The Ultimate Biography

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March 10, 2010

Men We Love: Anderson Cooper


It’s a familiar scenario. High-status family with expensive tastes, absorbing the oohs and aahs of the lesser minions. But who’s that in the corner, keeping to himself, uncomfortable in his fine threads, while the others – in their designer gowns and tails – laugh heartily while waltzing across the floor?

Okay, maybe that’s pushing it a little, perhaps borrowing some imagery from The Sound of Music, but you get the idea. I’m referring to Anderson Cooper, the son of famed heiress and socialite Gloria Vanderbilt. Despite his mother’s extravagant lifestyle, Cooper worked hard to un-pry the silver spoon from his mouth. It just wasn’t him.

The 42-year-old CNN anchor was born into the New York upper-crust, the son of the artist/designer/actress Vanderbilt and writer Wyatt Emory Cooper. After his father’s death, Cooper decided to go to work. Unfortunately for him, not many people were in the market for a 10-year-old. So he turned to modeling. From the ages of 10 – 13, Cooper was signed with Ford Models and spent his pre-teen years in Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein clothing.


At 17, Cooper left his posh lifestyle behind and ventured through southern Africa, where he contracted malaria and was hospitalized in Kenya. It was traveling through this type of “at-risk” area that would ultimately shape and define his career. It requires a thick skin and an open mind – two qualities that have served him well in his career and life to date.

While Cooper was studying political science at Yale, his older brother Carter committed suicide at the age of 23 – a life-changing moment that spurred the bulldog’s interest in journalism. After college, the wide-eyed Cooper traveled to Myanmar with a fake press pass and a video camera. Having met with students who were protesting against the government, he sold his recorded news segments to Channel One, the closed-circuit news channel that’s broadcast in classrooms throughout the United States. He followed this up with a stint in Vietnam, where he studied the language for a year and recorded segments on Vietnamese culture, which also aired on Channel One. His experiences abroad took him to more war-torn areas, like Somalia, Bosnia, and Rwanda. The “accidental” reporter discussed these early years in Details: “I’d come to be a reporter. At least, that was the excuse. The only thing I really knew is that I was hurting and needed to go someplace where the pain outside matched the pain I was feeling inside.”


No doubt, the loss of his brother weighed heavily on his interest in traveling through such troubled areas and meeting with others in pain. In a 2005 New York article, the journalist states, “Loss is a theme that I think a lot about, and it’s something in my work that I dwell on. I think when you experience any kind of loss, especially the kind I did, you have questions about survival: Why do some people thrive in situations that others can’t tolerate? Would I be able to survive and get on in the world on my own?”

Cooper rose to national prominence beginning in 1995, when he became a correspondent for ABC. He ultimately went on to anchor the network’s overnight news show World News Now. In 2000, Cooper took a break from the news business. Citing his interest in reality television, he was offered hosting duties on ABC’s competition series The Mole, a position he held during the program’s infancy.

Following 9/11, Cooper felt the need to return to the news business, so in December 2001, he launched his tenure at CNN. In 2003, the anchor’s program Anderson Cooper 360 premiered. The show continues on the news network today. While with CNN, Cooper has covered such notable stories as Hurricane Katrina, the death of Pope John Paul II, and the tsunami in Sri Lanka, for which he won a National Headliner Award. He’s also won Emmy Awards for his coverage of Princess Diana’s funeral and the famine in Niger.

The multi-faceted media man currently pulls double duty, as he works as a correspondent for CBS’s long-running newsmagazine 60 Minutes, in addition to his role with CNN. His 2006 New York Times best-seller Dispatches from the Edge delves into various news events that he’s covered.

Anderson Cooper was born into guaranteed success. Wealth. Status. Connections. But he chose to earn his own success. Though he may not have chosen the easiest route, Cooper likely wouldn’t have it any other way. The passion and humanity that he pours into his work is evident and is the sign of a grounded individual with a strong sense of self. Despite his privileged upbringings, he feels relatable to his viewers, and that’s the sign of a good journalist and a better man.


posted by: Daniel Quitério

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I could not have said it better myself -- obviously. Dan Quitério said it perfectly and truthfully. Anderson Cooper is that great and more.