- published: 03 Feb 2016
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Coordinates: 21°30′N 80°00′W / 21.500°N 80.000°W / 21.500; -80.000
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba (Spanish: República de Cuba ), is a country comprising the islands of Cuba, Isla de la Juventud and several archipelagos in the Caribbean Sea. The capital and largest city Havana is 365 km (227 mi) from Miami, Florida. Geographically, Cuba is considered part of North America. Culturally, it is considered part of Latin America.
Prior to Spanish colonization in the late 15th century, Cuba was inhabited by Amerindian tribes. It remained a colony of Spain until the Spanish–American War of 1898, which led to nominal independence as a de facto U.S. protectorate in 1902. As a fragile republic, Cuba attempted to strengthen its democratic system, but mounting political radicalization and social strife culminated in the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1952. Further unrest and instability led to Batista's ousting in January 1959 by the July 26 movement, which afterwards established a government under the leadership of Fidel Castro. Since 1965, the country has been governed by the Communist Party of Cuba.
Cuba Michael Gooding, Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his Academy Award–winning role as Rod Tidwell in Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire (1996). Other notable films he has appeared in include Boyz n the Hood (1991), A Few Good Men (1992), As Good as It Gets (1997), The Fighting Temptations (2003), American Gangster (2007), The Butler (2013) and Selma (2014).
Gooding was born on January 2, 1968 in The Bronx, New York City, the son of Shirley Gooding (née Sullivan), a singer with the Sweethearts, and Cuba Gooding, Sr., a lead vocalist of the soul group The Main Ingredient. He has three siblings: April, actor and musician Omar, and Tommy Gooding. His paternal grandfather was a native of Barbados. His family moved to Los Angeles after his father's music group had a hit single with "Everybody Plays the Fool" in 1972; two years later, his father left the family. Gooding was raised by his mother and attended four different high schools: North Hollywood High School, Tustin High School, Apple Valley High School, and John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills in Los Angeles. He served as class president in three of them. He became a born-again Christian at age 13. In 1994, Gooding married his high school sweetheart, Sara Kapfer, and they have three children: Spencer, Mason, and Piper. They live in Pacific Palisades, and Porter Ranch, California. On April 22, 2014, Kapfer filed for divorce from Gooding citing irreconcilable differences.
Jennifer Anne Garner (born April 17, 1972) is an American actress and film producer. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Garner began her acting career by starring in theatre productions and television shows before making her feature film debut in the comedy Dude, Where's My Car (2000). Following a supporting role in Pearl Harbor, Garner gained recognition for her performance as CIA officer Sydney Bristow in the ABC spy-action thriller drama series Alias, which aired for five seasons from 2001 to 2006. For her work on the series, Garner won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, and received three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
While working on Alias, Garner gained a cameo role in Catch Me if You Can (2002), followed by a praised leading performance in the romantic comedy drama 13 Going on 30 (2004). Garner has appeared in supporting as well as lead roles in the 2000s including the superhero film Daredevil (2003), the romantic comedy fantasy film 13 Going on 30 (2004), the superhero film Elektra (2005), the comedy-drama Juno (2007), and the fantasy romantic comedy film The Invention of Lying (2009). In the 2010s, she appeared in the fantasy comedy-drama film The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012), the biographical drama Dallas Buyers Club (2013), and the family comedy film Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2015).
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, CBE (born 31 December 1937), is a Welsh actor of film, stage, and television, and a composer and painter. After graduating from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 1957, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and was then spotted by Laurence Olivier who invited him to join the Royal National Theatre. In 1968, he got his break in film in The Lion in Winter, playing Richard I.
Considered to be one of the greatest living actors, Hopkins is well known for his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, its sequel Hannibal, and the prequel Red Dragon. Other notable films include The Mask of Zorro, The Bounty, Meet Joe Black, The Elephant Man, Magic, 84 Charing Cross Road, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Legends of the Fall, Thor, The Remains of the Day, Amistad, Nixon, The World's Fastest Indian, Instinct, and Fracture.
Along with his Academy Award, Hopkins has won three BAFTA Awards, two Emmys, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award. In 1993, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the arts. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003, and was made a Fellow of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2008.