See a young Ice Cube in his high school yearbook photos and get to know the ‘Straight Outta Compton’ and ‘Friday’ rapper and actor better.
Birthdate: June 15, 1969 (Age 56)
High School: William Howard Taft High School
Yearbooks: 1987
Who is Ice Cube?
Who doesn’t remember listening to ‘It Was a Good Day’ for the first time, or cracking up with your friends seeing ‘Friday’ in theaters? His hit songs and movies, spanning from the late ‘80s to today, can take you back to good times and chill vibes.
O’Shea Jackson, known professionally as Ice Cube, is a multi-talented rapper, actor, songwriter, and film producer who has released a variety of critically acclaimed albums, and starred in many Hollywood blockbuster hits. Cube was an essential contributor to ‘90s hip-hop, both as a member of N.W.A as well as a solo artist, producing much of the entertainment that shaped the 1990s.
Rap Career
Ice Cube is most commonly known for his formation of the rap group N.W.A with fellow rappers Easy-E, Dr. Dre, and Arabian Prince in 1987, with DJ Yella and MC Ren joining shortly after.
N.W.A. paved the way for gangsta rap with singles like “Straight Outta Compton.” Ice Cube notoriously left N.W.A. while beefing with his collaborators in late 1989 and began a solo career, releasing hits like “It Was a Good Day” and “Check Yo Self”.
Film Career
Ice Cube has also had an active film career, and still acts today. His film debut came in 1991 with Boyz N the Hood, which was named after an N.W.A. song.
He continued to act throughout the ‘90s, with his most famous film being the cult classic comedy Friday, which he also co-wrote.
Ice Cube: Then vs. Now
Ice Cube has always stood out with his flashy style and rebellious demeanor. From the ‘80s and ‘90s to today, here’s how Cube looked from his teenage years all the way to today.
Where Did Ice Cube Go to School?
High School Education
Before he was topping the charts with his hit rap songs and starring in top-grossing Hollywood films, a young Ice Cube spent his adolescent years in the Westmont section of south Los Angeles, but went to high school at William Howard Taft High School in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles, 40 miles north from where he lived.
A teenage Cube spent ninth grade at George Washington Preparatory High School, where he began writing raps after being challenged by his friend “Kiddo” from his typewriting class. Ice Cube eventually beat Kiddo in a rap battle, which was his first tiny bout of success with music (but not his last!)
Trade School
After high school, Ice Cube began putting out music with N.W.A., and they started to gain traction locally. As a backup plan, Ice Cube enrolled at the Phoenix Institute of Technology, and obtained a diploma in architectural drafting.
He later returned to Los Angeles and continued to make music with N.W.A., but had his degree as a backup.
Who is Ice Cube’s Family?
Humble Beginnings
Ice Cube was raised in a high-crime neighborhood in South Los Angeles by his mother Doris, a hospital clerk and custodian, and his father Hosea, a machinist and groundskeeper at UCLA.
Clyde, his older brother, is Ice Cube’s only sibling. Clyde is credited by Cube with coming up with his nickname. When they were children, Clyde jokingly threatened to put him in a freezer until he turned into an “ice cube”. Music runs in Cube’s family, as he is a cousin of two other talented rappers, Del tha Funky Homosapien and Kam.
A Beautiful Wife & Kids
Luckily, Ice Cube’s real life family isn’t nearly as stressful as the one portrayed in his hilarious movie role ‘Are We There Yet.’ Ice Cube has been married to his wife, Kimberly Woodruff, since April 26, 1992. They have four children together, three sons, O’Shea Jr., Darrell, and Shareef, and a daughter named Kareema.
O’Shea Jr., who went on to become a rapper and actor just like his father, starring in the biographical film Straight Outta Compton as a young Ice Cube. The film follows Cube and the rest of N.W.A. in South Los Angeles in the 1990s.
When asked how he balances the content of his music with his parenting, Cube explained how he teaches his children to question the value of violence depicted in all media, not just song lyrics. Ice Cube became a grandfather through O’Shea Jr. in August 2017.
Ice Cube: Greatest Hits and Flicks
Ice Cube has proved himself as a performer time and time again, whether it be through his impressive film roles, or through his catchy rap lyrics that you just can’t get out of your head. He has been responsible for much of our entertainment, spanning from the ‘90s all the way to today.
His range as an actor, taking on both dramatic and comedic roles, have encouraged his fans to Ride Along with him as his success continues.
Film Roles
Ice Cube’s most popular and memorable acting roles include:
- Boyz n the Hood(1991)
- The Friday franchise
- The Barbershop franchise
- Three Kings(1999)
- 21 Jump Street franchise
- Ride Along franchise
Nostalgic Hit Songs
Ice Cube’s most noteworthy tracks include:
- Straight Outta Compton
- It Was a Good Day
- Check Yo Self
- You Know How We Do It
- Bop Gun (One Nation)
- Pushin’ Weight
- You Can Do It
Ice Cube: AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted
Ice Cube’s albums didn’t just contain songs, they told stories. Each album had a distinct story to tell that would be remembered by and looked back upon fondly by many. Here are the stories that he told:
- Solo albums
- AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted (1990)
- Death Certificate (1991)
- The Predator (1992)
- Lethal Injection (1993)
- War & Peace Vol. 1 (The War Disc) (1998)
- War & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc) (2000)
- Laugh Now, Cry Later (2006)
- Raw Footage (2008)
- I Am the West (2010)
- Everythang’s Corrupt (2018)
- Man Down (2024)
- Man Up (2025)
- Collaborative
- Straight Outta Compton (with N.W.A) (1989)
- Bow Down (with Westside Connection) (1996)
- Terrorist Threats (with Westside Connection) (2003)
- Snoop Cube 40 $hort (with Mount Westmore) (2022)
Ice Cube Social Media Profiles
Keep up with Ice Cube’s latest photos and life updates on his active social media accounts:
- Instagram – 30.5 million followers
- X – 5.7 million followers
- YouTube – 4.15 million subscribers
- Facebook – 17 million followers
- TikTok – 1.4 million followers
Explore Yearbooks From the Decades Featuring Your Favorite Celebrities & Even Your Friends & Family
Classmates® yearbook collection features over 480,000 yearbooks from around the country, giving you access to our vast collection of elementary, middle, and high school yearbooks featuring your favorite celebrities, including Ice Cube! You may even be able to find yearbook photos from your personal yearbook as well as your family and friends’ for free! Get started now.
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Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Cube
- https://people.com/all-about-ice-cube-kids-7504712
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ice-Cube
- Philip Litevsky from Toronto, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>
- via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IceCube_Toronto2006.jpg
- Then – https://www.classmates.com/siteui/yearbooks/368?page=48&?s=80640
- Now – Philip Litevsky from Toronto, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>
- via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IceCube_Toronto2006.jpg
- Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>
- via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ice_Cube_2012.jpg
- Adam Bielawski, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>
- via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ice-Cube_2014-01-09-Chicago-photoby-Adam-Bielawski.jpg
- Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>
- via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ice_Cube_(6934142974).jpg
- Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>
- via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ice_Cube_(7080143819).jpg
