opportunity to tell my side of the story,” he said.

Jamie Foxx in “Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was …".Parrish Lewis/Netflix

“I have to thank you Atlanta you showed up and you showed out, I haven’t been on stage in 18 years but I needed the stage and I needed an audience that was made up of nothing but pure love and that’s what you were,” he added in the post.

Per Netflix’s synopsis, inJamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was…the actor “expresses deep gratitude to those who prayed and supported his recovery, turning this performance into a touching thank-you to his fans. This comedy event is a celebration of resilience, humor, and the power of community, reminding us all of the healing power of laughter.”

Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was…,which earned a Golden Globe nomination, is now streaming on Netflix.

source: people.com