Cuba Gooding Jr.
New York City’s Famous Celebrities
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Cuba Gooding, Jr. (January 2, 1968) is an Academy Award-winning American actor.
Gooding’s 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. Following high school, Cuba Gooding, Jr. 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). Cuba Gooding, Jr. followed this success with roles in major films like A Few Good Men (1992), Lightning Jack (1994), Outbreak (1995), The Fighting Temptations (2003), and most recently, Hero Wanted (2008).
In 1996, Cuba Gooding, Jr. 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.
Cuba Gooding, Jr. 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, Cuba Gooding, Jr. appeared in a television commercial for Hanes underwear alongside Michael Jordan.
