Jeanne Cooper Before She Was Young And Restless

The Young and the Restless icon

Katherine Chancellor was a one-of-a-kind iconic character on The Young and the Restless. She is getting a lot of buzz lately because the CBS daytime drama is showcasing classic episodes that depict the grand dame of Genoa City. Those who enjoyed her work are discussing the various episodes on social media and are enjoying these blasts from the past.

Younger fans may not know this, but Jeanne Cooper had an amazing career prior to becoming famous as Kay Chancellor. There are some facts that possibly her greatest devotees may not be aware of. As popular as she was for four decades on Y&R, her prior resume is very impressive This famous woman's life began when she was born Wilma Jeanne Cooper on October 25, 1928. She passed away on May 8, 2013, at age 84 and spent 40 years on Y&R prior to her passing.

Jeannie Cooper's personal life

At the time of her death, Jeanne Cooper was number eight on the list of the longest careers of US soap opera actors at the time. Looking at her birth name, it is probable that her parents named her Wilma Jean, although she was always referred to as Jeannie. Ms. Cooper was the mother of three children and of them, Corbin Bernsen gained fame on the NBC television show LA Law.

He also had a recurring role on The Young and the Restless as the older brother of Paul Williams, Father Tim, a Catholic priest. He was also a part of the cast of Psych on the USA network and the three Psych films that have followed thus far. The actress did not talk much about her marriage except to say that her husband had many extramarital affairs.

Jeannie Cooper family life and early career

Wilma Jeanne Cooper was born in Taft, California, to Albert Troy Cooper, and his wife, Sildeth Evelyn Moore Cooper. Jeanne was the youngest of three siblings and she began her acting career in the 1950s. She appeared in supporting roles with many of the Hollywood greats, acting in films with stars like Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, Maureen O'Hara, and Glenn Ford.

She was a slender young woman and her hair was darker, but those facial features are easily recognizable. Jeanne Cooper's first film role was in the 1953 western, The Redhead from Wyoming. In this movie, she portrayed a character named Myra. She later appeared in small roles in 12 feature films. They are: Black Zoo, The Intruder, Glory Guys 5, Steps to Danger, Rock All Night, The Man from the Alamo, House of Women, Tony Rome, The Kansas City Bomber, Over-Exposed, 13 West Street, and The Boston Strangler.

Jeannie Cooper television career

During the 1950s through the 1970s Jeanne Cooper could be seen often on episodic television. If you watch the RETRO channel, METV, or Encore Westerns, you will see her in her younger days in these early roles. She portrayed Ann Dix in the 1955 episode "I Am Joaquin" in Death Valley Days. In 1956, she was cast in "The Rabbi Davis Story" as Mrs. Hinton.

She portrayed Louise Douglas in "Girl Bandit" in the crime drama, Highway Patrol that same year. She also appeared in an episode of Wagon Train titled "The Whipping". In 1957, she starred in one of the early episodes of two different popular western programs. She was on ABC's Maverick, and NBC's Tales of Wells Fargo, in the role of female bandit Belle Starr.

Jeannie Cooper was in many westerns

in 1959, Cooper portrayed Duchess in her second Tales of Wells Fargo role titled "Clay Allison". Ironically, "Duchess" was the nickname her television son Brock gave her on The Young and the Restless. In 1958, she was on the NBC western Jefferson Drum, and in the same year, the actress appeared on the CBS western anthology series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater, as Lucy.

In 1960, she portrayed Belle Starr once again in an episode of the TV series "Bronco". She was Marie Conover in a 1967 episode of Cheyenne titled "Top Hand. Cooper also made five guest appearances during the nine-year run of Perry Mason, on CBS. Her first was in 1958 in the role of Laura Beaumont in an episode titled "The Case of the Corresponding Corpse." In 1966 during the 9th and final season of the show, she made her last appearance. She was a defendant named Miriam in "The Case of the Vanishing Victim."

Additional roles and honors

Jeanne Cooper received her first Emmy nomination in 1962 for her performance in Ben Casey. The actress had a regular on NBC's Bracken's World and later could be seen in episodes of Mannix, Storefront Lawyers, Ironside, Hawaii Five-O, Touched by an Angel, The Untouchables, The Twilight Zone. The Silent Force, and Gunsmoke.

Cooper eturned to The Big Valley in 1965 and according to Wikepedia, she was also in many other television series. If you are a fan of the oldies networks, like MeTV, especially westerns, keep an eye out for the young brunette Jeanne Cooper because sooner or later you are bound to see her.