After his breakthrough role as tech nine in Boyz n the Hood (1991), he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor playing a football star in Jerry Maguire (1996).

[1] His mother, Shirley Sullivan, is a singer, and his father, Cuba Gooding Sr., was the lead vocalist of soul group The Main Ingredient.

[6] Gooding's first job as an entertainer was as a breakdancer, performing with singer Lionel Richie at the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Gooding's first major role was the lead in John Singleton's inner-city crime drama Boyz n the Hood (1991), in which he played Tre Styles.

In 1996, Gooding reached a new level of prominence when he was cast as an arrogant yet charismatic football player in Cameron Crowe's dramatic sports comedy Jerry Maguire (1996), co-starring with Tom Cruise.

The film was a major critical and commercial success and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture; Gooding won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Since then, in contrast to earlier stages of his acting career, Gooding has appeared in more critically ignored, direct-to-DVD films than theatrical or television releases.

He appeared on Channel 4's Chris Moyles' Quiz Night on August 5, 2011, closing the show in a duet, "Bad Romance", with Lulu.

In 2013, Gooding had roles in several theatrical release films, including a well-received supporting performance in Lee Daniels's The Butler and brief appearances in Don Jon and Machete Kills.

He made his Broadway theatre debut alongside Cicely Tyson and Vanessa Williams in a Tony Award-nominated production of The Trip to Bountiful.

[16] In 2018, Gooding headlined the 21st anniversary revival of the musical Chicago at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End, playing Billy Flynn .

On March 3, 2018, Gooding appeared as star guest announcer on the 100th episode of ITV's Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.

[21] 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 in which he allegedly groped a woman at a bar in Times Square.

[31] On April 12, 2022, Gooding pleaded guilty to forcibly touching a woman at a New York nightclub in 2018, telling the judge he "kissed the waitress on her lips" without her consent.

[33] On February 26, 2024, Gooding was mentioned in a sexual assault lawsuit brought against Sean Combs by music producer Rodney Jones.