Daisy May Cooper (born 1 August 1986) is an English actress and writer. She won the 2018 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for playing Kerry Mucklowe in the BBC Three series This Country, which she co-created and co-wrote with her younger brother, Charlie Cooper.
Daisy May Cooper | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 August 1986 Basingstoke, Hampshire, England |
| Alma mater | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Spouse |
Will Weston
(m. 2019; sep. 2021) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Charlie Cooper (brother) Trevor Cooper (uncle) Mathew Baynton (second cousin) |
Early life and education
editCooper was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, in 1986 and is the elder of two children. Her brother, Charlie Cooper, is also an actor and writer. She attended Cirencester Deer Park School, followed by drama school at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.[1][2]
Cooper's second cousin Mathew Baynton is also in the acting profession.[3]
Career
editAfter one role as a young mother in ITV series Doc Martin she returned to the West Country, working as a cleaner with her brother Charlie. For a while the siblings lived together – their experiences would later form part of the writings for This Country.[4][5]
In 2014, she landed the role of PC Garvey in the TV series The Wrong Mans. In the same year, a pilot based on the Coopers' initial series pitch had been shot for ITV as the (never released) film Kerry, setting the basis for This Country.[6]
She wrote and starred with her brother, Charlie, in the BBC Three comedy series This Country, for which she won a TV BAFTA award for Best Female Comedy Performance in 2018.[4][7][8] Due to the success of the first series of This Country, a second series was commissioned and aired on BBC Three in February 2018.[4] A third series aired in 2020.[9]
In 2019, she played Peggotty in The Personal History of David Copperfield and in 2020, she had a part in Armando Iannucci's HBO space comedy Avenue 5.[10] She also appeared with her father, Paul, on Celebrity Gogglebox.[10] On 29 July 2020, Cooper took part in the tenth series of Taskmaster.[11] In 2022 she played one of the two lead characters in the television sitcom The Witchfinder and co-wrote and starred in Am I Being Unreasonable?[12]
In 2023, she participated as "Otter" on the fourth series of The Masked Singer[13] and starred in Rain Dogs.[14]
Personal life
editCooper married her long-term partner, Will Weston, on 21 September 2019.[15] The couple have two children, daughter Pip (b. 2018) and son Jack Michael Weston (b. 2020), named in honour of her late friend and This Country co-star Michael Sleggs who died in 2019 from heart failure.[16] In July 2021, it was reported that Cooper had separated from her husband 10 months after the birth of their son.[17]
Cooper has another son, Benji (b. 2024).[18]
Cooper claims to have experienced unexplained, possibly paranormal, phenomena at her home, to the extent that she moved house.[19]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Doc Martin | Young Mum | 1 episode (Series 5 Episode 5, Remember Me) |
| 2014 | The Wrong Mans | PC Garvey | 2 episodes |
| 2017–2020 | This Country | Kerry Mucklowe | Main role; also co-writer and creator |
| 2019 | The Personal History of David Copperfield | Peggotty | Film |
| 2020–2022 | Avenue 5 | Sarah (season 1); Zarah (Season 2) | Recurring role; teleplay & writer (episode 7) |
| 2020 | Taskmaster | Herself | Series 10 |
| 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown | Herself | Series 20 (episode 3) | |
| 2021–present | Never Mind the Buzzcocks | Herself (Team Captain) | Series 29, 30 & 31 |
| 2022 | RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World[20] | Herself | Guest judge (Series 1) |
| The Witchfinder[21] | Thomasine Gooch | Main role | |
| 2022–present | Am I Being Unreasonable?[12] | Nic | Main role; also co-writer and creator |
| 2023 | The Masked Singer[13] | Otter/Herself | Unmasked in episode 6 |
| Rain Dogs[14] | Costello Jones | Main role | |
| Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway | Herself | Star Guest Announcer (Series 19 Episode 3) | |
| 2024 | The Big Fat Quiz | Herself | episode "The Big Fat Quiz of Telly" |
References
edit- ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Cirencester siblings Daisy and Charlie Cooper talk about their new BBC Three show This Country". Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. 17 February 2017. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ "Daisy-May Cooper". RADA. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ Grant, Olly (20 February 2018). "This Country creators Charlie and Daisy May Cooper: 'The best storylines are usually things we've lived through'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
- ^ a b c Wollaston, Sam (18 December 2018). "What happened next? The stars of This Country: 'Success? I wish that showed up on my bloody bank balance'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ Harrison, Elle (16 February 2020). "Daisy May and Charlie Cooper: 'We had nothing before This Country. It was humiliating... we couldn't even afford McDonald's'". Independent. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ Yeates, Cydney (12 August 2020). "This Country's Kerry and Kurtan were 'like Glee characters' in binned pilot". Metro. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ^ Hawksley, Rupert (13 March 2017). "Is BBC Three 'mockumentary' This Country the best British comedy since The Office?". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ Lewis, Rebecca (14 May 2018). "Daisy May Cooper accepts TV Bafta barefoot and in a Swindon Town FC dress". METRO. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- ^ Mangan, Lucy (17 February 2020). "This Country review – farewell to TV's favourite bumpkins". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ a b Griffiths, Emily (17 July 2020). "Who is Daisy May Cooper? Meet Celebrity Gogglebox's newest famous face". HELLO!. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- ^ Lewis, Isobel (29 July 2020). "Taskmaster season 10: Daisy May Cooper joins Greg Davies game show on new Channel 4 home". Independent. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ a b Brocklehurst, Harrison (13 February 2022). "Title, first look and further casting announced for new comedy thriller Am I Being Unreasonable? starring Daisy May Cooper and Selin Hizli". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
- ^ a b Allday, Jasmine (4 February 2023). "Masked Singer unveils Otter as Daisy May Cooper in second exit tonight". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ a b Ramaswamy, Chitra (4 April 2023). "Rain Dogs review – no wonder Daisy May Cooper is being touted as the next M in Bond". The Guardian.
- ^ Lewis, Isobel (22 September 2019). "This Country's Daisy May Cooper marries Will Weston after wedding tribute to Michael Sleggs". METRO. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- ^ "This Country star Daisy May Cooper shares baby news". Evening Express. Press Association. 1 September 2020. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- ^ Kelly, Emma (21 July 2021). "Daisy May Cooper 'splits from husband Will' after nearly two years of marriage". Metro. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "Daisy May Cooper thanks Gloucester staff after baby born early". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Uncanny, Series 3, S3 Christmas Special: The Haunting of Daisy May Cooper". BBC. 25 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ Brocklehurst, Harrison (12 January 2022). "Here's everything we know so far about RuPaul's Drag Race: UK Versus The World". The Tab. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "First look image and casting confirmed for new BBC comedy The Witchfinder". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. Archived from the original on 16 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.