Two years out from his stroke and subsequent coma, Jamie Foxx emotionally thanked his sister and daughters for getting him through the dark period.

Daughters Corinne Foxx, 31, and Anelise Bishop, 16, – like their dad – were in tears as they were seated in the 2025 BET Awards crowd. Anelise’s chin trembled as she looked up at her dad on stage, who accepted one of the night’s Ultimate Icon Awards.

“When I saw that in memoriam, I was like, ‘Man, that could’ve been me.’ But I don’t know why I went through what I went through, but I know that my second chance, I’m not going to turn it down,” said Foxx, 57.

He went on to thank sister Deidre Dixon, a Hollywood hair and makeup artist, because she “made sure that she took care of her brother” in spring 2023. Then he shouted out his eldest daughter, who was the one sharing updates on his health at the time.

“My beautiful daughter, Corinne, I cannot say enough about you,” Foxx said. “You’ve always taken a backseat to everything. But when you needed to drive it, you drove. And you made sure I was here. And at a certain point, I’m going to stop crying, but I’m not going to stop yet.”

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Jamie Foxx daughters sob during speech as he reveals how Anelise helped recovery with guitar

Foxx’s lengthy speech also included a story about how his younger daughter helped with his recovery in the hospital.

“Anelise Estelle Foxx, my baby with the big hair. She hides under that hair because she’s got something special. You’re so beautiful, man,” Foxx said.

“When I was fighting for my life in there, I’ve got to say this. They said, ‘We’re going to lose him because his vitals are bad.’ And I didn’t want my 14 year old to see me like that. But Anelise overheard the conversation and she snuck into my hospital room with her guitar and said, ‘I know what my Daddy needs,'” he continued.

Foxx recounted, “And as she played the guitar, my vitals (improved). And I realized God was in her guitar. The nurses ran in and said, ‘What did they give him?’ My daughter said, ‘Shh, I’ve got him.'”

What happened to Jamie Foxx?

Foxx explained in his 2024 Netflix special that he’d experienced “a bad headache” on April 11, 2023. Moments after he’d asked for an aspirin, he lost consciousness — and now doesn’t remember the ensuing 20 days.

During this comatose period, Foxx was taken to a doctor, who administered a cortisone shot and sent him home. Then a follow-up appointment with a doctor revealed Foxx had experienced a stroke caused by a brain bleed. The exact cause of the stroke was not determined.

Jamie Foxx, Stevie Wonder joke about blindness

With Foxx’s speech lasting around 10 minutes, music legend and award presenter Stevie Wonder wandered back to Foxx, who was standing center stage, to gently encourage him to start wrapping it up.

After Foxx noted he’d almost elbowed Wonder behind him, he started walking around the microphone with the trophy outstretched (which was not how Wonder was moving on stage).

“How did he know?” Foxx said. Wonder joked earlier in the night that he watched and edited the tribute package for Foxx and had ribbed Foxx for trying to connect with him as a blind artist when he portrayed Ray Charles in the Oscar-winning movie “Ray.”

Contributing: Edward Segarra, USA TODAY