Chris Cooper Net Worth

What Is Chris Cooper's Net Worth?

Chris Cooper is an American actor, director, and producer who has a net worth of $6 million.

Chris Cooper has built a career spanning more than four decades as one of Hollywood's most respected character actors, moving between independent dramas, prestige films, blockbusters, television, and Broadway. He won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as eccentric orchid hunter John Laroche in 2002's "Adaptation." His other notable films include "Matewan," "Lone Star," "American Beauty," "October Sky," "The Bourne Identity," "Seabiscuit," "Capote," "Syriana," "The Town," "August: Osage County," "Little Women," and "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood."

Cooper has also earned acclaim on television and stage. He appeared in the landmark miniseries "Lonesome Dove," received an Emmy nomination for the HBO movie "My House in Umbria," and returned to Broadway after nearly four decades in "A Doll's House, Part 2," earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play. His later projects have included "Boston Strangler," "Everything's Going to Be Great," and "The History of Sound."

(Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Early Life

Christopher Walton Cooper was born on July 9, 1951, in Kansas City, Missouri. His mother, Mary Ann, was a homemaker, while his father, Charles, was a physician who served in the U.S. Air Force as well as a cattleman. Cooper and his older brother, Chuck, spent portions of their childhood in Kansas City, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Houston, and the family also owned a cattle ranch near Leavenworth, Kansas.

Cooper attended Southwest High School in Kansas City and became involved with theater by building sets for a local company. After graduating in 1969, he continued working behind the scenes for a repertory theater and served in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve.

He enrolled at the University of Missouri intending to study set design before switching his focus to acting. Cooper also studied dance at Stephens College and ultimately graduated from the University of Missouri with degrees in drama and agriculture.

After college, Cooper moved to New York City. Like many aspiring actors, he supported himself through a variety of jobs, including apartment renovation, construction, janitorial work, and chauffeuring, while studying acting with Wynn Handman and Stella Adler.

Stage Career and Early Screen Work

Cooper made his Broadway debut in 1980 as Ben Mercer in David French's "Of the Fields, Lately." The production had a very short run, and Cooper spent much of the following several years working in regional and Off-Broadway theater while trying to establish himself on screen.

After television appearances on "All My Children" and "Another World," Cooper landed his first major film role in director John Sayles' 1987 historical drama "Matewan." Playing union organizer Joe Kenehan, Cooper immediately demonstrated the understated intensity that would become a hallmark of his career.

In 1989, he reached a wider television audience as Sheriff July Johnson in the acclaimed CBS miniseries "Lonesome Dove." Film roles followed in "Thousand Pieces of Gold," "Guilty by Suspicion," "City of Hope," "This Boy's Life," and "Money Train."

Cooper reunited with Sayles for the 1996 mystery drama "Lone Star," earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his portrayal of a Texas sheriff investigating a decades-old murder. That year, he also appeared alongside Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, and Matthew McConaughey in "A Time to Kill."

"American Beauty," "The Bourne Identity," and "Adaptation"

Cooper's profile increased significantly in the late 1990s. He appeared in "Great Expectations," "The Horse Whisperer," and "October Sky" before playing Colonel Frank Fitts in the 1999 Best Picture winner "American Beauty." The performance helped earn Cooper and the film's cast a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

He followed with roles opposite Jim Carrey in "Me, Myself & Irene" and in the Revolutionary War epic "The Patriot." In 2002, Cooper played CIA official Alexander Conklin opposite Matt Damon in "The Bourne Identity." He later reprised the role in "The Bourne Supremacy."

His defining performance came that same year in Spike Jonze's "Adaptation." Cooper played John Laroche, the eccentric real-life horticulturist at the center of Susan Orlean's book "The Orchid Thief," opposite Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep.

The performance earned Cooper the 2003 Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also received honors from numerous critics' organizations and established himself as one of Hollywood's most sought-after character actors.

Continued Film Success

Cooper followed his Oscar win by portraying horse trainer Tom Smith in the 2003 drama "Seabiscuit." He received another Screen Actors Guild Award nomination as part of the film's ensemble.

In the same period, Cooper earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for the HBO television movie "My House in Umbria." His subsequent films included "Capote," "Jarhead," "Syriana," "Breach," and "The Kingdom."

In 2010, Cooper appeared in five films, including "The Company Men" and "The Town." The latter was directed by Ben Affleck, and its cast received ensemble awards from the National Board of Review and Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association.

Cooper took a lighter turn as villainous oil baron Tex Richman in 2011's "The Muppets." He later joined the ensemble of "August: Osage County" and made an uncredited appearance as Norman Osborn in 2014's "The Amazing Spider-Man 2."

His other work during the 2010s included "Demolition," "Coming Through the Rye," in which he portrayed author J.D. Salinger, "Live by Night," and the voice of Smokey in Pixar's "Cars 3."

Broadway Return

In 2017, Cooper returned to Broadway for the first time since his 1980 debut, starring as Torvald Helmer opposite Laurie Metcalf in Lucas Hnath's "A Doll's House, Part 2."

The production became one of the most acclaimed plays of the Broadway season. Cooper received his first Tony Award nomination, competing for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play.

"Little Women," "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood," and Later Career

Cooper had two prominent roles in acclaimed 2019 films. He played Jerry Vogel, the father of journalist Lloyd Vogel, in "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood," starring Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers. He also portrayed the wealthy and kindhearted Mr. Laurence in Greta Gerwig's adaptation of "Little Women."

In 2020, Cooper appeared in Jon Stewart's political comedy "Irresistible" and played Leonard Geist in the second season of Amazon's psychological thriller "Homecoming." He made his directing debut with the "Nuts" segment of the pandemic-era anthology "With/In: Volume 2."

Cooper returned to feature films in 2023 with "Boston Strangler," playing newspaper editor Jack MacLaine opposite Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon.

In 2025, he appeared as Walter in "Everything's Going to Be Great," a comedy-drama starring Bryan Cranston and Allison Janney. He also appeared in Oliver Hermanus' period romance "The History of Sound," starring Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor. Cooper played the older version of Mescal's character, Lionel Worthing, in a story spanning decades of his life.

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Documentary Work and Disability Advocacy

Cooper and his wife, actress and writer Marianne Leone, have been involved in projects advocating for people with disabilities, an issue with deep personal significance to their family.

Cooper executive produced the 2018 documentary "Intelligent Lives," which examined assumptions about intelligence and intellectual disability. He and Leone later served as executive producers of filmmaker Alexander Freeman's documentary "My Own Normal," about Freeman's experiences living with cerebral palsy while becoming a partner and father. The film premiered at the Independent Film Festival Boston in 2024 and received a wider digital release in 2026.

In 2025, Cooper narrated Freeman's documentary short "True Value," which examines employment discrimination and the way society values people with disabilities.

Personal Life

Cooper met Marianne Leone in an acting class in New York in 1979. They married on July 8, 1983.

Their son, Jesse, was born prematurely in October 1987 and developed cerebral palsy following a cerebral hemorrhage shortly after his birth. Chris and Marianne became strong advocates for their son's inclusion in mainstream education, and Jesse became an honors student who communicated using a computer.

Jesse died suddenly in January 2005 at the age of 17. Marianne later wrote about their life together in the memoir "Knowing Jesse: A Mother's Story of Grief, Grace, and Everyday Bliss." Chris and Marianne have continued supporting disability-rights causes and organizations in their son's memory.

The couple have lived for many years in Massachusetts and are also devoted animal-rescue advocates. They have adopted numerous rescue dogs over the course of their marriage.

Awards and Honors

Cooper's performance in "Adaptation" earned him both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in 2003, along with prizes from numerous critics' associations. His other major acting honors include an Emmy nomination for "My House in Umbria," a Tony nomination for "A Doll's House, Part 2," and multiple Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

He shared the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture with his "American Beauty" co-stars in 2000. Cooper has also received lifetime and career honors from organizations including the Austin Film Festival and San Francisco International Film Festival.

In 2016, the University of Massachusetts Lowell awarded Cooper an honorary doctorate in recognition of his acting career and advocacy work.

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