CUBA GOODING, JR. Biography - Actors and Actresses

 
 

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CUBA GOODING, JR.

Name: Cuba Gooding, Jr.                                                               
Born: 2 January 1968 The Bronx, New York                                               
                                                                                       
Cuba Gooding, Jr. (January 2, 1968) is an Academy Award-winning American actor.       
                                                                                       
Gooding was born 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. He has a brother, fellow actor Omar 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.       
Cuba, Jr. became a born-again Christian at age 13. Gooding was raised by his           
mother and attended four different high schools (including 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. During his appearance on the The Howard Stern Show, Gooding, Jr.             
revealed that after his father had left, his family lived in hotels throughout         
Los Angeles.                                                                           
                                                                                       
Gooding has been married to Sara Kapfer since 1994; the two have known each           
other since 1986. Together, they have three children: sons Spencer Gooding (born       
in 1994)and Mason Gooding (born in 1996), and a daughter, Piper Gooding (born in       
2005).                                                                                 
                                                                                       
In 2008, he spent leap day (Feb 29) with friends at Prime 112 in Miami Beach, FL       
                                                                                       
Gooding first appeared in a commercial for the clothing line Bugle Boy during         
the 1980's. His first major film role was in director John Singleton's 1991 film,     
Boyz N The Hood, a well-reviewed film about inner city youths. Prior to this, he       
appeared in many TV shows, including a recurring role on MacGyver. He also had a       
very minor part in the 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy Coming to America.                     
                                                                                       
Following the success of Boyz N The Hood, he was cast in a series of roles, both       
leading and supporting, including the 1996 film, Jerry Maguire, for which he won       
a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Gooding produced the murder mystery, A Murder of       
Crows, with longtime friend and partner Derek Broes, and the movie has gained         
cult status among murder mystery buffs. Gooding's subsequent career has included       
box office successes like Men of Honor (2000), Snow Dogs (2002), and a                 
supporting role as Navy Cross awardee Dorie Miller in the 2001 film, Pearl             
Harbor.                                                                               
                                                                                       
In 2006, Gooding appeared in the crime drama Dirty, which received a limited           
theatrical release, as well as the direct-to-DVD, 24-esque political drama End         
Game, playing a Secret Service agent who uncovers a conspiracy after a                 
presidential assassination. He hosted the 37th Annual NAACP Image Awards.             
After a string of comedies that were mostly disliked by critics, Gooding vowed         
to never appear in another comedy, saying he "thought people wanted me to make         
them laugh, but I was wrong on so many levels. I try to take all my energy and         
take it into comedy, and that's when I'm terrible". Since that statement in           
March 2006, Gooding appeared in two comedy films in 2007: Norbit and Daddy Day         
Camp. He also currently appears in advertisements for Hanes underwear with             
former NBA star Michael Jordan.