Cuba Gooding, Jr.

All you want to know about Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Gooding, Jr. signs an autograph, Fort Story, Virginia, 2006
Born Cuba M. Gooding
January 2, 1968 (1968-01-02) (age 41)
The Bronx, New York
Spouse(s) Sara Kapfer (m.1994, 3 children)

Cuba Gooding, Jr. (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 in John Singleton's Boyz in the Hood (1991).

Contents

Biography

Early life

Gooding 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, Tommy Gooding (a musician) and 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.[2] Gooding was raised by his mother and attended four different high schools (including North Hollywood High School, Tustin High School, Apple Valley High School in a small town in the desert, 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.

Career

His first job as a professional entertainer was as a breakdancer performing with singer Lionel Richie at the closing ceremoines 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 1991 box office surprise 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), The Fighting Temptations (2003), and Hero Wanted (2008).

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 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. His "Show Me The Money" line in the movie became a nationwide catchphrase.

He has also appeared in movies which were critically or commercially unsuccessful, such as Snow Dogs, Boat Trip, Norbit, and Daddy Day Camp, which either received strongly negative reviews or performed poorly at the box office. 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.

Personal life

He has been married to Sara Kapfer since 1994 they were highschool sweethearts ; 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). His brother is actor Omar Gooding.

Filmography

Year Film Role Other notes
1988 Coming to America Barber Shop Customer
1989 Judgement Officer Alvarez
Sing Stanley
1991 Boyz n the Hood Tré Styles
1992 Gladiator Abraham Lincoln Haines
A Few Good Men Cpl. Carl Hammaker
1993 Daybreak Torch (Stephen Tolkin)
Judgment Night Mike Peterson
1994 Lightning Jack Ben Doyle
1995 Outbreak Maj. Salt
The Tuskegee Airmen Billy Roberts
Losing Isaiah Eddie Hughes
1996 Jerry Maguire Rod Tidwell Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated - Golden Globe
1997 As Good as It Gets Frank Sachs
Do Me a Favor Liquor Store Clerk
1998 What Dreams May Come Albert Lewis
A Murder of Crows Lawson Russel Produced by Derek Broes
1999 Instinct Theo Caulder
Chill Factor Arlo
2000 Men of Honor BM2/Chief/Senior Chief Carl Brashear
2001 Pearl Harbor Petty Officer Doris Miller
Rat Race Owen Templeton
In the Shadows Draven
2002 Snow Dogs Dr. Ted Brooks
2003 Boat Trip Jerry Robinson
The Fighting Temptations Darrin Hill
Radio James Robert "Radio" Kennedy
2004 Home on the Range Buck voice-over
2005 Dirty Salim Adel
Shadowboxer Mikey
2006 End Game Alex Thomas
Lightfield's Home Videos
2007 Norbit Deion Hughes
What Love Is Tom
Daddy Day Camp Charlie Hinton
American Gangster Leroy "Nicky" Barnes
The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends Loofah
2008 Hero Wanted Liam Case
Harold Cromer
Linewatch Michael Dixon DVD Release 10.21.2008
The Way of War Shashank Macquire post-production
2009 The Devil's Tomb Mack post-production
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Kevin Spacey
for The Usual Suspects		 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1996
for Jerry Maguire		 Succeeded by
Robin Williams
for Good Will Hunting

References

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cuba Gooding Jr.
  1. ^ a b Gaul, Lou. Cuba Gooding Jr. talks 'Daddy Day Camp' . Phillyburbs.com. 7 August 2007.
  2. ^ Williams, Kam. CUBA GOODING, JR: The Daddy Day Camp Interview with Kam Williams. Eurweb.com. 15 August 2007.

External links

v • d • e
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

John Gielgud (1981) · Louis Gossett, Jr. (1982) · Jack Nicholson (1983) · Haing S. Ngor (1984) · Don Ameche (1985) · Michael Caine (1986) · Sean Connery (1987) · Kevin Kline (1988) · Denzel Washington (1989) Joe Pesci (1990) · Jack Palance (1991) · Gene Hackman (1992) · Tommy Lee Jones (1993) · Martin Landau (1994) · Kevin Spacey (1995) · Cuba Gooding, Jr. (1996) · Robin Williams (1997) · James Coburn (1998) · Michael Caine (1999) · Benicio del Toro (2000)

Complete list · (1936–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001-present)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba_Gooding,_Jr."

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