Her paternal grandfather had helped discover Navassa Island and made his wealth from selling guano.

Her parents had 5 children in 5 years (one died in infancy) including her sister Lenore and her brothers Nelson and Gordon.

[9] To make her sister Lenore behave, she also became a storyteller, repeating Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" and saying it was named for her.

[16] Ford Sterling's wife Teddy Sampson tried to sabotage Cooper's make up,[17] but Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand spotted her and helped her.

[11] Cooper never heard back from Biograph and, interested in making more money, she approached Edison Studios and Vitagraph, but was turned away.

[19] As her roles grew she was invited to join their stock performance company, which was heading for Florida to film.

She was initially hesitant to confess her career to her family but changed her mind when she returned home to find they had been given hand-me-downs from a very large, recently deceased, aunt.

[29] She couldn't recall the start of The Birth of a Nation other than Griffith announced he was making his Civil War picture, and they still did not use scripts.

[33] Cooper's sister Lenore visited her while filming and ended up as an extra playing Lillian Gish's maid in blackface.

[39] During the filming of the scene where 'The Friendless One' is conflicted with inner torment, a photographer from The New York Times took pictures while Cooper acted.

[40] While Griffith finished Intolerance, Cooper worked on a handful of shorts under other directors for Reliance Majestic.

[41] In late 1915 Cooper began traveling between New York and California to spend more time with Raoul Walsh.

[43] After returning to California, Griffith called Cooper into his office and gave her a leather bound copy of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam telling her it was his next picture and he wanted her to play lead.

[46] After leaving Griffith, Cooper received offers from Jesse Lasky and Cecil B. DeMille,[47] but intended to retire and be a housewife and mother.

[48] When Walsh was offered a chance to direct a film titled The Honor System in Yuma, Arizona he pleaded with Cooper to take a role in it.

[50] Years later, while being interviewed by Kevin Brownlow, Cooper found Walsh's shooting script for the film on the back of an envelope.

[56] In 1917, Cooper and Walsh began work on a film based on the Blanca de Saulles trial.

[59] After work on The Prussian Cur, Cooper and Walsh adopted a boy named Jack, who was orphaned after the Halifax explosion, and tried to return to a private life, shunning publicity.

Walsh was excited with the success and wired Cooper that he would make her a big star, though she still wished to retire.

Cooper said she loved everything about the film, however, it received the worst reviews of her career and was one of Walsh's only silents to lose money.

[71] As troubles in her marriage and finances began to appear, Cooper found she resented the role of 'The Director's Wife'.

After all the times I thought I'd retire for good and then came back to films, I finally wound up my career in a stinker made by a drunk.

[81] During World War II, Cooper volunteered for Red Cross, handing out doughnuts and writing letters for wounded soldiers.

[96] Cooper didn't get along with Teddy Sampson[97] and she greatly disliked Theda Bara, who she felt was trying to steal Raoul Walsh away from her during the making of Carmen and The Serpent.

[104] The couple married in February 1916 and Cooper left the Griffith company to join Walsh in New York.

[44] Cooper intended to quit pictures to be a housewife and mother,[105] but Walsh's gambling[106] and cheating[107] were big problems for her.

[107] As their successes grew, more trouble arose from debts and Cooper's resentment at being known as the Director's wife, something she was surprised at as she had thought she never wanted the spotlight.

[110] Walsh pleaded for forgiveness but Cooper found he was cheating with a young society girl who he was engaged to.

[112] The divorce was big news in Hollywood, with Gloria Swanson throwing Walsh a party, while Norman Kerry and Erich von Stroheim threw Cooper one.

[119] Her nieces are sisters Olympic swimmer and gold medal winner Donna de Varona, and television actress Joanna Kerns.