Cuba Gooding Jr.
He was born in Bronx, New York to Shirley, a singer with the Sweethearts, and Cuba Gooding, Sr., a lead vocalist of soul group The Main Ingredient. 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 but abandoned his family two years later. Gooding Jr. 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.
His first job as a professional entertainer was as a break-dancer performing with singer Lionel Richie at the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. 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 (1992), Lightning Jack (1994), Outbreak (1995), Men of Honor (2000), Rat Race (2001), and The Fighting Temptations (2003) in which he co-starred alongside Beyoncé Knowles.
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 was a success and earned him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. His "Show Me The Money" line in the film became a nationwide catchphrase. In 1997, he had a notable supporting role in As Good As It Gets (1997). The next several years, his films were inconsistently successful; Boat Trip (2002), Norbit (2007), and Daddy Day Camp (2007), all of which had received extremely negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office.
Gooding also starred in a film titled A Murder of Crows, which he co-produced with his long time friend and business partner Derek Broes. The film was Gooding's first attempt at producing. Since then, he has had series of starring roles in grittier films released direct-to-DVD such as the revenge dramas Hero Wanted and Wrong Turn at Tahoe, as well as the sci-fi action pic Hardwired and the action comedy Lies & Illusions.
A well-received performance as Ben Carson in Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (2009) and a small supporting role in Ridley Scott's American Gangster (2007) both proved to be exceptions to this trend. An appearance in the World War II film, Red Tails, produced by George Lucas and with other prominent actors such as Terrence Howard, will mark his only return to the big screen since American Gangster.
Filmography (119 Appearances)
Above the Break
Atlas King
Break the Cycle
Giving Thanks
Padilla
The Madness of Judge Jeremiah Doherty
Quantum Supremacy
Dog Patrol: Operation Santa Paws
A Line of Fire
The Firing Squad
Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace
TMZ Presents: The Downfall of Diddy
Skeletons in the Closet
The Weapon
Life in a Year
For NYC
Bayou Caviar
John Bishop: In Conversation with...
American Crime Story
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Big Time in Hollywood, Fl
The Book of Negroes
Empire
Selma
Freedom
Machete Kills
Don Jon
The Butler
Summoned
Life of a King
Absolute Deception
The Last Leg
Timmy Muldoon and the Search for the Shadoweyes Bandit
One in the Chamber
Firelight
Red Tails
Double Victory: The Tuskegee Airmen at War
American Horror Story
The Enduring Significance of 'Boyz n the Hood'
Sacrifice
The Hit List
Ticking Clock
Conan
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
Wrong Turn at Tahoe
Hardwired
Lies & Illusions
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
The Devil's Tomb
The Way of War
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
Linewatch
Harold
Hero Wanted
Lily Allen and Friends
The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends
American Gangster
Daddy Day Camp
Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation
What Love Is
The Graham Norton Show
Norbit
End Game
Dirty
Shadowboxer
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
A Dairy Tale
Home on the Range
Radio
The Fighting Temptations
Friendly Fire: Making of an Urban Legend
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Boat Trip
V Graham Norton
Making Rat Race
Snow Dogs
Zoolander
America | A Tribute to Heroes
Rat Race
In the Shadows
Pearl Harbor
Welcome to Hollywood
Men of Honor
Chill Factor
A Murder of Crows
Instinct
What Dreams May Come
As Good as It Gets
The View
Trading Favors
Jerry Maguire
The Daily Show
MADtv
The Tuskegee Airmen
Losing Isaiah
Outbreak
Blown Away
Lightning Jack
Judgment Night
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Daybreak
The Untouchables
A Few Good Men
Judgement
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Gladiator
Murder Without Motive: The Edmund Perry Story
Boyz n the Hood
Mancuso, F.B.I.
Nasty Boys
Sing
Coming to America
The Bronx Zoo
MacGyver
227
Entertainment Tonight
Hill Street Blues
Saturday Night Live
Sesame Street