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Jamie Foxx pays touching tribute to late sister DeOndra on World Down Syndrome Day

The actor marked the day by writing a tribute to his "angel," younger sister DeOndra Dixon, who died at 36 in October.
/ Source: TODAY

Jamie Foxx honored his sister with a sweet tribute on World Down Syndrome Day as he marked the first celebration of the day since her death last year.

Foxx, 53, posted a smiling photo of DeOndra Dixon on Instagram Sunday, remembering his sister nearly five months after her death at 36.

"My heart 💔💔💔 my breath ... my soul... I hear your laughter in the house... I hear you sliding down the stairs... my heart... my breath... my soul... I love u Deondra my angel #worlddownsyndromeday2021" he wrote.

The "Ray" star shared the tragic news in October that his sister had "transitioned," writing on Instagram that his heart was "shattered into a million pieces."

"Well I know she is in heaven now dancing with her wings on," he wrote. “(Though) my pain is unbelievable I smile when I think of all of the great memories that she left me... my family... and her friends…”

"Deondra you have left A hole in my heart... but I will fill it with all of the memories that you gave me," he added. "I love you with every ounce of me... our family is shattered but we will put the pieces back together with your love... and y’all please keep my family in your prayers."

Foxx opened up in a 2018 interview with NBC News correspondent Kate Snow about how his younger sister gave him perspective. Dixon had lived with Foxx since graduating from high school in 2002.

"I learned how to live," he said. "Sometimes we get caught up in our world on the extras of everything — ‘Ah, the Mercedes is not the right color!’ And then you see this girl over here. ‘I just want to live. I want to dance. I want to love.’ She brings you back down to what life is."

Dixon was remembered for her vibrant personality and her service as an ambassador for the Global Down Syndrome Foundation.

"For Global, we have lost our talented, intelligent, feisty, beautiful, kind, loving, caring, pure and giving heart, DeOndra Dixon," the organization said in a release following her death. "Our Down syndrome community has lost a beacon of hope, a true leader, and role model whose aim was to always help others. She was a bright light in this world of ours."