Anderson Cooper is an American broadcast journalist, political commentator, and television personality. He is best known as the host of the CNN news program Anderson Cooper 360°, which he has anchored since 2003. Cooper has also served as a correspondent for ABC News, CBS News, and CNN, and has covered major news events such as the Hurricane Katrina disaster, the Iraq War, and the 2011 Libyan civil war.
Cooper was born in New York City on June 3, 1967, to Gloria Vanderbilt, a socialite and fashion designer, and Wyatt Emory Cooper, a writer and businessman. He attended Dalton School and Yale University, where he studied political science. After graduating from Yale, Cooper worked as a fact-checker for Channel One News, a news program for middle and high school students. He then joined ABC News in 1994, where he worked as a correspondent for World News Now and 20/20.
In 2001, Cooper joined CNN as a correspondent. He quickly became one of the network's most visible anchors, covering major news stories around the world. In 2003, he was named the host of Anderson Cooper 360°, which has since become one of the most popular cable news programs in the United States.
Cooper has won numerous awards for his work, including eight Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards, and a Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. He has also been named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.
In addition to his work in journalism, Cooper is also a successful author. His book, Dispatches from the Edge: A Journalist's Journey Through War, Terror, and Triumph, was a New York Times bestseller. He has also written a memoir, The Rainbow Comes and Goes, about his mother's death from cancer.
Cooper is a vocal supporter of LGBTQ rights and has spoken out against bullying and discrimination. He is also a board member of the Vanderbilt-Cooper Family Foundation, which supports a variety of educational and charitable causes.