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Cuba Gooding, Jr., Actor born

Cuba Gooding Jr.

On this date in 1968, Cuba Gooding, Jr. was born. He is a Black actor.

He was born in the South Bronx, N.Y., the son of two singers. Cuba Gooding, Sr., was the lead singer for The Main Ingredient, and his mother, Shirley Gooding, a former backup singer with Jackie Wilson's touring band, the Sweethearts, in the 1960s. His younger brother, Omar, s an actor.

Gooding, Jr., began by acting in a high school performance of Lil Abner.  The professional beginnings of his extensive career on the small and large screen began in 1986, with a guest appearance in "Amen."

He also made appearances in "MacGyver," 1989-91, and "Murder Without Motive: The Edmund Perry Story," 1992. Other TV Movies were "Daybreak," 1993; and "The Tuskegee Airmen," 1995.

Feature films for Gooding include an ever-growing list that began with: "Coming to America," 1988; "Sing," 1989; “Boyz N the Hood," 1991; "A Few Good Men," 1992; "Gladiator," 1992, "Hitz," 1992; "Judgment Night," 1993; "Lightning Jack," 1994; "Losing Isaiah," 1995; "Outbreak," 1995; "Jerry Maguire," 1996; "The Audition," 1996; "As Good As It Gets," 1997; "Do Me a Favor," 1997; "What Dreams May Come," 1998; "Welcome to Hollywood," 1998; "A Murder of Crows," 1999 "Chill Factor," 1999; "Instinct," 1999; "Men of Honor," 2000; "Pearl Harbor," 2001; "Rat Race," 2001; "Snow Dogs," 2002; "Radio," 2003. Also Gooding, Jr., has starred in "Home on the Range," 2004; "Dirty Salim," 2005; "Shadowboxer," 2006; "End Game," 2006; "What Love Is," 2006; "Norbit," 2007 and more.

Gooding, Jr., won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for 1996's "Jerry Maguire." He married Sara Kapfer, a school teacher; they have three children.  In 2014, Kapfer filed for legal separation from Gooding.  Gooding filed for divorce in January 2017.

On June 13, 2019, Gooding was booked on charges of misdemeanor forcible touching and sexual abuse in the third degree in New York City relating to an incident the previous weekend in which he allegedly groped a woman at a bar in Times Square.  On October 10, he was indicted on a separate, additional sexual abuse charge.  As of August 2020, 30 women have accused Gooding of unwanted sexual touching.  He has pleaded not guilty.

On August 19, 2020, Gooding was accused of raping a woman twice in 2013 in a New York Hotel room. A legal representative of Gooding denied the accusation, calling it "completely false and defamatory."  e  pled guilty to 'forcible touch' in April 2022.

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