Bradley Cooper Bio
Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker whose career spans television, independent film, blockbuster franchises, and Broadway. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and three Grammy Awards, and has been nominated for twelve Academy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. Cooper appeared on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list three times and was named to Time’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2015.
His films have grossed $13 billion worldwide, and he has been placed in annual rankings of the world’s highest-paid actors four times. In addition to his work in front of the camera, Cooper has expanded into producing, writing, and directing, establishing himself as one of the most versatile figures in contemporary Hollywood.
Early Life and Background
Cooper was born on January 5, 1975, in Abington Township, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, and grew up in the nearby communities of Jenkintown and Rydal. His mother, Gloria, worked at KYW-TV, which was then Philadelphia’s NBC affiliate, and his father, Charles Cooper, worked as a stockbroker for Merrill Lynch. Cooper’s father was of Irish descent, while his mother is of Italian ancestry. He was raised Catholic and has an older sister, Holly.
Coming from a family of non-actors, Cooper says his parents initially wanted him to pursue a career in finance and were against acting. That changed when they saw him play Joseph Merrick in an excerpt from the play The Elephant Man. His father introduced him to films like The Elephant Man, which inspired him to become an actor. Cooper excelled at basketball and enjoyed cooking as a child.
After graduating from high school in 1993, Cooper attended Villanova University for one year before transferring to Georgetown University, where he majored in English and minored in French. He graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts with honors. While at Georgetown, Cooper was a member of the Georgetown Hoyas rowing team, acted with Nomadic Theatre, and spent six months as an exchange student in Aix-en-Provence, France, becoming fluent in French.
Path to Celebrity
Cooper had been interested in a career in diplomacy when he auditioned for the master class graduate degree at the Actors Studio and was selected by James Lipton. In 2000, he received a Master of Fine Arts in acting from the Actors Studio Drama School at The New School in New York City. There, he trained with the coach Elizabeth Kemp, whose guidance he credited with transforming his approach to the craft. While studying in New York City, Cooper worked as a doorman at the Morgans Hotel and briefly interacted with Robert De Niro and Sean Penn during Inside the Actors Studio master class sessions.
Cooper made his television debut with a brief appearance in the series Sex and the City in 1999, opposite Sarah Jessica Parker. He later served as a presenter on the tourism series Globe Trekker and had a recurring role in the short-lived series The Street. He also appeared in the television series Alias from 2001 to 2006 as Will Tippin, a role that brought him early recognition but saw his screen time reduced over time, prompting career doubts and a brief consideration of leaving acting.
During his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon, Cooper was cast in the comedy Wedding Crashers in 2004, which proved to be a turning point. The role of Sack Lodge opposite Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and Rachel McAdams earned him his first widely noticed film credit and set the stage for the breakthrough that would soon follow.
Bradley Cooper Career
Early Career (1999–2008)
Cooper missed his MFA graduation ceremony to film Wet Hot American Summer in 2001, an ensemble comedy that marked his cinematic debut. Although the film was not a commercial success, it has since developed a cult following, and Cooper reprised his role in the 2015 Netflix prequel series. His portrayal of Will Tippin in the television series Alias brought him recognition as part of the show’s ensemble, though he eventually asked creator J. J. Abrams to write his character off the show as his screen time decreased.
After appearing in Wedding Crashers, Cooper was cast as the lead in the 2005 sitcom Kitchen Confidential, which was canceled after only four episodes despite positive reviews. He continued to take on a range of supporting and leading roles in films such as Failure to Launch, The Comebacks, and the horror film The Midnight Meat Train, gradually building a reputation for taking on varied and often darker characters.
Breakthrough (2009–2012)
Cooper’s breakthrough role came in Todd Phillips’ comedy The Hangover in 2009, where he played Phil Wenneck alongside Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis. The film finished as one of the highest-grossing R-rated films in the United States and turned Cooper into a bona fide leading man. He received an award at the 13th Hollywood Film Festival and his first MTV Movie Awards nomination for the performance.
He followed this success with roles in All About Steve, The A-Team, and the critically praised crime drama The Place Beyond the Pines, directed by Derek Cianfrance. Cooper then starred opposite Robert De Niro and Jennifer Lawrence in David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook, a romantic comedy-drama in which he played a divorced man with bipolar disorder. The role earned him an MTV Movie Award for Best Performance and nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor.
Notable Works and Milestones
Among Cooper’s most celebrated works are Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, American Sniper, and A Star Is Born, the last of which he also wrote, produced, and directed. His portrayal of Chris Kyle in American Sniper earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and made him the tenth actor in history to receive an acting nomination in three consecutive years. His role in The Hangover spawned two sequels and helped redefine the R-rated comedy genre of its era.
Bradley Cooper Award Nominations
Across his career, Bradley Cooper has been nominated for twelve Academy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and one Tony Award. His Academy Award nominations include Best Actor for Silver Linings Playbook, American Sniper, A Star Is Born, and Maestro, as well as Best Picture nominations as a producer on several of his films. He was also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his 2014 Broadway performance in The Elephant Man.
Bradley Cooper Awards Won
Bradley Cooper has won one British Academy Film Award, one Screen Actors Guild Award, and three Grammy Awards. He earned the BAFTA Award and two Grammys for his contributions to the U.S. Billboard 200 number one soundtrack and the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping single Shallow from A Star Is Born. He also won a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the ensemble cast of American Hustle.
| Award | Wins | Year |
|---|---|---|
| BAFTA Award | 1 | 2019 |
| Grammy Award | 3 | 2019 |
| Screen Actors Guild Award | 1 | 2014 |
Bradley Cooper Family
Cooper maintains a close bond with his family, particularly his mother, Gloria Campano, and his older sister, Holly. Two years after the death of his father, Charles Cooper, from lung cancer in 2011, he relocated to Los Angeles with his mother to help care for her. He has described the experience of his father’s treatment as overwhelming and all-consuming, and he has since become an active supporter of organizations that help fight cancer.
In 2014, Cooper joined the board of directors for the charity Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a non-profit organization serving children with chronic illnesses and disabilities. He also participated in the launch of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy in 2016 and served as an executive producer for Stand Up to Cancer’s Fifth Biennial Telecast. He has additionally supported Alzheimer’s Association campaigns and spoke at The National Geographic Society in 2015 for the group Got Your Your 6 to help ensure military veterans are better represented in popular culture.
Personal Life
Cooper became engaged to actress Jennifer Esposito in October 2006, and they married that December before divorcing in November 2007. He later dated actress Zoe Saldaña from 2011 to 2013 and English model and actress Suki Waterhouse from 2013 to 2015. From 2015 to 2019, Cooper was in a relationship with Russian model Irina Shayk, with whom he has a daughter, Lea de Seine, born in March 2017. Cooper has been in a relationship with model Gigi Hadid since late 2023.
Cooper’s early years in the entertainment industry were marked by substance addiction and doubts about his career that triggered thoughts of suicide. He credits his friend and fellow actor Will Arnett with helping him address his substance abuse, and Cooper has abstained from alcohol and drugs since 2004. In 2025, Cooper opened a cheesesteak restaurant in New York City called Danny and Coop’s with Philadelphia restaurateur Danny DiGiampietro.
