Cuba Gooding Jr was forced to live in a car when his parents divorced

Cuba Gooding Jr was forced to live in a car and a hostel for abused women when his parents divorced, he has revealed.

The American Gangster actor enjoyed a comfortable life when his soul singing parents hit the big time - but when they decided to split, he was left homeless.

He said: "We had a time when we had the cars and the houses and everything and then when my mother and father split we moved in with my grandmother.

"We could only stay with her for a little while because there wasn't room - so we ended up living in the car for a while and a women's abuse shelter for a couple of weeks."

When Gooding Jr was old enough, he began working in a restaurant - but it wasn't long before he spilt food over a very special customer - American actress Whoopi Goldberg.

He said: "I wasn't old enough to be a waiter so I was a waiter's assistant. My only duty was to make guacamole at the tables.

"When I ended up sharing the screen with her years later I told her about it but she didn't remember," he said on ITV's This Morning.

By Kim Gregory, Feb 11 2008 © Copyright 2008 - Showbiz Spy