All About Alex Cooper’s Parents, Bryan and Laurie Cooper

Alex Cooper has always had her parents’ full support.

The entrepreneur’s dad, Bryan, is a former sports TV producer, and her mom, Laurie, is a school psychologist. The pair welcomed two children, daughter Kathryn and son Grant, before Alex arrived in 1994.

During an interview with Vogue in April 2024, Alex opened up about admiring her parents’ marriage, so much that she initially didn’t plan to wed until she met husband Matt Kaplan.

“Growing up, I witnessed my parents live the once-in-a-lifetime love—they are still together, 40 years this year,” she said. “I was convinced I would never find what they had, and so I didn’t expect it and didn’t look for it. Little did I know, I just needed to find my Matt Kaplan.”

Alex’s parents were supportive of her podcast, Call Her Daddy, from its inception in 2018. Now, fans are getting a closer look at Alex’s upbringing and rise to fame in the docuseries Call Her Alex, which debuted at the Tribeca Festival before premiering on Hulu on June 10.

“They have always been my number one supporters,” Alex told Today in November 2022. “Even when people in my extended family would be like, ‘Has she lost her mind?’ my parents were like, ‘No, because we know Alex and we know how we raised her and we know her talent.’ ”

Here’s everything to know about Alex Cooper’s parents, Bryan and Laurie Cooper.

Laurie is a school psychologist

Laurie is a school psychologist for the Bensalem Township School District in Pennsylvania, according to her LinkedIn. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Fairfield University in 1981 and her master’s degree in school psychology from the University of Bridgeport in 1988.

Alex told Elle in December 2022 that growing up with a mom who was a psychologist seemed challenging at the time, but she now sees the benefits.

“When I was younger, and still to this day, I will walk into my house and one of my friends will be sitting on my couch speaking to my mother,” she said. “Growing up, I would get frustrated that she was so intuitive, because she would always know if I was lying. But now I feel so grateful, because it made her there for me and my friends in a way other parents couldn’t be.”

Bryan is a former sports TV producer

Bryan was a sports TV producer for over 30 years. He worked as the executive producer and director of Flyers Hockey in Philadelphia from 1989 to 2023, per his LinkedIn.

Bryan told FlyingFishHockey.com in October 2023 that the pandemic led him to retire, citing the loss of in-person connections with players and broadcasters.

He also previously held producer positions at the NBC Sports Network and ESPN.

They share three children

Bryan and Laurie have three kids: daughters Kathryn and Alex and son Grant. Alex is the youngest of the three and was born on Aug. 21, 1994.

Kathryn and Grant also work in the media industry. Grant is the co-founder of the marketing software company Cometly, per his LinkedIn. Meanwhile, Kathryn works as an editor at the SNY, CBS and Madison Square Garden, according to her LinkedIn page.

In her Vogue wedding feature, Alex opened up about her close bond with Grant and why she chose him to officiate her wedding to Kaplan.

“He has been so instrumental throughout my life, and he and Matt have built such a great bond,” she said. “My brother did such an incredible job speaking so beautifully about our relationship.”

Bryan played a unique role at Alex’s wedding

For her April 2024 wedding to Kaplan, Alex decided not to have her father walk her down the aisle. She told Vogue she made that decision because she “really rejected the concept of being walked down by a man to be handed to another man.”

“Although to clarify, I have such an incredible relationship with my father and both of my parents—it wasn’t about that,” Alex explained. “To me personally, I just never loved that tradition. It’s old and antiquated.”

She also shared that her mother, Laurie, strayed from the tradition at her wedding to Bryan. “My mom also walked herself down the aisle, so in a sense, I guess we are creating our own tradition for the women in our family,” Alex told the outlet.

However, Bryan did have a unique role at the wedding reception where he announced that everyone was expected to run into the ocean in their formalwear.

“I was expecting maybe just my close friends to join in, but to my complete shock, almost the entire wedding took charge to the ocean,” Alex told Vogue of the moment. “Parents, grandparents, family and friends.”

Alex has said she and Laurie are similar

During an appearance on the I Am Paris podcast in December 2023, Alex told host Paris Hilton that she and Laurie have similar personalities, so their relationship has had its “ups and downs.”

“She’s the best and she’s my best friend, and we’ve had so many ups and downs in our relationship because we’re so similar,” Alex said. “I think that’s when you can butt heads the most with someone.”

The podcaster continued, “I love her so much and I also in moments am like, ‘stop,’ but it’s also like because I’m staring directly, I feel like sometimes, at myself and I’m like this is so scary.”

They noticed Alex’s creativity from a young age

Bryan and Laurie have been the biggest supporters of Alex’s podcast journey, even when met with criticism about the sex positive nature of Call Her Daddy.

“I was so fortunate because my parents, from the beginning days of Call Her Daddy, I remember not having a fear in the world, like I did not have one bone in my body that was nervous about what my parents were going to think,” Alex told Hilton on I Am Paris. “My parents are so supportive of me, and when I was younger, I was always making really embarrassing like music videos and skits and movies at my house.”

She added that her parents were “always so proud” of her creative passion from a young age and “really weren’t surprised” when she launched her podcast.

“I didn’t have to blink an eye when I was uploading those episodes, and some of them being so salacious and talking about sex so openly,” she said. “As a woman in media, it was, of course, I got backlash, but to know at home my parents were like giving me a hug whenever I went home from New York to see them, and they were like, ‘We’re so proud of you.’ ”

Alex bought them a house in Los Angeles

After signing a multi-million-dollar deal with SiriusXM in 2024, Alex bought her parents a Los Angeles home. The podcaster revealed the news on an episode of Call Her Daddy, sharing with listeners that she told her dad and mom she wanted “nothing in return” and simply wanted them to “enjoy it and thrive.”

“My mom and dad sacrificed every single f—— day hauling me to different counties and getting on flights and taking me to soccer tournaments and taking me to private training sessions and taking me everywhere I wanted to go,” she said. “It all led me to be able to do what I love for a living, and I literally wouldn’t be here without them.”

Alex added, “Buying them a house is like the least I could f—— do, because they sacrificed financially, emotionally. They sacrificed with my other siblings in moments for me. So it feels really, really, really f—— insane and incredible that I get to do this.”

Laurie has appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast

Laurie appeared on Call Her Daddy in October 2020 to celebrate the 100th episode of the hit podcast. She shared her thoughts on the podcast with Alex, praising her for the brand she’s created.

“I think it’s amazing. … Alex, [I’m] immensely proud of what’s going on here, and … I admire the product you’ve created,” she said. “I know where it comes from. I know how much talent. I’ve watched you since the beginning. Eight years old, you were starting to think about doing these things, and Dad and I are both immensely proud of you personally.”

Alex appeared on the Berner Phone podcast that same month and revealed that her mom often gives her advice about the podcast.

“My mom and I, we’re kind of like this brilliant little duo … I send my mom my intros every week,” she said. “She’s the only person that hears them every week now because I don’t have anyone that helps me with the show, and I don’t trust anyone.”

Alex continued, “My mom will call me and be like, ‘It could’ve been better. You could redo it. It could be better.’ That is the relationship I have with her, and it’s the most beautiful relationship I have in my life.”