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Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Born	January 2, 1968 (1968-01-02) (age 39) The Bronx, New York
Spouse(s)	Sara Kapfer (1994-present)
Awards Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor 1996 Jerry Maguire Screen Actors Guild Awards Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture 1996 Jerry Maguire

Cuba Gooding, Jr. (born 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.^[1] 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. He became a born-again Christian at age 13.^[2][3] 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.

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 had 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, he 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 where he plays a Secret Service agent who uncovers a conspiracy after a presidential assassination. He also hosted the 37th Annual NAACP Image Awards.^[4] After a string of comedies that were mostly disliked by critics, Gooding has vowed to never appear in another comedy, saying that 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".^[5] Since that statement in March 2006, Gooding appeared in two comedy films in 2007: Norbit and Daddy Day Camp.^[6] He also currently appears in advertisements for Hanes underwear with former NBA star Michael Jordan.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Cuba Gooding Jr.

• Cuba Gooding, Jr. at the Internet Movie Database
• Template:Nndb name
• 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)
• Young Hollywood Hockey Event - Interview