Jeanne Cooper
Encyclopedia
Wilma Jeanne Cooper best known as Jeanne Cooper, is an American
actress best known for her portrayal of Katherine Chancellor
on the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless
. Though she was not on the series when the show debuted in March 1973, she made her onscreen debut in November of that year, and remains the longest-tenured actor on The Young and the Restless.
The Redhead from Wyoming
. She also appeared as a player in films with stars like Maureen O'Hara
, Glenn Ford
, Tony Curtis
, and Henry Fonda
. Cooper was a fixture on episodic television throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1965, she appeared in the western television series The Big Valley
as Elaine Baxter Jason, a mercantile store owner and an old friend of Victoria Barkley. In another episode she appears as Heath's money-hungry aunt. Her husband was portrayed by John Anderson
, who years later became known as MacGyver's often quoted grandfather, Harry Jackson.
, and the loss of many men in her life (four late husbands, and a child given away after birth).
Katherine (and Cooper) also had a facelift
on national television (Cooper had pitched the idea of having a live facelift to CBS
executives, who agreed to write the facelift into the show for Katherine Chancellor).
For many years, the story of Katherine's bitter rivalry with character Jill Foster Abbott
has been a mainstay of the show. (In real life, Cooper and Jill's portrayer, Jess Walton
, are close friends.) It was revealed in 2003 that Jill was Katherine's daughter born out of wedlock, but developments in 2009 cast doubt upon that assertion and the long bitter enemies were found not to be mother and daughter after all.
She has received nine Daytime Emmy nominations, eight for Outstanding Lead Actress and one for Outstanding Supporting Actress, and two Primetime Emmy nominations. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Daytime Emmys in 2004. For her contributions to television, Cooper received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
, which is located at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. She won the 2008 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
. Out of her eight nominations for lead actress, this was her first win in the category.
Cooper also played the role of Marge Cotrooke, Katherine's lookalike, on the show from 1989 to 1990, and again in 2008 and 2009. Cooper recently signed a new three-year deal with Y&R.
Cooper's character, Katherine, was thought to have died in a November 2008 episode. It was, however, her look-alike Marge who died, and Katherine had experienced memory issues due to the car accident that took Marge's life.
Cooper's character, Katherine, along with Christian LeBlanc
's character, Michael Baldwin
, made a guest appearance on the finale of Guiding Light
which aired Friday, September 18, 2009.
Cooper had to take a medical leave in October 2011 and her part on the soap was temporarily recast with veteran actress Michael Learned
. However, the following November, she confirmed she was returning to the set. She is scheduled to reclaim her role from Learned on December 23, 2011.
The Bernsens had three children, all of whom are actors: Corbin Bernsen
of L.A. Law
fame (born September 7, 1954), whose mother Cooper portrayed twice on that series; Collin Bernsen, born March 30, 1958; and Caren Bernsen, born August 17, 1960.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress best known for her portrayal of Katherine Chancellor
Katherine Chancellor
Katherine Chancellor Murphy is a fictional character on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless...
on the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
. Though she was not on the series when the show debuted in March 1973, she made her onscreen debut in November of that year, and remains the longest-tenured actor on The Young and the Restless.
Early career
Cooper began her career in the 1950s. Her first starring role was as Myra in 1953's westernWestern (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
The Redhead from Wyoming
The Redhead from Wyoming
The Redhead from Wyoming is a 1953 American western drama film produced by Leonard Goldstein and directed by Lee Sholem. It stars Maureen O'Hara as a saloon proprietress who becomes embroiled in a cattle war and Alex Nicol as the sheriff who tries to prevent it...
. She also appeared as a player in films with stars like Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara is an Irish film actress and singer. The famously red-headed O'Hara has been noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne...
, Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades...
, Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
, and Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
. Cooper was a fixture on episodic television throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1965, she appeared in the western television series The Big Valley
The Big Valley
The Big Valley is an American television Western which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, as a California widowed mother. It was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman...
as Elaine Baxter Jason, a mercantile store owner and an old friend of Victoria Barkley. In another episode she appears as Heath's money-hungry aunt. Her husband was portrayed by John Anderson
John Anderson (actor)
-Biography:Born in Clayton, John Anderson grew up in Quincy and Adams County, Illinois.Prior to a prolific acting career, Anderson served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II where he met artist Orazio Fumagalli who became one of his best lifelong friends.He was known for several...
, who years later became known as MacGyver's often quoted grandfather, Harry Jackson.
Katherine Chancellor
Cooper's character has broken ground in the daytime medium; Katherine has endured several bouts with alcoholismAlcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, and the loss of many men in her life (four late husbands, and a child given away after birth).
Katherine (and Cooper) also had a facelift
Facelift
Facelift is the common name for rhytidectomy, a cosmetic surgery procedure.Facelift may also refer to:* Facelift , the revival of a product through cosmetic means such as changing its appearance...
on national television (Cooper had pitched the idea of having a live facelift to CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
executives, who agreed to write the facelift into the show for Katherine Chancellor).
For many years, the story of Katherine's bitter rivalry with character Jill Foster Abbott
Jill Foster Abbott
Jill Abbott Fenmore is a fictional character on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless. She is one of the series' original characters, and the only one remaining from its debut in March 1973...
has been a mainstay of the show. (In real life, Cooper and Jill's portrayer, Jess Walton
Jess Walton
Jess Walton is an American actress, best known for her role as Jill Foster Abbott on the American soap opera, The Young and the Restless.-Early life:...
, are close friends.) It was revealed in 2003 that Jill was Katherine's daughter born out of wedlock, but developments in 2009 cast doubt upon that assertion and the long bitter enemies were found not to be mother and daughter after all.
She has received nine Daytime Emmy nominations, eight for Outstanding Lead Actress and one for Outstanding Supporting Actress, and two Primetime Emmy nominations. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Daytime Emmys in 2004. For her contributions to television, Cooper received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
, which is located at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. She won the 2008 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is an award which has been given every year at the Daytime Emmys ceremony since 1974...
. Out of her eight nominations for lead actress, this was her first win in the category.
Cooper also played the role of Marge Cotrooke, Katherine's lookalike, on the show from 1989 to 1990, and again in 2008 and 2009. Cooper recently signed a new three-year deal with Y&R.
Cooper's character, Katherine, was thought to have died in a November 2008 episode. It was, however, her look-alike Marge who died, and Katherine had experienced memory issues due to the car accident that took Marge's life.
Cooper's character, Katherine, along with Christian LeBlanc
Christian LeBlanc
Christian Jules LeBlanc is an American actor.LeBlanc currently plays Michael Baldwin on The Young and the Restless. He first played the role from 1991 to 1993, and then resumed the role in 1997. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for the role six times, and won for Outstanding Lead Actor...
's character, Michael Baldwin
Michael Baldwin
Michael Baldwin is a fictional character on the CBS television soap opera The Young and the Restless, portrayed by Christian LeBlanc originally from late December 1991 until June 1993 and then he returned on April 25, 1997. The character has also crossed over briefly to As the World Turns on April...
, made a guest appearance on the finale of Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
which aired Friday, September 18, 2009.
Cooper had to take a medical leave in October 2011 and her part on the soap was temporarily recast with veteran actress Michael Learned
Michael Learned
Michael Learned is an American actress known for her role as Olivia Walton on The Waltons.-Personal life:Learned was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Elizabeth Duane "Betti" and Bruce Learned, a diplomat. Her maternal grandfather was an attaché for the United States Embassy in Rome...
. However, the following November, she confirmed she was returning to the set. She is scheduled to reclaim her role from Learned on December 23, 2011.
Personal life
Jeanne Cooper was born to Albert Troy Cooper and his wife Sildeth Evelyn Moore. She was the youngest of their three children. Jeanne's family lived in Kern County for several years, first in Taft until 1942 and then moving to Bakersfield. Her mother died August 21, 1945, and her father died April 11, 1986. She married television producer Harry Bernsen, Jr. and they were together 23 years before divorcing. Interviews and reports state they remained the best of friends until his death in June 2008.The Bernsens had three children, all of whom are actors: Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Dean Bernsen is an American actor and director, known for his work on television. He is best known for his roles as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series L.A. Law, and as retired police detective Henry Spencer on the USA Network comedy-drama series Psych...
of L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
fame (born September 7, 1954), whose mother Cooper portrayed twice on that series; Collin Bernsen, born March 30, 1958; and Caren Bernsen, born August 17, 1960.
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | The Redhead from Wyoming The Redhead from Wyoming The Redhead from Wyoming is a 1953 American western drama film produced by Leonard Goldstein and directed by Lee Sholem. It stars Maureen O'Hara as a saloon proprietress who becomes embroiled in a cattle war and Alex Nicol as the sheriff who tries to prevent it... |
Myra | |
| The Man from the Alamo The Man from the Alamo The Man From the Alamo is a Technicolor Western directed by Budd Boetticher, starring Glenn Ford, Julie Adams, Hugh O'Brian, and Guy Williams .-Plot synopsis:... |
Kate Lamar | ||
| Shadows of Tombstone | Marge | ||
| 1955 | The Naked Street The Naked Street The Naked Street is an American crime film noir directed by Maxwell Shane. The drama features Farley Granger, Anthony Quinn and Anne Bancroft.-Plot:Tough racketeer pulls strings to get his sister's punk boyfriend out of the death house.... |
Evelyn Shriner | |
| 1956 | The Houston Story | Madge | |
| Over-Exposed Over-Exposed Over-Exposed was a 1956 film directed by Lewis Seiler. The movie starred Cleo Moore and Richard Crenna and featured Raymond Greenleaf, Jack Albertson, Isobel Elsom, and Jeanne Cooper in supporting roles. This film was released on DVD by Sony Pictures in 2010 as part of the Bad Girls of Film Noir... |
Renee | ||
| Calling Homicide | Darlene Adams | ||
| 1957 | Five Steps to Danger | Helen Bethke | |
| Rock All Night Rock All Night Rock All Night is a 1957 American International Pictures film produced and directed by Roger Corman based on a 1955 television episode of The Jane Wyman Theatre called Little Guy.-Plot:... |
Mabel | ||
| Plunder Road | Fran Werner | ||
| 1958 | Screaming Mimi | Lola Lake in Photo | uncredited |
| 1960 | Let No Man Write My Epitaph | Fran | |
| 1962 | Red Nightmare Red Nightmare Red Nightmare is the best known title of Armed Forces Information Film 120, Freedom and You. It was meant to educate the U.S. armed forces about the nature of Communism... |
Helen Donavan | |
| House of Women | Helen Jennings | ||
| 13 West Street | Mrs. Quinn | ||
| The Intruder The Intruder (1962 film) The Intruder is a 1962 American film directed by Roger Corman, after a novel by Charles Beaumont, starring William Shatner. Also called Shame in US release, and The Stranger in the UK release... |
Vi Griffin | ||
| 1963 | Black Zoo Black Zoo Black Zoo is a 1963 American horror film produced and co-written by Herman Cohen. It is a violent, gore-filled tale directed by Robert Gordon.- Plot :Michael Conrad is a private zookeeper who owns Conrad's Animal Kingdom... |
Edna Conrad | |
| 1965 | The Glory Guys The Glory Guys The Glory Guys is a 1965 motion picture based on the novel The Dice of God by Hoffman Birney. Filmed by Levy-Gardner-Laven and released by United Artists, it stars Tom Tryon, Harve Presnell, Senta Berger, James Caan, and Michael Anderson, Jr. The film's screenplay was written by Sam Peckinpah long... |
Mrs. Rachael McCabe | |
| 1967 | Tony Rome Tony Rome Tony Rome is a 1967 detective film starring Frank Sinatra and directed by Gordon Douglas, adapted from Marvin Albert's novel Miami Mayhem. Filming took place on location in Miami, Florida, with some scenes being shot during the day at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, where Sinatra was performing in... |
Lorna Boyd | |
| 1968 | The Boston Strangler The Boston Strangler (film) The Boston Strangler is a 1968 film based on the true story of the Boston Strangler and the book by Gerold Frank. It was directed by Richard Fleischer, and stars Tony Curtis as Albert DeSalvo, the strangler, and Henry Fonda as John S... |
Cloe | |
| 1970 | There Was a Crooked Man... There Was a Crooked Man... There Was a Crooked Man... is a 1970 western comedy starring Kirk Douglas and Henry Fonda and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The film follows Paris Pitman , a charismatic criminal who ends up in jail, and his attempts to escape the prison of warden Lopeman... |
Prostitute | |
| 1972 | Kansas City Bomber Kansas City Bomber Kansas City Bomber is a 1972 American drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Jerrold Freedman and starring Raquel Welch.- Plot summary :The film is an inside look at the world of co-ed Roller Derby, then a popular league sport.... |
Trainer Vivien | |
| 1973 | The All-American Boy | Nola Bealer | |
| 1977 | The San Pedro Bums | Mrs. McClory | |
| 1991 | Lethal Justice | Clerk | |
| 1992 | Frozen Assets Frozen Assets (film) Frozen Assets is a 1992 comedy film directed by George T. Miller. It stars Shelley Long and Corbin Bernsen. It is considered by some film critics to be one of the worst movies made.-Cast:*Shelley Long as Dr. Grace Murdock*Corbin Bernsen as Zach Shepard... |
Zach Shepard's Mother | |
| 1993 | Beyond Suspicion | Renata | |
| 2002 | The Tomorrow Man | Jeanine | |
| 2005 | Carpool Guy | Mrs. Lunsford | |
| 2009 | Donna on Demand Donna on Demand Donna On Demand is a 2009 dark comedy film written, directed and produced by Corbin Bernsen. The film was launched on DVD on September 15, 2009... |
Virginia Hart | |
| Dead Air | Paranoid Caller | ||
Selected television works
| Show | Character | Duration | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Young and the Restless The Young and the Restless The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin... |
Katherine Chancellor Katherine Chancellor Katherine Chancellor Murphy is a fictional character on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless... Marge Cotrooke |
1973–Present 1989-1990, 2008, 2009 |
||
| The Nanny The Nanny Nanny may refer to:* Nanny, a child's caregiver* A grandmother * A Cajun word for godmother * A female goat* Nanny , a 1981–83 British drama series starring Wendy Craig* Nanny of the Maroons... |
Herself | 1997 | ||
| The Bold and the Beautiful The Bold and the Beautiful The Bold and the Beautiful is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS Daytime. It premiered on March 23, 1987.... |
Katherine Chancellor Katherine Chancellor Katherine Chancellor Murphy is a fictional character on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless... |
2005 (guest in two episodes) | ||
| Guiding Light Guiding Light Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009... |
Wedding Guest | 2009 (guest star) | ||
| Mary "Molly" Spenser - Season 7 Episode 5 | 1962 | "The Untouchables" (1959 TV series) The Untouchables (1959 TV series) The Untouchables is an American crime drama that ran from 1959 to 1963 on ABC. Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, it fictionalized the experiences of Eliot Ness, a real-life Prohibition agent, as he fought crime in Chicago during the 1930s with the help of a... |
Fran Cagle on the episode 'The Case Against Eliot Ness' - Season 3, episode #83 | 1962 |
| The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement... |
Mother Fear a.k.a. Yvonne on the episode 'The Children's Day Affair' - Season 2, episode #41 | 1965 | ||
| Perry Mason Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, a defense attorney who was the main character in works of detective fiction authored by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason was featured in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which had a plot involving his client's murder trial... |
Laura Beaumont Thelma Hill Ethel Belan Mary Browne Miriam Fielding |
1958 1959 1962 1964 1966 |
||
| The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising... |
Barmaid on the episode "Mr. Denton on Doomsday Mr. Denton on Doomsday "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" is the third episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. This is the first Twilight Zone episode to be rerun.-Plot summary:... " |
1959 | ||
| Have Gun Will Travel (1957-63 TV series) | Edna Hardin on the episode "The Treasure" | 1962 | ||
External links
- Jeanne Cooper bio on The Young and the RestlessThe Young and the RestlessThe Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
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