Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Gooding, Jr. in April 2008
Born	Cuba M. Gooding, Jr. January 2, 1968 (1968-01-02) (age 42) Bronx, New York, United States
Occupation	Actor/Film producer
Years active	1986–present
Spouse(s)	Sara Kapfer (March 13, 1994–present) 3 children

Cuba M. Gooding, Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning portrayal as Rod Tidwell in Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire (1996) and his critically acclaimed performance as Tré Styles in John Singleton's Boyz n the Hood (1991).

[edit] Early life

Cuba Gooding, Jr. was born and raised in The Bronx, New York, the son of Shirley, a singer with the Sweethearts, and Cuba Gooding, Sr., a lead vocalist of soul group The Main Ingredient.^[1] He has two brothers, musician Tommy Gooding and fellow actor Omar Gooding, and sister, April Gooding. His family moved to Los Angeles after Gooding, Sr.'s music group had a hit single with "Everybody Plays the Fool" in 1972; the elder Gooding abandoned his family two years later. During his appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Gooding revealed that after his father had left, his family lived in hotels throughout Los Angeles. Gooding was raised by his mother and attended four different high schools: North Hollywood High School, Tustin High School, Apple Valley High School, and John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills in Los Angeles. He served as class president in three of them. He became a born-again Christian at age 13.^[2]

[edit] Career

Gooding, Jr. in 2006

His first job as a professional entertainer was as a breakdancer performing with singer Lionel Richie at the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.^[1] After high school, Gooding studied Japanese martial arts for three years, before turning his focus toward acting. Early on, he landed guest starring roles on shows like Hill Street Blues (1981) and MacGyver (1985). His first major role was in the John Singleton's box office surprise and critical hit Boyz n the Hood (1991). He followed this success with roles in major films like A Few Good Men (film), Men of Honor (2000), Lightning Jack (1994), and Outbreak (1995).

In 1996, he was cast as an arrogant football player on the brink of a career-ending injury in Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire (1996). The film became a huge box office smash and earned him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. His "Show Me The Money" line in the film became a nationwide catchphrase.^[3] In 1997 he had a notable supporting role in As Good As It Gets (1997). The next several years, his films were inconsistently successful. He has also appeared in a series of films which were not as critically or commercially successful, such as Boat Trip (2002), Norbit (2006), and Daddy Day Camp (2007), all of which had either received extremely negative reviews or performed poorly at the box office. Gooding received brief acclaim for his cameo as Nickie Barnes in American Gangster. In 2002, he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2007, he appeared in a television commercial for Hanes underwear, alongside Michael Jordan.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cuba Gooding Jr.

• Cuba Gooding, Jr. at the Internet Movie Database
• Cinema Confidential interview (January 2002)
• Hollywood.com interview (November 9, 2000)
• Jet interview (October 11, 1999)
• Ebony interview (June, 1997)
• JAM! Movies interview (December 13, 1996)
• Hanes Backstage Game with Cuba Gooding, Jr. & Michael Jordan (July, 2007)
• USAToday