Anderson Cooper

Anderson Cooper is an Emmy-winning journalist who currently contributes stories to 60 Minutes, anchors CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 and his own syndicated daytime talk show, Anderson Live.

The son of Gloria Vanderbilt and the late author Wyatt Cooper, Cooper first made his mark on the television industry at age 9 when he was a contestant on To Tell the Truth, pretending to be the world’s youngest Russian bear trainer.

Graduating early from the prestigious Dalton School in Manhattan, Cooper, a former child model, went on to earn a degree in political science from Yale. During his collegiate years, Cooper suffered a devastating loss when his brother, Carter, committed suicide at age 23. It is at that time when Cooper first decided to pursue a career in journalism.

Working as a correspondent for Channel One and ABC News prior to being named the co-anchor of World News Now, Cooper hosted reality TV’s The Mole in 2000. In the wake of September 11, 2001, the newsman was offered a position with CNN and two years later, premiered AC360.

The news anchor — who detailed his coverage of Hurricane Katrina in a 2006 memoir Dispatches From the Edge — transitioned into daytime TV with his syndicated daytime series Anderson in 2011.

Currently, Cooper is an Anderson 360 anchor and 60 Minutes correspondent.

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In July 2012, Cooper publicly acknowledged that he is gay, opening up about his sexuality in an email to friend and political blogger Andrew Sullivan. He is currently dating Benjamin Maisani.