Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz ‘Bonded for Life’ Over His Emergency: Gave Him the ‘Support He Needed’

Jamie Foxx went to hell and back while filming Back In Action with Cameron Diaz, and the pair’s friendship is stronger than ever as she continues to support him off screen as he re-adjusts to life after his terrifying medical emergency, a source exclusively tells In Touch. 

“Cameron and Jamie have been close friends for 25 years and they’ve become even closer this past year,” the source says. Filming for the Seth Gordon-directed film began in 2023 and stars both Cameron, 52, and Jamie, 57, in buddy action/comedy roles. The Mask actress actually came out of retirement to star alongside her friend, after she announced she was done with acting in March 2018 claiming to have grown tired of all the traveling necessary for filming, though only with some encouragement from Jamie. But little did he know then he would end up needing to most care from his loved ones.

“When they started shooting this movie, it was Jamie that was her cheerleader,” the source explains. “He’s the one that convinced her to do it, and every day on set he was right there encouraging her and supporting her.” 

“But then after his stroke things reversed, he needed her, and she went all in for him.” 

All fans knew at the time was that Jamie had suffered some sort of medical emergency during production, and that more details would be revealed after he recovered. After two years of silence, the comedian opened up about what happened in his special, What Happened Was.

So what happened? Jamie suffered a hemorrhagic stroke, a serious and potentially fatal medical condition defined by internal bleeding in the brain, specifically caused by a blood vessel that ruptures and bleeds either within the tissue of the brain or in the space between the brain and the skull, according to Healthline, which put him in a coma for 20 days.

“April 11, I was having a bad headache, and I asked my boy for aspirin, and I realized quickly that when you in a medical emergency, your boy don’t know what the f–k to do. But I was having such a bad headache,” the Django Unchained actor recalled of the horrible incident. “Before I could get the aspirin, I went out,” he explained. “I don’t remember 20 days.”

Luckily for the Ray actor, his loved ones, including his daughters and Cameron, rallied around him and stuck by his side until he was back up and running again.

“[Cameron] made sure he knew to take as much time to heal as he needed, that whenever he was ready to come back, she’d clear her schedule to do it on his timeline,” the source says. “And, when he did come back, she was so patient and positive, she’s the perfect person to have around when things are challenging because she’s so steady and positive, she really gave him the emotional support he needed.” 

“Going through something so harrowing together has brought them so close, this way more than just a work friendship, they’re bonded for life.”