1. Early Life and Education
Bradley Charles Cooper was born on January 5, 1975, in Abington Township, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. He grew up in the nearby communities of Jenkintown and Rydal. His mother, Gloria (née Campano), worked at KYW-TV, which was then Philadelphia's NBC affiliate. His father, Charles Cooper, worked as a stockbroker for Merrill Lynch. Charles Cooper passed away on January 15, 2011. Cooper's father was of Irish descent, while his mother is of Italian ancestry, with roots in Abruzzo and Naples. He and his older sister, Holly, were raised Catholic. Shortly after his birth, Cooper suffered from cholesteatoma in his ear and later punctured his eardrum while diving at an early age.
Describing his childhood, Cooper recalled: "I never lived the life of 'Oh, you're so good-looking'. People thought I was a girl when I was little, because I looked like a girl-maybe because my mother would keep my hair really long." He excelled at basketball and enjoyed cooking, often making lasagna from whatever ingredients were available in the fridge for his friends after kindergarten. He initially harbored ambitions of attending Valley Forge Military Academy and moving to Japan to become a ninja. At a young age, his father introduced him to films like The Elephant Man, which profoundly inspired him to pursue acting. Coming from a family of non-actors, his parents initially expressed concerns about his career choice. However, their perceptions shifted when they witnessed Cooper perform an excerpt from the play The Elephant Man, portraying Joseph Merrick.
While attending Germantown Academy, Cooper worked at the Philadelphia Daily News. He described himself as neither "the smartest person" nor "the coolest kid" in school, feeling that he "really didn't have anything going on!" After graduating from high school in 1993, Cooper attended Villanova University for one year before transferring to Georgetown University. He graduated from Georgetown in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in French, achieving honors. During his time at Georgetown, he was a member of the Georgetown Hoyas rowing team and actively participated in Nomadic Theatre. He became fluent in French and spent six months as an exchange student in Aix-en-Provence, France.
Cooper had initially considered a career in diplomacy before auditioning for the master class graduate degree at the Actors Studio, where he was selected by James Lipton. In 2000, he earned an MFA in acting from the Actors Studio Drama School at The New School in New York City. There, he trained under the guidance of coach Elizabeth Kemp, who he credits with teaching him to "relax" for the first time in his life, and who provided advice on many of his films. While studying in New York City, Cooper worked as a doorman at the Morgans Hotel. He also had brief interactions with renowned actors Robert De Niro and Sean Penn during question-and-answer master class sessions, which were later featured in episodes of Inside the Actors Studio.
2. Career
Bradley Cooper's career spans over two decades, marked by a progression from early television roles to becoming a prominent actor, and eventually a successful filmmaker. His journey reflects a commitment to diverse roles and a consistent pursuit of artistic growth.
2.1. Early Career (1999-2008)
Cooper began his professional acting career in 1999 with a brief guest appearance opposite Sarah Jessica Parker in the television series Sex and the City. In 2000, he served as a presenter for eight episodes of the tourism series Globe Trekker, which took him to international locations such as Peru and Croatia. He also held a recurring role in the short-lived series The Street.
His cinematic debut came in 2001 with Wet Hot American Summer, an ensemble comedy set at a fictional summer camp in 1981, where he played Ben, a counselor and love interest. Although the film was initially a critical and commercial failure, it later developed a significant cult following. Cooper reprised his role in the film's prequel, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (2015), an eight-episode Netflix series.
From 2001 to 2006, Cooper gained some recognition for his role as Will Tippin in the television series Alias. He portrayed a local newspaper reporter and the best friend of Jennifer Garner's character, Sydney Bristow. Garner was one of the first people he met in Los Angeles, and Cooper described her as "very maternal", always looking out for him. A writer for Complex Networks noted his character as "arguably the heart of Season 1". As his screen time in the show began to diminish, Cooper grew frustrated and requested creator J. J. Abrams to write his character off the show. Shortly after this conversation, he tore his Achilles tendon while playing basketball, leading him to consider quitting acting permanently during his recovery.
During this period, Cooper appeared in several other projects. He had scenes in the 2002 psychological thriller Changing Lanes, which were edited out of the final cut but included in the film's DVD and Blu-ray releases. He also featured in Bending All the Rules (2002), the short-lived TV series Miss Match (2003), the television film I Want to Marry Ryan Banks (2004), and the WB series Jack & Bobby (2004-2005).
Cooper's career prospects significantly improved with a more prominent role in David Dobkin's hit comedy Wedding Crashers (2005), where he starred alongside Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and Rachel McAdams. He played Sack Lodge, the competitive, arrogant, and aggressive boyfriend of McAdams' character, a role he characterized as "kind of a sociopath". Cooper believed this antagonistic character helped change the public's perception of him, as he had previously often played the "nice guy". Produced on a budget of 40.00 M USD, the film grossed over 285.00 M USD worldwide. In September 2005, Fox premiered the sitcom Kitchen Confidential, based on chef Anthony Bourdain's memoir, with Cooper in the leading role. Despite positive reviews, the show was canceled after only four episodes due to low ratings.
In March 2006, Cooper made his Broadway debut starring as Pip/Theo in Three Days of Rain alongside Julia Roberts and Paul Rudd. This was followed by minor roles in the romantic comedy Failure to Launch (2006) and the satirical comedy The Comebacks (2007). Cooper next appeared in the fifth season of Nip/Tuck (2007) as Aidan Stone, a television star on the fictional show Hearts 'N Scalpels. In 2008, he played the lead in Older than America and appeared in a production of Theresa Rebeck's play The Understudy at the Williamstown Theatre Festival with Kristen Johnston. Between his small roles as the best friend to the main characters in the 2008 comedies Yes Man and The Rocker, Cooper secured the lead role in the Ryuhei Kitamura-directed horror film The Midnight Meat Train (2008), based on Clive Barker's 1984 short story. Playing the dark character of a freelance photographer tracking a serial killer was a significant departure from his previous comedic roles, an experience he found enjoyable. The film received positive reviews from critics but earned little at the box office.
2.2. Breakthrough and Stardom (2009-2012)
In February 2009, Cooper hosted Saturday Night Live with musical guest TV on the Radio, notably portraying actor Christian Bale in one sketch. He also appeared in a supporting role in the film He's Just Not That Into You.
Cooper's breakthrough role came in Todd Phillips' comedy The Hangover (2009). He played Phil Wenneck, one of three friends (Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis) who wake up from a bachelor party in Las Vegas with no memory of the previous night's events. The Hangover was a massive commercial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing R-rated films in the United States. A. O. Scott of The New York Times praised Cooper's performance, noting that he "offers the most interesting variation on an old standard, playing his aggressive, cocky frat boy with a snarl of rage that masks an anxiety as hard to account for as it is to miss." For his performance, Cooper received an award at the 13th Hollywood Film Festival and his first nomination for the MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance. The Daily Telegraph opined that the film's success transformed Cooper into "a bona fide leading man". Despite this, Cooper stated in a 2011 interview with Shave that while "more doors have been opened for sure," his daily routine remained largely the same.
Also in 2009, Cooper was featured in the psychological horror film Case 39, a delayed production that had been filmed in 2006. He paired with Sandra Bullock in the comedy All About Steve, a film that was widely panned by critics, failed to attract a wide audience, and earned them a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Combo. Following a role in one of eleven segments of the anthology film New York, I Love You (2009), Cooper appeared in the ensemble romantic comedy Valentine's Day (2010), directed by Garry Marshall and co-starring Julia Roberts. The film was a commercial success, grossing over 215.00 M USD worldwide. He then starred in the comedy Brother's Justice and as the fictional character Templeton "Faceman" Peck in the feature film version of The A-Team alongside Liam Neeson, Quinton Jackson, and Sharlto Copley. To prepare for this role, he abstained from consuming sugar, salt, and flour, and underwent grueling workouts. The film received negative reviews and poor box office returns. Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph wrote that "Cooper confirms his credentials as perhaps the most smugly narcissistic performer," while Nev Pierce of Empire credited both Cooper and Copley for "acing swagger and insanity respectively, who best both capture and yet re-forge their iconic characters". Cooper appeared as a guest host of WWE Raw in June 2010.
In 2011, Cooper starred in the techno-thriller Limitless, based on the 2001 novel The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn. In the Neil Burger-directed film, he played a struggling writer who is introduced to a nootropic drug that enables him to fully utilize his brain and vastly improve his lifestyle. Despite initial apprehension from Box Office Mojo regarding its financial prospects, the film emerged as a commercial success with a worldwide gross of 161.00 M USD. A writer for Variety noted that Cooper's performance allowed him to "make further strides toward major stardom". Greater commercial success followed with the comedy sequel The Hangover Part II (2011), which earned over 580.00 M USD worldwide. Reviews for the film were generally negative, but Mary Pols of Time magazine complimented Cooper, writing that he "gives a knowing performance: he's both the peacock and the parody of one. He's blessed with good looks and fantastic timing, the kind that makes every line funnier, even the small asides." At the 38th People's Choice Awards, he was nominated for Favorite Comedic Movie Actor.
The year 2012 saw Cooper star in four films: The Words, Hit and Run, The Place Beyond the Pines, and Silver Linings Playbook. The mystery drama The Words and the action comedy Hit and Run both failed commercially. In Derek Cianfrance's critically acclaimed crime drama The Place Beyond the Pines, Cooper played a rookie police officer, a role Cianfrance specifically wrote for him. The director drove five hours to Montreal to meet with Cooper to convince him to take on the role, describing Cooper's character as someone "paraded as a hero-... But inside him corruption is going on, conflict is raging inside, guilt and shame are buried." A reviewer for The Independent credited Cooper for "excelling as an archetype, the principled man who is personally rather dislikeable", adding, "I never imagined this actor capable of such layered character work." Despite positive reviews, the film had moderate box office returns.
Cooper starred with Robert De Niro and Jennifer Lawrence in David O. Russell's romantic comedy-drama Silver Linings Playbook, an adaptation of Matthew Quick's serio-comic novel of the same name. He was cast as Pat Solitano, a divorced man with bipolar disorder, a former teacher who finds companionship in a young, depressed widow (Lawrence). Cooper was initially skeptical about playing the part, believing it was out of his depth, but he later accepted the role, inspired by Russell's confidence in him. The director was impressed with his performance in Wedding Crashers, citing his "good bad-guy energy" and unpredictability as justification for casting; he also believed Cooper would be able to demonstrate emotion and vulnerability onscreen. To prepare, Cooper took dance training with choreographer Mandy Moore, who described Cooper as having "some real natural dancing ability". The film was a box-office success, earning 236.40 M USD on a production budget of 21.00 M USD. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote that Cooper "seizes the juiciest role of his career and meets every comic and dramatic challenge. There's an ache in his funny, touching and vital performance that resonates." For his performance, he earned an MTV Movie Award for Best Performance, and nominations for an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor.
2.3. Continued Success and Critical Acclaim (2013-2017)
In 2013, Cooper reprised his role as Phil Wenneck in the third and final installment of The Hangover trilogy, The Hangover Part III. The film was poorly reviewed by critics, with one critic for The Independent arguing that Cooper was "reduced to mugging for the camera, offering reaction shots to nothing". Nevertheless, like its preceding entries, the film was a commercial success, grossing 362.00 M USD worldwide, and remains one of Cooper's highest-grossing releases. Later that year, he took on the supporting role of an unhinged FBI agent in David O. Russell's crime comedy-drama American Hustle. Inspired by the FBI's Abscam sting operation, the film is set against the backdrop of political corruption in 1970s New Jersey. It also starred Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Jennifer Lawrence. American Hustle was a critical and commercial success with global revenues of 251.10 M USD. Kim Newman of Empire wrote: "Cooper is stuck with the least rewarding role, but keeps finding brilliant little bits of business to hold the attention," and praised "[Cooper's] spot impersonations of his overly cautious (but smart) boss". Cooper was nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Critics' Choice Movie Award, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for this role.
Cooper reunited with Lawrence in the Susanne Bier-directed drama Serena, an adaptation of Ron Rash's period novel. The pair starred as a married couple who become involved in criminal activities after realizing that they cannot bear children. The picture was filmed in 2012 but was released in 2014 to negative reviews and poor box office returns. Jake Wilson of The Canberra Times stated: "Cooper once again proves his value as a leading man who approaches his roles like a character actor." In 2014, Cooper provided the voice of Rocket Raccoon in the Marvel Studios film Guardians of the Galaxy. He returned to Broadway for the 2014 run of The Elephant Man as the severely deformed Joseph Merrick. Michael Coveney of Whatsonstage.com wrote of his performance: "Cooper avoids every trap of 'disability' acting by suffusing this outer appearance with soul and passion. It's a wonderful, and very moving display." He garnered a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.
Also in 2014, Cooper co-produced and starred as United States Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle in American Sniper, a biographical war drama directed by Clint Eastwood. The film tells the story of Kyle, who became the deadliest marksman in US military history, and is loosely based on the eponymous memoir. To appear as physically imposing as Kyle, Cooper underwent extensive training and followed a rigorous diet, gaining 40 lb (40 lb) of muscle. Cooper's preparation also included lessons with a vocal coach and studying footage of Kyle. To learn how to use a rifle, the actor trained with US Navy SEAL veteran Kevin Lacz, who served with Kyle. The film and Cooper's performance received generally positive reviews. The critic for Variety wrote, "an excellent performance from a bulked-up Bradley Cooper, this harrowing and intimate character study offers fairly blunt insights into the physical and psychological toll exacted on the front lines." Similar sentiments were echoed by USA Today's Claudia Puig who asserted, "It's clearly Cooper's show. Substantially bulked up and affecting a believable Texas drawl, Cooper embodies Kyle's confidence, intensity and vulnerability." American Sniper earned 547.00 M USD worldwide to become Cooper's highest-grossing live-action film and the third highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. Cooper won an MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor; the film was nominated for Best Picture. With these nominations, Cooper became the tenth actor in history to receive an Academy Award nomination for acting in three consecutive years.
None of Cooper's films released in 2015-Aloha, Burnt, or Joy-fared well at the box office. He starred in Cameron Crowe's Aloha with Emma Stone and Rachel McAdams. The project was the subject of controversy after the Media Action Network for Asian-Americans accused the filmmakers of whitewashing the cast. Despite the backlash, he was nominated for Choice Movie Actor-Comedy at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards. In John Wells' drama Burnt, Cooper played a chef who decides to regain his former glory after drug abuse takes a toll on his career. While the film was criticized for its "overdone clichés", Jon Frosch of The Hollywood Reporter said: "[Cooper] gives a fully engaged performance that almost makes us want to forgive the movie's laziness. Almost." His supporting role in the biopic Joy reunited him with David O. Russell and Lawrence. In 2016, he had a voice cameo in the thriller 10 Cloverfield Lane and played a supporting part in War Dogs, co-produced under his and Todd Phillips's production company Joint Effort. In 2017, Cooper again voiced Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
2.4. Directorial Debut and Major Works (2018-Present)
After reprising the role of Rocket Raccoon in Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Cooper directed his first film, A Star Is Born, a remake of the 1937 film of the same name. Cooper starred in the film as an established singer, Jackson Maine, whose romance with a woman named Ally (played by Lady Gaga) becomes strained after her career begins to overshadow his. Having long aspired to direct a film, Cooper was keen on making a love story. People had warned him against directing a third remake, and he feared the film would end his directing career if it failed. The film premiered at the 75th Venice International Film Festival in August 2018 and was released worldwide in October to critical acclaim. On Cooper's direction, Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote that "to say that [Cooper] does a good job would be to understate his accomplishment" and that he "gets right onto the high wire". Brian Tallerico, writing for RogerEbert.com, said Cooper "does some of the best work of his career" and gives "an excellent performance", praising his singing abilities and chemistry with Gaga. The film earned over 436.00 M USD at the box office against a production budget of 36.00 M USD.
Cooper spent nearly four years working on the project, including spending five days a week taking voice, piano, and guitar lessons for six months in preparation for the role. He and Gaga co-wrote and produced most of the songs on the soundtrack for A Star Is Born, which she insisted they record live. Cooper undertook vocal training for 18 months to prepare, including with the help of vocal coach Roger Love. The album contains elements of blues rock, country, and bubblegum pop. Billboard described its lyrics as being about wanting change, its struggle, love, romance, and bonding, characterizing the music as "timeless, emotional, gritty and earnest. They sound like songs written by artists who, quite frankly, are supremely messed up but hit to the core of the listener." The album's release coincided with the film's, and it contains 34 tracks, including 19 original songs. It received generally positive reviews from critics; Mark Kennedy of The Washington Post called it a "five-star marvel" and Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian termed it an "instant classics full of Gaga's emotional might". Commercially, the soundtrack reached number one in the US, Ireland, and the UK. The record's lead single, "Shallow", was released that September and reached number one in the US, Australia, Ireland, Switzerland, and the UK.
For the film, Cooper received a National Board of Review Award for Best Director and two Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Drama and Best Director. Cooper earned two Grammy nominations for "Shallow": Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (winning the latter). The soundtrack as a whole received seven Grammy nominations across two different ceremonies. At the 72nd British Academy Film Awards, A Star Is Born received seven nominations, five of which were for Cooper: Best Film, Best Direction, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Music, winning only the last of these. As a result, Cooper became the first person with five nominations in a single ceremony in BAFTA's history. Cooper was also nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. He later remarked he was "embarrassed" by his failure to gain a directing nomination at the ceremony.
Cooper next reunited with Clint Eastwood in The Mule (2018), a crime film based on the life of World War II veteran Leo Sharp in which Cooper played a DEA agent. In 2019, Cooper co-produced Todd Phillips's psychological thriller Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix. It grossed over 1.00 B USD worldwide, making it the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, and earned him nominations for an Academy Award for Best Picture and a BAFTA Award for Best Film. Two years later, he dissolved his producing partnership with Phillips, and was not involved in the film's 2024 sequel. Cooper returned as Rocket in Avengers: Endgame (2019), which briefly became the highest-grossing of all time.
Both of Cooper's 2021 releases-the coming-of-age comedy drama Licorice Pizza and the psychological thriller Nightmare Alley-received critical acclaim, but fared poorly at the box office. In his eight-minute role as film producer Jon Peters in Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza, Jenelle Riley of Variety found Cooper to be a "scene-stealer". Riley wrote he "somehow manages to be both absurd and menacing. It's the rare scene that is almost too intense to watch, yet you also don't want it to end." Nightmare Alley, an adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham's namesake novel, cast Cooper as an ambitious carnival worker, for which he took boxing lessons and performed his first full frontal nude scene, which he found challenging. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film took a long time to finish. Reviewing his films in 2021, critic Charles Bramesco opined Cooper gave "his most vulnerable and harrowing performance to date" in Nightmare Alley. Cooper garnered a fourth nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture for producing the film.
Cooper voiced Rocket in the 2022 Disney+ series I Am Groot and special The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and did so again in the 2023 film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The last of these focused on Rocket's traumatic past. It led Jackson Weaver of CBC News to term Cooper "one of the few genuinely talented live actor turned voice actors". Cooper next directed, produced, and co-wrote Maestro (2023), a biographical drama about the relationship between composer Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia Montealegre, in which he also portrayed Bernstein opposite Carey Mulligan's Montealegre. He was hired by filmmaker Steven Spielberg to direct the project after a screening of A Star Is Born. Controversy arose over Cooper's use of a prosthetic nose to play Bernstein, which some considered an example of "Jewface". Cooper was defended by both Bernstein's children and the Anti-Defamation League. Reviewing the film for BBC Culture, Nicholas Barber wrote, "Maestro confirms what was suggested by Cooper's directorial debut, A Star Is Born. He has sky-high ambitions, and he has the technical virtuosity and big-hearted sincerity to fulfil those ambitions with flair". He earned two more BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for his direction and performance, in addition to three more Academy Award nominations for his production, writing, and performance. He also won another Grammy Award for the Maestro soundtrack.
As of February 2025, Cooper will direct and work as a camera operator on the comedy film Is This Thing On? for Searchlight Pictures. He wrote its script with Will Arnett and Mark Chappell. It will star Arnett and Laura Dern, with Cooper appearing in a small role.
3. Acting Style and Artistic Approach
The Hollywood Reporter's Bill Phelps describes Cooper as the "epitome of cool". While his friends found him to be a "sweet, exceptionally open man with the defensive, insecure person" before his alcoholism, Brian Klugman (co-director of The Words and a childhood friend) says of him, "There's nobody who's better liked." Todd Phillips (the director of The Hangover Trilogy) believes that Cooper's on-screen persona strongly contradicts his personality. "He is very vulnerable-insecure is not the right word-... And there's a warmth to him you would never know." Contrary to Phillips, Cooper believes that his personality relates to acting: "I enjoy people, that makes this profession a lot easier, and I can sleep anywhere. That's a skill."
As part of a career analysis, Oliver Lyttelton of IndieWire observed that early in his career, Cooper was typecast as "weaselly boyfriends or best friends in mainstream comedies", but later emerged as one of Hollywood's most accomplished actors after starring in several successful films. Cooper is known for appearing in a wide range of films; Phelps credited him for "opt[ing] for the challenging and provocative, the small and interesting, risking the laid-back image that propelled him to fame". The Daily Beast's Oliver Lyttelton similarly praised Cooper for stepping outside his comfort zone by accepting parts that might initially not seem like perfect matches. Time magazine wrote of Cooper's craft: "It's hard to make people, especially your friends, forget who you are onscreen. But Bradley's that good."
Reviewing his performances in Licorice Pizza and Nightmare Alley, critic Charles Bramesco likened Cooper's screen persona to Joseph Merrick, a severely deformed man in the Victorian era, whom Cooper played in the 2014 Broadway play The Elephant Man. Bramesco wrote that "[Merrick] declined external help and instead conjured a certain animalistic quality from within himself to be measured against his core humanity. That negotiation between civility and our baser impulses-the ego versus the id, for the psychoanalytically inclined-forms the foundation of Cooper's classical leading-man screen persona. One of our last true movie stars has spent the majority of his career reiterating the internal tension of the role he's clung to like Rosebud, coaxing out the troubled chaos from within put-together men."
Cooper's sex appeal has been picked up by several media outlets, including People magazine, which named him Sexiest Man Alive in 2011. He was initially uncomfortable with the accolade, but later found it funny. In a June 2011 interview with Esquire, Cooper said, "Fall in love with my looks, fine, but stay with me for my talent." Also that year, he was dubbed International Man of the Year by GQ and appeared in AskMen's 49 most influential men. He ranked tenth on Empire's list of the 100 Sexiest Movie Stars in 2013.
4. Personal Life
Cooper's early years in the entertainment industry were marked with difficulties. When his role in the second season of Alias was demoted to a minuscule part, he considered quitting show business. His substance addiction and doubts about his career triggered thoughts of suicide. Cooper credits his friend and fellow actor Will Arnett with helping him address his substance abuse and seek therapy. Cooper says he has abstained from alcohol and drugs since 2004, remarking that it would have destroyed his life. He recounted an incident where he deliberately bashed his head on a concrete floor at a party, ending up in the hospital. He stated, "I was so concerned what you thought of me, how I was coming across, how I would survive the day. I always felt like an outsider. I just lived in my head. I realized I wasn't going to live up to my potential, and that scared the hell out of me. I thought, 'Wow, I'm actually gonna ruin my life; I'm really gonna ruin it.'"
Cooper became engaged to actress Jennifer Esposito in October 2006, and they married that December. In May 2007, she filed for divorce, which was finalized in November. Regarding their short marriage, he explained, "It was just something that happened. The good thing is, we both realized it-... Sometimes you just realize it." Before his marriage to Esposito, he met Renée Zellweger while filming Case 39 in 2006. The media speculated about the nature of their relationship in 2009, when the film was released. They reportedly broke up in 2011. He dated actress Zoe Saldaña from December 2011 to January 2013. He subsequently began dating English model and actress Suki Waterhouse in March 2013; their relationship ended two years later. Cooper was in a relationship with Russian model Irina Shayk from April 2015 to June 2019. They have a daughter together, Lea de Seine, born in March 2017. Cooper has been in a relationship with model Gigi Hadid since late 2023.
Cooper and his family share a close bond. Two years after the death of his father from lung cancer in 2011, he relocated to Los Angeles with his mother. He said that after his father's diagnosis "I was in a very lucky position because I was able to put everything on hold in all aspects of my life and completely focus on taking care of him." He has described the process of his father's treatment as "just simply overwhelming, incredibly stressful, complex and all consuming".
Cooper is a member of the Democratic Party and attended the 2016 Democratic National Convention (when Hillary Clinton received the nomination for president) to hear then-president Barack Obama speak. Following his role in American Sniper, he clarified his political affiliation for those who assumed he was a conservative and stated that he regards Barack Obama as "an incredible president". Having grown up in Philadelphia, Cooper is a fan of the National Football League's Eagles and has made various appearances on behalf of the team, including voicing a snowball in an ESPN promo referencing an infamous incident from the 1968 Philadelphia Eagles season, and joining owner Jeffrey Lurie in his box at games, including the Eagles' first Super Bowl victory in 2018.
5. Philanthropy and Public Engagement
Cooper is actively involved in various philanthropic endeavors, particularly those focused on health and social causes. His commitment to these issues often stems from personal experiences and a desire to contribute positively to society.
After his father's death from cancer in 2011, Cooper became a staunch supporter of organizations dedicated to fighting the disease. In June 2014, he joined the board of directors for the charity Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a non-profit organization founded by Paul Newman that provides a camp experience for children coping with serious illnesses, including cancer. Cooper stated that his work as a counselor at the camp allowed him to witness how its spirit helped children face their illnesses, make friends, and simply be children. In April 2016, he participated in the launch of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, which works to advance cancer treatments. He also served as an executive producer for Stand Up to Cancer's Fifth Biennial Telecast, a primetime fundraising television special that aired in September 2016.
In 2009, Cooper took part in an Alzheimer's Association campaign aimed at increasing awareness about Alzheimer's disease. He is also one of the members of the Alzheimer's Association Celebrity Champions, an initiative launched for a similar purpose. In 2015, Cooper spoke at The National Geographic Society for the group Got Your 6, an organization dedicated to helping ensure military veterans are better represented in popular culture and supported in their transition to civilian life. He also participates in USO tours, visiting military bases to boost the morale of service members.
Cooper has also used his public platform to advocate for broader social issues. He signed a letter in 2018 calling for decisive action to stop climate change and biodiversity loss. In October 2023, Cooper signed an open letter for the "Artists4Ceasefire" campaign alongside other artists, urging President Joe Biden to push for a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.
6. Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Wet Hot American Summer | Ben |
| 2002 | My Little Eye | Travis Patterson |
| 2002 | Bending All the Rules | Jeff |
| 2003 | The Last Cowboy | Morgan Murphy |
| 2004 | I Want to Marry Ryan Banks | Todd Doherty |
| 2005 | Wedding Crashers | Zachary "Sack" Lodge |
| 2006 | Failure to Launch | Demo |
| 2007 | The Comebacks | Cowboy |
| 2008 | Older Than America | Luke |
| 2008 | The Rocker | Trash Grice |
| 2008 | The Midnight Meat Train | Leon |
| 2008 | Yes Man | Peter |
| 2009 | He's Just Not That Into You | Ben Gunders |
| 2009 | The Hangover | Phil Wernick |
| 2009 | Case 39 | Douglas J Ames |
| 2009 | All About Steve | Steve |
| 2009 | New York, I Love You | Gus Cooper |
| 2010 | Valentine's Day | Holden Wilson |
| 2010 | The A-Team | Templeton "Faceman" Peck |
| 2011 | Limitless | Eddie Morra |
| 2011 | The Hangover Part II | Phil Wernick |
| 2012 | The Words | Rory Jansen |
| 2012 | Hit and Run | Alex Dimitri |
| 2012 | The Place Beyond the Pines | Avery Cross |
| 2012 | Silver Linings Playbook | Pat Solitano |
| 2013 | The Hangover Part III | Phil Wernick |
| 2013 | American Hustle | Richie DiMaso |
| 2014 | Guardians of the Galaxy | Rocket (voice) |
| 2014 | Serena | George Pemberton |
| 2014 | American Sniper | Chris Kyle |
| 2015 | Aloha | Brian Gilcrest |
| 2015 | Burnt | Adam Jones |
| 2015 | Joy | Neil Walker |
| 2016 | 10 Cloverfield Lane | Ben (voice cameo) |
| 2016 | War Dogs | Henry Girard |
| 2017 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | Rocket (voice) |
| 2018 | Avengers: Infinity War | Rocket (voice) |
| 2018 | A Star Is Born | Jackson Maine |
| 2018 | The Mule | Colin Bates |
| 2019 | Avengers: Endgame | Rocket (voice) |
| 2019 | Joker | - |
| 2021 | Licorice Pizza | Jon Peters |
| 2021 | Nightmare Alley | Stanton "Stan" Carlisle |
| 2022 | Thor: Love and Thunder | Rocket (voice) |
| 2023 | Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves | Marlamin (cameo) |
| 2023 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 | Rocket (voice) |
| 2023 | Maestro | Leonard Bernstein |
| 2024 | IF | Ice (voice) |
| TBA | Bullitt | Frank Bullitt |
7. Awards and Honors
Bradley Cooper has received extensive critical recognition throughout his career, accumulating numerous awards and nominations for his work in film and theater. He is the recipient of one British Academy Film Award, one Screen Actors Guild Award, and three Grammy Awards. He has been nominated for twelve Academy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and one Tony Award.
According to the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes and box-office website Box Office Mojo, Cooper's most critically and commercially successful films include Wedding Crashers (2005), The Hangover (2009), Limitless (2011), Silver Linings Playbook (2012), American Hustle (2013), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), American Sniper (2014), and A Star Is Born (2018). Among his stage roles, he has appeared in a Broadway revival of The Elephant Man (2014-2015), for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.
Cooper holds a notable distinction as the tenth actor in history to receive an Academy Award nomination for acting in three consecutive years. This streak included nominations for Best Actor for Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and American Sniper (2014), and Best Supporting Actor for American Hustle (2013). He also received a Best Picture nomination as a producer for American Sniper. His work on A Star Is Born (2018) garnered him additional Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. For his production work on Joker (2019) and Nightmare Alley (2021), he received further Best Picture nominations. His directorial and acting work on Maestro (2023) earned him three more Academy Award nominations for Best Picture (as producer), Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay.
His contributions to the soundtrack of A Star Is Born earned him a BAFTA Award for Best Film Music and two Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Shallow". He also won a Grammy Award for the Maestro soundtrack.
8. Influence and Legacy
Bradley Cooper has established a significant influence and legacy in the film industry through his versatility as an actor, his successful transition into directing and producing, and his prominent standing in contemporary popular culture.
His ability to transcend early typecast as "weaselly boyfriends or best friends in mainstream comedies" to become one of Hollywood's most accomplished actors is a testament to his artistic evolution. Critics have noted his willingness to "opt for the challenging and provocative, the small and interesting, risking the laid-back image that propelled him to fame." Time magazine highlighted his transformative acting, stating, "It's hard to make people, especially your friends, forget who you are onscreen. But Bradley's that good." His acting style has been described as a "negotiation between civility and our baser impulses," showcasing a complex internal tension in his portrayals of seemingly put-together men.
Cooper's broad appeal is reflected in his recognition as People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in 2011, an accolade he initially found uncomfortable but later humorous. He famously stated, "Fall in love with my looks, fine, but stay with me for my talent," emphasizing his dedication to his craft over his public image. He was also named International Man of the Year by GQ and ranked among AskMen's 49 most influential men. He ranked tenth on Empire's list of the 100 Sexiest Movie Stars in 2013.
Economically, Cooper has been a consistent high earner in Hollywood. He was one of the highest-paid actors in the world from 2013 to 2015, earning 28.00 M USD, 46.00 M USD, and 41.50 M USD respectively, and again in 2019 with 57.00 M USD. Forbes ranked him first on their Celebrity 100: Ones To Watch list in 2013, and he was featured on the main Celebrity 100 list in 2014, 2015, and 2019. In 2015, Time magazine recognized him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. His films have collectively grossed an impressive 13.00 B USD worldwide, solidifying his commercial viability and lasting impact on the global film industry.