Bradley Cooper celebrates his 50th birthday: From “The Hangover” to “A Star Is Born”

At the beginning of the 2010s, Bradley Cooper (50) inexorably climbed the Olympus of Hollywood. After commercial success and performances that were loved by critics, he finally played and sang his way into the hearts of fans alongside Lady Gaga (38) in “A Star Is Born”. He will be 50 years old on January 5th.

Cooper, born on January 5, 1975 in the US metropolis of Philadelphia, initially worked as a journalist for a newspaper. But he was inevitably drawn to acting. In 1999, US TV audiences first got to know the mime. He appeared in an episode from the second season of the popular New York series “Sex and the City.”

Another early series success: Cooper was seen in a total of 45 episodes of the spy series “Alias: The Agent” with Jennifer Garner (52) in the lead role, which was also broadcast in Germany, at the beginning of the 2000s.

Appearances in films were also not long in coming. But initially Cooper didn’t get beyond smaller and larger supporting roles in works like the comedy “The Wedding Crashers” or “He’s Just Not That Into You.” That changed in 2009 with the comedy “Hangover,” which grossed a gigantic sum of around $470 million worldwide and spawned two sequels.

Ten years after the last part “Hangover 3” was released, Cooper revealed that he would make a sequel to the successful series. “I would probably do ‘Hangover 4’ in a heartbeat, just because I love Todd, Zach and Ed so much,” he stressed. But he suspects that “Hangover” director Todd Phillips (54) simply doesn’t want to do it, which is something fans of the comedy franchise certainly don’t like to hear.

After “The Hangover,” Cooper, whose face suddenly became world-famous, landed a series of exciting and high-profile roles. He was seen in the critics’ favorite “The Place Beyond the Pines” as well as in “Silver Linings” with Jennifer Lawrence (34). He also received an Oscar nomination for best actor for the latter performance, but didn’t win the Golden Boy award – as did his performance in “American Hustle.”

Cooper has been nominated for an Oscar a total of twelve times over the years in various roles and functions, including two times for Best Adapted Screenplay. He came away empty-handed twelve times. At the Golden Globes, he also failed to take home one of the coveted trophies despite six nominations.

Cooper celebrated his directorial debut in 2018 with the musical drama “A Star Is Born” and at the same time took on a leading role alongside Lady Gaga. The now 50-year-old composed the songs – in collaboration with his co-star, the music producer Mark Ronson (49) and others involved – and also sang them himself.

“I was overwhelmed by him. He sings from his soul, he sings from his gut,” Lady Gaga later raved about her fellow actor. In 2019, “A Star Is Born” was nominated in eight Oscar categories, including Best Picture, Lady Gaga for Best Actress and Bradley Cooper for Best Actor. The film ballad “Shallow” received a golden boy in the “Best Song” category.

Cooper also directed the Netflix biopic “Maestro” about the composer Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), but the work was not as well received by audiences and critics as “A Star Is Born”.

Cooper’s love life was just as exciting as his career: The actor, who was voted “Sexiest Man Alive” in 2011, was in a relationship with Jennifer Esposito (51) from the end of 2005. The two married around a year later. However, the marriage did not last long: the divorce was filed in March 2007 and was finalized about six months later.

From 2009 to 2011, Cooper was in a relationship with his fellow actress Renée Zellweger (55), and from 2013 to 2015 with musician Suki Waterhouse (32).

Cooper was first linked to model Irina Shayk (38) in 2015 when they were seen together on a date on Broadway; The love outing followed a little later. Two years later, on March 21, 2017, their daughter Lea (7) was born. The model and the actor separated in 2019. Nevertheless, the ex-couple still seems to get along well today. “He is the best father that Lea and I could dream of,” enthused Shayk in 2023.

The Hollywood star has reportedly been dating supermodel Gigi Hadid (29) since October 2023. “They are both very busy, but they manage to spend time together and enjoy each other,” a source revealed last July. Cooper and Hadid are “very happy” together. However, the stars have not yet officially confirmed their connection.