On screen, he’s played a tightly wound Navy SEAL, a temperamental chef, a weary rock star and a larger-than-life composer. Off camera, Bradley Cooper is a bit harder to peg. Despite being one of the biggest stars in the world, the ultra-private actor has managed to maintain an air of mystery. He prefers the relative anonymity he’s afforded in NYC, where he takes the subway (just like us!) and lives with his 7-year-old daughter, Lea De Seine (mom is Cooper’s ex, model Irina Shayk). In interviews, he’d much rather talk passionately about whatever project he’s promoting than his personal life.
Still, he’s offered glimpses into his world. The hands-on dad has gushed about fatherhood, calling it “the absolute greatest thing,” and he’s also been open about his sobriety; the Guardians of the Galaxy star got sober at 29 after struggling with alcohol and drug abuse.
By all accounts, Cooper’s happier than he’s ever been as he gears up for his milestone 50th birthday on January 5. He’s set to direct his third feature film, Is This Thing On? (his previous two — 2018’s A Star Is Born and 2023’s Maestro — garnered critical acclaim for the 12-time Academy Award nominee) and is peacefully coparenting Lea with Shayk. “He doesn’t think too much about turning 50 other than how proud he is of his career trajectory and his most important job as a dad,” says a source in the latest Us Weekly cover story, noting Cooper will likely celebrate his big day in NYC. “It won’t be a Leonardo DiCaprio–style party, as that’s not Bradley’s [vibe],” adds the source, “but there is a celebration in the works.”
He’s found love with his girlfriend of one year, model Gigi Hadid. On December 9, the pair were spotted getting dinner at Giorgio Baldi in L.A. with Hadid’s father and his girlfriend. The source says the couple “are the real deal,” adding that their relationship “has become very serious over the last year.” As for next steps, the source says Cooper and Hadid — who shares 4-year-old daughter Khai with ex Zayn Malik — can see the possibility of an engagement in the future, but there’s nothing planned right now.
Both sources say Hadid, 29, and Cooper have similar low-key personalities, which is one reason they make such a good match. “Bradley and Gigi have very calm temperaments and are very understanding; it’s why they mesh so well,” says the second source, noting they spend a lot of time in Pennsylvania, where they both own farmhouses. Adds the first source: “Bradley is a very easygoing kind of guy. His demeanor is very relaxed and chill.” Here, Us reveals Cooper’s secrets to living well.
Don’t Hold Grudges
Cooper and Shayk split in 2019 after four years of dating but have remained on good terms. “They have a great coparenting friendship,” says the first source. “They make it [a priority] to spend time together with Lea and put in the effort to show her healthy relationships.” The friendly exes took Lea trick-or-treating in October and even vacationed in Italy in August 2023. “He’s the best father Lea and I could dream of,” Shayk, 38, told Elle in 2023. “It always works, but it always works because we make it work.” The source says Shayk approves of Cooper’s romance with Hadid (the two women know each other from the modeling world). “Irina has always given her blessing for Gigi to be around Lea and date Bradley. They are all cordial and friendly.”
Get Your Hands Dirty
During a June 2022 “Smartless” podcast appearance, Cooper recalled how he treasures every moment with Lea. “This is kind of crude… but after she goes to the toilet, the way she sits there waiting for me to wipe her butt… I’m just like, ‘This is the greatest moment of my life right now,’” he said with a laugh, adding that “every single thing” is “brought out in glorious colors by the fact that I get to be a father to a wonderful human being.” The first source says Lea is Cooper’s “pride and joy,” adding, “Everything he does is for her.” The second source notes Cooper and Shayk don’t employ nannies or sitters. Instead, they rely on each other or Cooper’s mom, Gloria Campano, who lives in Philadelphia, near where Cooper grew up. “One of them is almost always with Lea, and Gloria visits often.”
Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk: The Way They Were
Be Grateful
The Hangover star credits most of his success to getting sober when he was 29. “I would never be sitting here with you [if I didn’t change],” he told Barbara Walters in 2015. “I wouldn’t have been able to have access to myself or other people or even been able to take in other people if I hadn’t changed my life.” Cooper’s said he considers himself “lucky” to have cleaned up his act (which he did after an intervention from his close pal, actor Will Arnett). “If I continued it, I was really going to sabotage my whole life.”
Be a Gentleman
In February, Cooper was photographed opening a taxi door for Hadid. “Gigi always talks about how romantic and thoughtful he is,” says the first source. “He does small gestures like making sure to call her whenever he gets a break on set just to say hello. It’s the little things that mean the most to her.” When she walked the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in October (along with Shayk), Hadid revealed he was watching from home. “He’s on dad duty,” she explained, “but so supportive.”
Lighten Up
The hardworking star recently revealed a new relaxing guilty pleasure — reality TV! “I’m absolutely obsessed,” he admitted in February, noting that his favorites are Love on the Spectrum (“It’s the greatest show I’ve ever seen,” he said), The Golden Bachelor and Love Is Blind. “I’m new to it all, but whoa.”
Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid Step Out for NYC Breakfast Date
Be a Good Friend
He’s still close with his childhood bestie, Brian Klugman (who he cast in Maestro to play Leonard Bernstein’s onscreen bestie!), as well as a bunch of actors he met early on in his career, including Arnett, Dax Shepard and Jennifer Garner. In 2020, Brad Pitt thanked him for helping him get sober while accepting an award from the National Board of Review, and last year, his neighbor Brooke Shields praised him as her “guardian angel” for riding in the ambulance with her after she suffered a grand mal seizure. “The next thing I remember … Bradley f—ing Cooper is sitting next to me holding my hand,” the actress recalled of the “surreal” experience.
Dream Big
Cooper has said he briefly felt pigeonholed in bro-y roles after Wedding Crashers and The Hangover. And it took some convincing for him to get studios to trust him as a writer and director before A Star Is Born. “You’re like, ‘I have these big dreams, and I feel these things.’ Is that wrong? Like, shame on anybody that’s going to tell you who you are,” he told The New York Times in 2018. “It’s like, someone’s going to tell you who you are, what you’re capable of? Like, what?”
Stay Open to Inspiration
Cooper was inspired to make A Star Is Born by a dream he had after watching singer Annie Lennox perform on TV, and he says the idea for an unnamed future project came to him while he was brushing his teeth. “As long as I stay open as a human being, then I have a chance for these inspirational moments to occur,” he’s said, noting that he tries to follow the lead of acclaimed director Steven Spielberg. “The biggest lesson he’s given me [is] that it’s OK to maintain that childlike joy and curiosity with what we do. There’s nothing uncool about it
Bradley Cooper Details Hopes to ‘Unburden’ Daughter Lea From His ‘Mistakes’
Keep Learning
The French-speaking Georgetown University grad spent six years learning how to conduct music to play Leonard Bernstein in Maestro and six months improving his singing and playing the piano and the guitar for A Star Is Born. He also trained to shoot guns for American Sniper and upped his cooking game for Burnt. “Things that I’ve explored, they do come with hobbies, or things that can become hobbies after,” he’s said. “Being able to learn how to cook, and be proficient with certain firearms and learning about music in a way I never had, and then learning about classical music, conducting … these are the beautiful gifts that come out of these experiences.”
For more on Cooper, watch the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on newsstands now.
With reporting by Travis Cronin and Amanda Williams
