Off The Record
Jamie Foxx’s Daughter Recalls Years Of ‘Terrifying’ Pain Before Being Diagnosed With Chronic Illness
Jamie Foxx’s daughter, Corinne, has broken the silence surrounding his health with some encouraging news.
But did you know that Corinne herself is battling a chronic illness?
Corinne Foxx, age 28, recently displayed remarkable bravery in speaking out about her experience living with a “invisible” condition.
Foxx suffered from severe pain, nausea, chronic tiredness, and bladder discomfort during her menstrual cycle for a long time since she thought these were all natural symptoms of having a woman’s period.
Her condition worsened over the course of the years 13-24. Corinne, unable to go to work or school, chalked up her incapacity to what she had been told was a natural part of the menstrual cycle.
Corinne’s roommate first noticed something was wrong when she came home to find her curled up in pain on the toilet floor after a particularly traumatic episode. This obviously wasn’t just cramping from your period.
“I had a roommate tell me, ‘Corinne, this is not normal,’” Corinne Foxx told Today.
“That was the moment for me where it just changed the trajectory of my life. And then I went on this journey to start figuring out, ‘Well, if it’s not normal, then what is it?’”
She was so determined to uncover the cause that she visited “five or six” different specialists before giving up and accepting the diagnosis of hormone imbalances or perhaps bladder cancer.
“It was really a terrifying process and a frustrating process,” Corinne says. “There’s a lot of medical gaslighting that goes into this journey. I think women of color, especially, are often silenced or not believed when they come in with symptoms.”
Endometriosis, a reproductive ailment in which uterine tissue grows outside the uterus and causes terrible pains and constant agony, was eventually diagnosed thanks to her dogged pursuit of a specialist.
The doctor told her that she could perform surgery, but he didn’t go into detail about what kind of surgery it would be or what consequences it could have.
As a result, Corinne sought out resources to learn more about the illness.
”My diagnosis was a traumatic experience. In my fifth doctor’s office, I saw a male doctor who had already made inappropriate comments. I already didn’t feel very comfortable, and he sort of blurted out the word “endometriosis” without giving me any context as to what that meant,” Corinne told Essence.
Foxx and director Shannon Cohn developed a documentary about the stigmatization of women’s reproductive health and the need for more education and support to combat it.
About 10% of women between the ages of 15 and 44 have endometriosis, according to the World Health Organization.
In 2022, she had a movie come out called Below the Belt.
In October of 2018, Dr. Iris Orbuch, Corinne’s obstetrician and gynecologist, performed a successful operation.
Corinne’s life has been transformed by the medical intervention that finally alleviated her debilitating symptoms.
Jamie Foxx, Corinne’s renowned father, found out about her health problems right before she underwent surgery in 2018.
”I’m very close with my family, but this is something that I didn’t tell my dad about until I had scheduled my surgery. When you’re dealing with reproductive issues, it’s very intimate. There can be a lot of shame around these symptoms. It’s a sensitive subject. Also, again, that goes back to the lack of research. I wasn’t 100% sure I had endometriosis until I had the surgery. When I did tell my dad, of course, he was so supportive. He was holding my hand right as I went off to surgery,” she said.
Corinne now represents Sollis Health and the Endometriosis Foundation of America as an ambassador.
Her experience is a powerful call to action for women everywhere to be their own health advocates and to learn to trust their own judgment.
She believes that by relating her experience, she might inspire other women to seek medical help if they experience unusual symptoms during their periods.
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“I am aware that me sharing my story is going to impact people who look like me and I hope that people see themselves in me and see a woman of color talking about her experience,” she explained.
Her work is in line with those of other famous people like Bindi Irwin, Lena Dunham, Halsey, Julianne Hough, Amy Schumer, and Padma Lakshmi, all of whom have spoken openly about their struggles with endometriosis.
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