Overview Anderson Hays Cooper (born June 3, 1967) is an American journalist, television personality, and author. He is best known as the anchor of CNN’s news program “Anderson Cooper 360°” and has been a prominent figure in broadcast journalism for decades.
Early Life and Education Cooper was born in Manhattan, New York City, to writer Wyatt Emory Cooper and artist Gloria Vanderbilt. He is a descendant of the Vanderbilt family, one of America’s wealthiest and most influential families. Cooper attended the Dalton School in New York City and later graduated from Yale University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. After graduating, he traveled to Vietnam and studied at the University of Hanoi.
Career Cooper’s journalism career began in the early 1990s when he worked for Channel One News, covering international conflicts in Somalia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Rwanda. In 1995, he joined ABC News as a correspondent and later became the co-anchor of “World News Now.” In 2001, Cooper moved to CNN, where he became the anchor of “Anderson Cooper 360°” in 2003. His on-the-ground reporting of major events, such as Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 Haiti earthquake, earned him widespread acclaim and numerous awards.
In addition to his work at CNN, Cooper has been a correspondent for CBS’s “60 Minutes” since 2006. He also hosted the syndicated daytime talk show “Anderson Live” from 2011 to 2013. Cooper has received multiple Emmy Awards, Peabody Awards, and other accolades for his journalism.
Personal Life Cooper publicly came out as gay in 2012, becoming one of the most prominent openly gay journalists on American television. He has two sons, Wyatt Morgan Cooper, born in April 2020, and Sebastian Luke Maisani-Cooper, born in February 2022. Cooper co-parents his children with his former partner, Benjamin Maisani.
Publications Cooper is the author of several books, including “Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival” (2006) and “The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss” (2016), co-written with his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt. He also co-authored “Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty” (2021) with Katherine Howe.
Awards and Recognition Cooper has received numerous awards throughout his career, including 18 Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards, and an Edward Murrow Award from the Overseas Press Club. He was also honored with the National Order of Honour and Merit by the Haitian government for his coverage of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
