Raised in Oklahoma City, Cooper moved to North Carolina to earn a Juris Doctor from Campbell Law School in 1982.

Kristin Cooper, as the North Carolina First Lady, expanded the scope of her role and has focused on issues such as child poverty, hunger, literacy, and abuse, as well as the arts.

[4] As first lady, at an event on child hunger, she later said: "A problem I encountered with foster children is that the subsidy they receive simply doesn't allow them to buy enough food to eat.

"[4] In a committee meeting about salvage titles at the North Carolina General Assembly, where she was practicing law, Kristin Bernhardt met Roy Asberry Cooper III (b.

[8][10] To live closer to the attorney general's office, the Cooper family moved to Raleigh, the state capital, after Hilary graduated from high school.

[2] When they were living in Rocky Mount, Kristin Cooper and her three daughters had starred in a production of the musical Camelot; in Raleigh, she and Claire had lead roles in the plays The Diary of Anne Frank and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

[11] Cooper "has also wielded a paintbrush, a chainsaw, and a snow cone machine all in the name of art",[4] and attended weekly drama lessons at Raleigh Little Theatre (RLT)—another trainee there described her "a witty gal" who "could laugh at herself, genuinely compliment others and self-deprecate with the best".

[11] As first lady, Cooper moderated a panel discussion with female Wake County youth leaders after RLT's premiere of Grace for President in October 2017.

[12][13] Cooper has described herself as an amateur gardener and birdwatcher; she said she cultivated an interest in birding during the 1996 extreme weather event that snowed her in with three children, "a big window and a pair of binoculars and a field guide".

[24] As directed by Cooper, the first lady's administrative office expanded its scope to draw attention to issues such as the arts, foster care, and child literacy, hunger, abuse and neglect.

[3] Cooper's general goal as first lady has been to address child poverty; as part of this mission, she has visited public schools, participated in story-time, observed innovative programs, and supported the creation of gardens.

[4][28] The first lady joined the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina to establish the Stop Summer Hunger program, which helps sustain about 300,000 children when school is out of session.