Black celebrity birthdays for January 2: Taye Diggs & Cuba Gooding Jr.

Taye Diggs

Taye Diggs was born on Jan. 2, 1971. He made his Broadway debut in the award-winning musical Carousel. In 1996, he landed the role of Benny, an opportunistic landlord, in Jonathan Larson’s groundbreaking musical, Rent. The play won both a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize. Crossing over from theater to film, Diggs played Winston, the hunky love interest in How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and in the TV series Private Practice.

Cuba Gooding Jr.

Cuba Gooding, Jr. was born on Jan. 2, 1968, in the Bronx, New York to the front man of funk band The Main Ingredient. He landed a small role in the TV series Hill Street Blues and made his big screen debut in Coming to America. Two years later, he played Tre Styles in Boyz ‘N the Hood and in 1996 won an Oscar for his supporting role in Jerry Maguire.