His mother, Joselyn (née Thomas),[1] is a community organizer, and his father, Ira Coogler, is a juvenile hall probation counselor.

[11] His uncle, Clarence Thomas, is a third-generation Oakland longshoreman, and the former secretary treasurer of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

[16][17] As a student athlete coming up in the Bay Area, Coogler befriended and often played against NFL running back Marshawn Lynch.

Following graduation, he was accepted into the highly competitive three-year master's program at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he made a series of short films.

Locks (2009) screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and won the Dana and Albert Broccoli Award for Filmmaking Excellence.

[23][24][25] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called the film "a gut punch of a movie" and "an unstoppable cinematic force".

[26] A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote that Coogler's "hand-held shooting style evokes the spiritually alert naturalism of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne".

[28] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a score of 94% based on 195 reviews, with a critical consensus that reads: "Passionate and powerfully acted, Fruitvale Station serves as a celebration of life, a condemnation of death, and a triumph for star Michael B.

The film starred Michael B. Jordan as Apollo Creed's son Donnie, who is trained and mentored by his father's old friend and former rival Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone.

[37] The film starred Chadwick Boseman as the titular character, who is crowned king of Wakanda following his father's death, but is challenged by his cousin, Erik Killmonger (played by Michael B. Jordan), who plans to abandon the country's isolationist policies and begin a global revolution.

Rotten Tomatoes' critical consensus reads, "Black Panther elevates superhero cinema to thrilling new heights while telling one of the MCU's most absorbing stories—and introducing some of its most fully realized characters.

[47] Coogler will work with Jordan in the upcoming film Wrong Answer, based on the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal.

[49] In February 2021, Coogler's production company Proximity Media signed an exclusive five-year deal with Disney to produce content for them, which includes a Disney+ television series based in Black Panther's home country of Wakanda.

[50] Proximity will also co-produce the Marvel series Ironheart for the streaming service; star Dominique Thorne had debuted as the titular character in Wakanda Forever.

[54] Coogler has worked since age 21 as a counselor with incarcerated youth at San Francisco's Juvenile Hall, following in the footsteps of his father, who has long shared the same occupation.