First elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1982 after serving on the York County Board of Supervisors, she remained in the chamber for seven full terms before being defeated for reelection by real estate broker Jo Ann Davis in 1997.
[1] Born in Southern Pines, North Carolina, Cooper was educated at Hampton High School and Christopher Newport College in southeastern Virginia.
[2] Cooper worked as a teacher and was active in many civic associations, including the Concerned Citizens for Better Government (serving as president).
[2] Cooper was active in Democratic Party politics and won election to the York County Board of Supervisors, where she also served two terms as chair).
[2] In 1982 Cooper won election to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1982 from a district which included parts of Gloucester and York Counties, as well as King and Queen and King William Counties, defeating Republican Charles H. Duff III, then won re-election seven times.