Cuba was born on January 2, 1968, in the Bronx, New York, USA, into the family of singer Shirley and lead vocalist of the soul group "The Main Ingredient," Cuba Gooding Sr. Cuba is not the only child in the family; he has two brothers—musician Tommy Gooding and actor Omar Gooding—and a sister, April. In 1972, after the hit "Everybody Plays the Fool" by his father's group, the Gooding family moved to Los Angeles. Two years later, Gooding Sr. left the family, leaving his son to be raised by his mother.

When the boy's parents divorced, he, his mother, brother, and sister stepped out from under the spotlight and came face to face with financial hardships. The family was evicted from their home, and for a time they lived in a car and received state benefits. When they settled for a while in a cheap hotel in the Orange County suburbs, Gooding befriended his future personal assistant, Sean Suttles, and his production company partner, Derek Broze. The three friends began honing their breakdancing skills and christened their alliance "Majestic Vision Breakdancers."

The breakthrough came with a starring role in John Singleton's film "Boyz N the Hood." Playing the "troubled" guy Tre Styles, who finds the strength to rise above a self-destructive life in the ghetto, Gooding perfectly conveyed the problems and contradictions inherent in a young Black man raised in South Central Los Angeles. After this role, he "woke up famous," so to speak—he became a favorite of journalists and found himself showered with lucrative offers.

After a notable supporting role in the boxing blockbuster "A Few Good Men" (1992), Gooding "missed out" on roles in "Gladiator" (1992) (a la "Rocky") and "Lightning Jack" (1994), where he could have played the mute assistant to Paul Hogan (notably, this role was initially intended for a dog).