Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and producer. Cooper was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up nearby in Jenkintown and Rydal. His mother, Gloria (née Campano), worked for the local NBC affiliate. His father, Charles Cooper, who died January 15, 2011, worked as a stockbroker for Merrill Lynch. He has an older sister, Holly. He was raised Catholic. His father was of Irish descent and his mother is of Italian ancestry (from Abruzzo).Cooper had cholesteatoma in his ear soon after his birth and punctured it when he started diving at a young age. His childhood friend was actor Brian Klugman. While attending Germantown Academy, Cooper worked at the Philadelphia Daily News.
After graduating from Germantown Academy in 1993, Cooper attended Villanova University for one year, then later transferred to Georgetown University, from which he graduated with honors with a BA in English in 1997. He was a member of the Georgetown Hoyas rowing team and acted with Nomadic Theatre.
Cooper became fluent in French at Georgetown and spent six months as an exchange student in Aix-en-Provence, France. Later in 2000, he received an MFA in acting from Actors Studio Drama School at The New School (now the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University) in New York City. While studying at The New School, Cooper worked as a doorman at the Morgans Hotel.
Cooper does not drink alcohol, from which he has abstained since he was 29, saying that it would have "sabotaged" his life. In 2013 Cooper said that during the early part of his career, when he was in Alias, his substance addictions and doubts about his career triggered thoughts of suicide.
Cooper married actress Jennifer Esposito in late 2006. In May 2007, it was announced that Esposito had filed for divorce. Cooper was in a relationship with Renée Zellweger from 2009 to 2011. He dated Zoe Saldana from December 2011 to January 2013. He has been dating model Suki Waterhouse since March 2013.