Anderson Cooper Reflects on Loss, Grief, and Healing

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has long been known for his courageous reporting around the world. Yet in recent years, he has turned that same courage inward. He now speaks openly about how deep personal loss shaped him and how confronting grief changed his life.

A Childhood Marked by Tragedy

Cooper lost his father, Wyatt Emory Cooper, in 1978 when he was just 10 years old. His father died from complications during heart surgery.

Ten years later, Cooper suffered another painful blow. His older brother, Carter Vanderbilt Cooper, died by suicide at age 21.

Then in 2019, Cooper’s mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, passed away at age 95.

Together, these losses shaped his relationship with grief and with life itself.

Learning to Grieve

For decades after these losses, Cooper avoided fully feeling his grief. He later described how he “buried” emotions about his father and brother and kept them deep inside.

Only in recent years did he begin to confront these feelings. He realized that avoiding grief also blocked joy. As he told Stephen Colbert, learning to feel the pain allowed him finally to experience happiness too.

A New Way to Talk About Loss

In 2022, Cooper launched the podcast All There Is to explore grief and loss more openly. On the show, he speaks with guests about their experiences with grief.

He has said that grief is a universal road all people travel. He began the podcast to understand his own feelings and to help others feel less alone.

The conversations on the podcast have been emotional, honest, and deeply human. Cooper often listens to listener voicemails and speaks directly with people who have suffered loss.

Fatherhood and Perspective

Fatherhood has also shifted Cooper’s view on life. He and his former partner, Benjamin Maisani, are the parents of two sons, Wyatt and Sebastian. Although Cooper rarely talked about his own vulnerabilities in the past, becoming a dad has added new meaning and urgency to his life.

He has said that raising children made him want to live more fully and to face the emotional truths he once avoided.

What Cooper Has Learned

Instead of shrinking from pain, Cooper now believes that facing grief can deepen one’s understanding of life. He has often expressed that grief and joy are deeply connected.

In conversations and interviews, he encourages others not to hide their pain but to acknowledge it as part of being human.

Today, Cooper continues his work on Anderson Cooper 360° and All There Is. Through his reporting and his podcast, he uses personal truth to build connection and healing.