Cuba Gooding Jr. Has Never Shared the Screen With His Little Brother, Omar Gooding

Content Warning: This article mentions sexual assault.

Actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. rose to prominence in the 1990s with his breakout movie role, Boyz n the Hood. Since then, his career has seen incredible highs, with his Oscar-winning role in Jerry Maguire and his critically acclaimed role as O.J. Simpson in American Crime Story. Unfortunately, amid the highs, Cuba has also endured several lows, including multiple sexual assault allegations in recent years.

Through the good and the bad, the Radio star's family publicly supported him and his career. Cuba comes from a long line of entertainers, including a brother who followed in his footsteps. Here's a look into the actor's family.

In case you didn't notice their resemblance, Cuba's younger brother is Omar Gooding. Like his older brother, Omar began acting in the 1990s and got his start on Nickelodeon's Wild and Crazy Kids. He continued taking on memorable roles in the late '90s and early 2000s, including a starring role as Mo on Smart Guy and as Tyrese's right-hand, Sweetpea, in Baby Boy.

Cuba and Omar grew up in the industry, as their father, Cuba Gooding Sr., was the lead singer of the soul group, The Main Ingredient.

Before he passed away from leukemia on April 20, 2017, Cuba Sr. had two other children in addition to Cuba and Omar: April Gooding and Tommy Gooding. According to Famous Birthdays, Tommy took after their father and became a musician, playing as a bassist and a musical director. Cuba and Omar's sister, April, seemingly pursued a career away from the spotlight, but supports her brothers from afar. In October 2024, she posted an Instagram photo of Omar with his sons, Miles Christian Gooding and Omar Gooding Jr., in honor of his birthday.

Although they've yet to share any screen time together, Omar and Cuba have made their allegiance to each other and their family known over the years. In 2019, Omar seemingly defended his brother when over seven women accused him of sexual misconduct, ranging from unwanted touching to rape. According to TMZ, Cuba was indicted on criminal charges stemming from three separate alleged incidents in New York City, though he denied any allegations of sexual misconduct.

Omar stood by his brother by sharing an Instagram carousel of Cuba snuggled up with Omar's sons after his youngest, Miles, had been recently born.

"Sorry, Hate. Love wins," Omar captioned the post. "Keep ya Head held High Broham. #Truth #Tis The Season.”

Omar also shared how he felt about his brother's alleged connection to Sean "Diddy" Combs's sexual assault case. According to NBC News, producer Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones accused Cuba of sexually harassing him on the disgraced Bad Boy CEO's yacht, claiming he "began touching, groping, and fondling Mr. Jones’ legs, his upper inner thighs near his groin, the small of his back near his buttocks, and his shoulders."

Cuba was never charged with any crimes connected to Diddy. When asked about the case in an interview with TL Young Boss, Omar said he didn't discuss his brother's allegations with him, claiming Cuba wouldn't listen to him anyway because he's his "little brother."