Barbara Lee Cooper (née Ward; August 4, 1929 – October 25, 2022) was an American politician and a Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 86th District.

[4] In 1994, Cooper ran for the Tennessee House of Representatives in the 90th district, and lost to John DeBerry in the Democratic Party's primary election.

[5] Cooper ran for the 86th district seat in the Tennessee House to succeed Rufus E. Jones, who did not run for reelection, in 1996.

[1] On November 8, 2022, Barbara Cooper posthumously won re-election in the 86th electoral district, with 74% of the vote over an independent candidate.

On January 24, 2023, the special election primary to complete her term was won by Democrat Justin J. Pearson,[8] with 52.4% of the vote over nine other candidates.