Whitney Barthel
posted in CelebritiesWhen it comes to the celebrity world, I am totally detached. While normal people are busy watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians, I am busy shattering my New Year’s resolution to read fifty books in one year.
And while many people jam out to the radio when they are escorting their kids here and there, I have a stack of audio books from the library stashed safely in my center console. I literally cannot tell you one singer or song on “the charts,” and I am okay with that.
Without the luxury of cable and little time for date-night movies, my knowledge of movie actors is a quite similar situation. Although I cannot tell you one single movie or show Jamie Foxx has appeared in, I can tell you he is my new hero.
As the press comes out regarding October’s annual Down Syndrome Awareness Month, Jamie Foxx and sister, DeOndra Dixon, have been making headlines.
DeOndra Dixon and Jamie Foxx Photo credit: Grapek Photography
Foxx’s 31-year-old sister was born with Down syndrome and has been the shining star in his life ever since. Jamie talked about DeOndra’s birth to People, “We weren't trippin' on the fact that she had Down syndrome, we were trippin' on the fact that she was cute.”
DeOndra with brother Jamie Foxx and father George Dixon Photo credit: Grapek Photography
Three decades later and this brother-sister duo is really making waves in the Down syndrome community. DeOndra is now the ambassador for the advocacy group Global Down Syndrome Foundation, where she and Jamie recently helped raise over $2 million at the group’s gala.
Jamie Foxx says sister DeOndra is the real "star" in his family. He states, "There's nothing she can't do." Celebrities pictured from left to right: Timothy Shriver, Quincy Jones, Stepfanie Kramer, Jamie Foxx, Jeff Probst, DeOndra Dixon, Piper & Chauncey Billups and Eric Hutchinson Photo credit: Grapek Photography
And even though Jamie’s influence on monetary contributions is more than honorable, it isn’t the reason he is a hero in my eyes.
To me, Jamie Foxx is a hero because his views on Down syndrome and his relationship with his little sister. He is showing the world how we should be treating individuals with Down syndrome.
In an interview with Global Down Syndrome Foundation he answers the question, “What has contributed to [DeOndra’s] success?”
It’s the way our family treats her. With DeOndra, we let her jump in the water and swim a little bit, so to speak. Our family just treats her like DeOndra. She goes everywhere we go. She’s usually the life of the party! I attribute a lot of that to my mother. She was the one who was making sure DeOndra went to school and got to be involved in all the activities. She always said, “Get out there and do your thing! Go to school, play, have fun — there’s nothing different about you!”
Watch Jamie dote on his sister during his interview with Queen Latifah.
Check out these other awesome photos taken previously at the Be Beautiful, Be Yourself fashion show. How many of the famous faces in attendance do you recognize?
All photos courtesy of Howie Grapek, Grapek Photography.
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