We discuss her producing debut, making her own way in the industry, and Corinne’s dream of opening her own production company.
Corinne Foxx has carved out successful careers as a model and an actor, but now, with Dad Stop Embarrassing Me! debuting on Netflix NFLX, she adds producer to resume. The sitcom is inspired by the 27-year-old’s teenage life and her relationship with her father, Jamie Foxx. I caught up with her to discuss her producing debut, what surprised her, making her own way in the industry, and her dream of opening her own production company. Simon Thompson: Producing is something new for you. How did you find making the transition? Corinne Foxx: It was a really big learning experience because I was the youngest and the only female producer on the show. I was stepping into these rooms with Netflix executives, with people who were seasoned and had these long careers. Not to say that any of them were weren’t sweet and amazing to me, but I knew these were big shoes to fill, and I had to level up very quickly. At first, I was very intimidated by it, but then I remembered no one knows the material better than me because this is based on my life. I think that took some of the pressure off because no one can speak to this more than I can. Thompson: I’ve followed your career and something that has always impressed me is that you have never ridden on your father’s coattails. Foxx: I definitely haven’t. I leaned as far as I could in the opposite direction, especially when I was younger. I used to not want anyone to know who I was. I think that comes from both of my parents. They both built their careers on their own and love what they do, and I wanted that the same thing for myself. My dad still says to me, ‘Hey Corinne, you can lean on me. I know this industry; I know these people.’ I feel like when things are easily handed to you, they have no value. When you work for them, you get to celebrate them and feel like you’ve achieved something. That’s always been how I’ve operated and how I wanted to enter this industry. What life are you living if you can’t learn and grow along the way? I’ll never be my best self if people open doors for me. I want to be able to barge them down. Thompson: A lot of the show is born out of your real-life and relationship. How did you decide where to draw the line when it came to sharing? Foxx: We were really mindful of the stories that we told them. We’ve done so many interviews together for other projects and told some of these stories before. We knew where we wanted to go with it. We wanted to focus on the relatable stories that other dads can see and be like, ‘Oh, I’ve totally done that to my daughter,’ or daughters being like, ‘Oh my God, my dad has done that to me.
