Cooper was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina to Kimberly Gibson (née Johnson), a culinary teacher and Gene Cooper, a drill sergeant for the United States Army.
She has two siblings, an older sister, Paris and a younger brother, Bobby.
With her first known television appearance being as a contestant on Celebrity Name Game, Cooper was discovered by manager Elaine Lively just three weeks after moving to Los Angeles, California.
She also had a prominent role on Criminal Minds as Laurie Patterson in the show's ninth season, episode 11, "Bully."
Viaplay produced a TV show Swedish Dicks with Peter Stormare and with Cooper in a bi-role.