Ray is a 2004 biographical film of the late Ray Charles.

Tagline: The extraordinary life of Ray Charles. A man who fought harder and went further that anyone thought possible.

It was directed by Taylor Hackford. The screenplay was by James L. White.

The $30 million film was independently produced through the backing of Philip Anschutz.

Charles was given a Braille copy of the film's original script; he objected only to a scene showing him taking up piano grudgingly, and a scene implying that Charles had shown mistress and lead "Raelette" Margie Hendricks how to shoot heroin.

According to Taylor Hackford, in a DVD bonus feature, it took 15 years to make the film.

According to Taylor Hackford, in a DVD bonus feature, the story of Ray Charles is about people underestimating his talent, his ambition, and his intelligence.

It debuted at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival.

Jamie Foxx won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role. He also won the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for his role.

Regina King, Kerry Washington, and Jamie Foxx all won Image Awards for their performances.

The film has contributed to the popularity of Ray Charles substantially since 2004.

Kayne West and Ludacris have both made songs with Jamie Foxx singing as Ray Charles in their songs "Golddigger" and "Georgia".

Born in Albany, Georgia and raised in St. Augustine, Florida, Ray Charles Robinson went blind at the age of seven from glaucoma shortly after watching his younger brother drown, leaving him with feelings of guilt. With the staunch support of his determined single mother, he developed the fierce resolve, wit and incredible talent that would eventually enable him to overcome not only Jim Crow Racism and the cruel prejudices against the blind, but also discover his own sound which revolutionized American popular music.

Ray has a lot going against him when he first arrives in Seattle, Washington to play at a seedy club in the late 1940s, but encounters adversity wherever he goes. His manager shortchanges him, other people refuse to hang out with him because of his handicap, and he has to be constantly aware of his surroundings. But his music grabs people. He feels the beat every time he sits at the piano, and the house always comes alive, no matter what the size of the venue. Working his way out of juke joints and onto a tour, Ray is advised to drop his last name and just go by Ray Charles and soon his star rises.

Discovered by Atlantic Records producers Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler, Ray is soon given the freedom to write his own music and a phenomenon is born. Mixing Gospel style (but not the Gospel attitude he jokes) with blues, his place in history is soon set. Along the way he marries Houston singer Della Beatrice Antoine who catches his fancy. But she alone can not satisfy him. Time on the road and the temptations of show business overwhelm Ray, and he is soon keeping a lover in tow. Backup singer Margie Hendricks plays his most troublesome other woman, putting up a facade of business only while singing to his hit songs, but trying to manipulate him behind the scenes.

As Ray's unprecedented fame grew, so did his weakness for drugs and women, until they threatened to strip away the very things he held most dear. This little known story of Ray Charles' meteoric rise from humble beginnings, his successful struggle to excel in a sighted world and his eventual defeat of his personal demons make for an inspiring and unforgettable true story of human triumph.

When Ray's younger brother George drowns in their mother's wash tub, he sits there almost dazed and confused as George drowns. In his autobiography, however, Ray remembers trying to pull his brother out of the tub after realizing he was drowning but was unable to save him. Ray called out for his mother. In the film, young Ray does neither.

Ray Charles was never banned in the state of Georgia for not playing at a segregated auditorium in 1961, he refused to play there after receiving a telegram from angry black college youth who begged him not to perform there. He ended up having to pay compensation.

In 1979, when his "Georgia on My Mind" is made as the official state song, Georgia doesn't give Ray a "public apology" for "banning" Charles since he wasn't banned.

Ray and his wife Della actually divorced in 1977, but in the film, Della is with him when Georgia makes "Georgia on My Mind" as the official state song in 1979. Ray's first wife was actually Eileen Williams.