Jamie Foxx Pays Tribute to Late Friend and Actor Keith Jefferson After His Death at 53

Jamie Foxx looks back on the life of Keith Jefferson, his close friend and co-star. In a heartfelt tribute on social media on Oct. 5, Foxx shared the news that he had passed away at the age of 53. Jefferson had appeared in The Hateful Eight and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

“Everything hurts right now,” Foxx wrote on Instagram. “Having a hard time looking through these pictures, reliving the memories of us having a great time. Going to miss you man, gonna miss you.” While giving followers a glimpse at their friendship, the 55-year-old added, “Since we met back in college, you have been an incredible soul. God rest, NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE TO SEE THE WORDS ABOUT MY FRIEND. RIP @keith.jefferson.”

The touching message was accompanied by a picture of Foxx and Jefferson embracing in a brotherly handshake in front of a private plane. In another post, the Django Unchained star explained how much the loss “hurts.”

“Keith, you’ve been nothing but absolute grace your whole life. Your heart is pure, your love is immeasurable, you were an amazing soul,” Jamie said. “We will all miss you dearly. It’s gonna take a long time for this to heal. Goodbye, my friend. I love you.” Although the cause of death has not yet been revealed, Jefferson shared on social media that he had cancer in August.

“Every now and then God will give you a challenge and leave it up to you to fix it,” he wrote along with the photo of him in the hospital, which he shared on Instagram. “When I was first diagnosed with cancer I had to stop, pause, and didn’t want to share with anyone. Not my family nor extended family. Today I’m finally at a place to share because my faith is getting stronger. I have a loving family and the best friends in the entire world.”

Jefferson shared a photo of himself with Foxx and a friend describing their support of him a few weeks later. “When I say the admiration I have for my friends is unmatched,” Jefferson wrote Aug. 30. “My heart will never lie. Rodney Mason who has been a beam of light thru my dark times. Thank you brother. J Foxx…you already know. For you to take the time to spend with me everyday, every hour tells me everything I already know. You are my family and I wouldn’t have it no other way. Luv you bro. I will pull thru because my faith is strong and with God on my side I won’t worry.”

Aside from acting, Keith was also a producer, voiceover artist, and acting coach, according to his website. Keith worked with Jamie as far back as 1998, according to his IMDb page.

As an actor, Keith has appeared in two episodes of Jamie Foxx’s sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show, as well as an uncredited role in Quentin Tarantino’s 2012 film Django Unchained. His most recent roles include Jamie Foxx’s 2022 Netflix movie Day Shift and his new film The Burial.