Biography - Chris Cooper

Who is Chris Cooper?

Chris Cooper is an American actor.

Chris Cooper – Age, Parents, Siblings

Chris Cooper was born on July 9, 1951, as Christopher Walton Cooper. His birthplace is Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A., and was born to parents Charles Cooper and Mary Ann Cooper. His father worked as a United States Air Force doctor and a cattleman while his mother was a homemaker. He also has an older brother named Chuck Cooper. 

The family frequently moved and the Cooper boys were raised in the suburbs of Kansas City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Houston.

Education, Ethnicity

After graduating from Southwest High School in 1969, he went on to attend the University of Missouri-Columbia to major in set design. But during his sophomore year, he changed his major to theatre and agriculture so that he could overcome his shyness. In addition, he took dancing classes at Stephens College.

His ethnicity includes English, German, Scottish, and French.

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Chris Cooper – Girlfriend, Wife, Children, Divorce

He met actress Marianne Leone in 1979 during an acting class. On their first date, Leone helped Cooper carry sheetrock up eight flights of stairs. Recalling of the helpful incident, he said, "That's when I knew this was the girl for me."

The couple married on 8 July 1983. Chris Cooper’s wife gave birth to their son Jesse Lanier Cooper in October 1987, three months premature. Three days after Jesse’s birth, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and developed cerebral palsy.

Both Cooper and Leone fought hard to enroll Jesse into a normal school. Although Jesse was wheelchair-bound, he graduated from Silver Lake Regional High School with honors. Tragically, on January 3, 2005, Jesse Cooper died from epilepsy. A memorial fund was set to his name.

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Chris Cooper – Career

Before fame

Chris Cooper moved to New York in 1976, following graduation from the University. He shared a one-bedroom railroad flat with four other aspiring actors and dancers while supporting himself by working odd jobs. To get through, he renovated apartments and worked as a janitor, chauffeur, and construction worker. 

For the next 12 years, Cooper did numerous stage performances with the Seattle Repertory and Actors Theater of Louisville.

Series, Movies

At the beginning of Chris Cooper’s career in TV, he made minor roles in John Sayles' Matewan (1987), Lonesome Dove (1989), Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991), Bed of Lies (1992), Money Train (1995), Lone Star (1996), A Time to Kill (1996),  The Horse Whisperer (1998), American Beauty (1999).

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Since 2000, Chris Cooper found success in his acting career. For his role as John Laroche in Adaptation, he won several prestigious awards. Other movies in which he portrayed characters are The Patriot, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, Seabiscuit (2003), Silver City (2004).

In 2005, he appeared in three movies- in Jarhead alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, Capote, and Syriana. This was followed by acting in Breach (2007), The Kingdom (2007), Live by Night (2016), The Company Men (2010) alongside Ben Affleck, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 alongside Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, and Sally Field.

Co-stars

In Greta Gerwig’s movie Little Women, he starred alongside Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Timothée Chalamet, Meryl Streep, and Laura Dern.

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Chris Cooper – Awards, Nominations

Over the course of his film career, Chris Cooper has been nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a BAFTA Award, among others. 

Among all the nominations, he has won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture.

Chris Cooper – Net Worth, Salary

The net worth of Cooper is estimated to be around $6 million while the figure on his annual salary is under review.

Chris Cooper – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

On Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, Chris Cooper is absent.

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