In the mid-20th century, Gary Cooper was the guy that all the top-dog filmmakers in Hollywood
wanted to play the lead in their upcoming films.
He was an actor who was known for being America's favorite 'good guy'.
He had a strong, quiet on-screen persona and a deliciously understated acting style.
For his work, Cooper was nominated for a total of five Academy Awards.
Of those, he ended up winning two for Best Actor.
For almost a quarter-century, Cooper was one of the top 10 film personalities and was one
of the highest money-making film stars for the better part of two decades.
Cooper's acting career spanned 36 years between 1925 and 1961.
In that time, he landed the leading roles in 84 feature-length films, and according
to IMDB, he has 117 total credits.
With a career like that and dashingly good looks to boot, it's no wonder that Gary Cooper
was such a hit with audiences.
He appealed to men and women alike, and some of his performances are to this day considered
to be some of the best of all time.
His unique ability to project his own personality so effectively onto the characters that he
played contributed greatly to his success.
Not only was Gary Cooper highly sought-after among Tinsel Town's top directors, but he
was also the talk of the town on the dating scene.
While he only ever married once, Cooper dated quite a few of the top actresses of his day
and age.
Rumor has it, he might even have hooked up with a man at some point.
Join Facts verse as we attempt to spill the beans on all of Gary Cooper's flings, trysts,
romances, and affairs.
Up first we have one of the most iconic actresses of the silent film era.
It's only fitting that a legend like Gary Cooper would have hooked up with this equally
renowned star.
Clara Bow
Before he was known for playing romantic heroes in films like The Wolf Song and Wings, the
original 'It' girl Clara Bow found herself so enamored with Cooper that she basically
demanded that he star alongside her in a movie.
The two first met on the Paramount lot, and it was apparently lust at first sight.
Eventually, her insistence paid off and Cooper landed one of his first major roles in 1927s
Children of Divorce.
It was likely during the production of this film that Cooper struck up his romantic relationship
with Bow.
In truth, Cooper would become infamous for getting especially close with many of his
female co-stars throughout his career.
Children of Divorce is often credited with making Clara Bow into a star, and while Cooper's
performance in it wasn't quite as memorable, his appearance in Wings which hit theaters
later that year is typically viewed as the role that really got his career going strong.
Lupe Velez
In 1929, Cooper filmed The Wolf Song with the lovely yet diabolical Lupe Velez.
In that film, Cooper plays a cowboy who finds himself in Taos, New Mexico.
While there, he meets Velez's character and falls madly in love with her.
But despite having gotten the girl, the call for adventure still beckons him.
While that might sound like just about every Western love film of the time, what's notable
about it is the fact that it was the movie that first introduced Cooper to one of his
many great love interests.
If Clara Bow was the Hollywood 'It Girl', Lupe Velez was the Mexican 'it girl'.
She was feisty, voluptuous, charismatic, and drop-dead gorgeous.
Seeing as how Cooper had already hooked up with Bow, it was only natural that he would
strike up a romance with Velez as well.
Unfortunately for him, that was one fling that would end up coming back to bite him.
What started off as an on-screen romance that evolved into a blossoming off-screen one eventually
devolved into a rather dramatic situation.
While the two lovebirds were getting to know each other, Cooper's career was beginning
to take off in a big way.
He started out acting in silent films, but after transitioning to talkies, he became
an even bigger star.
Cooper's increased popularity led to him being cast in larger and more prolific roles.
All of these new, bigger-budget, higher-profile movies starred successful actresses in their
female leading roles.
Velez soon became very jealous of the situation.
She wanted to keep her man all to herself and was prone to fits of intense rage whenever
she felt threatened.
So, she did the only thing that she thought she could do to keep Cooper in her clutches.
That is, she attempted to derail his career so that he wouldn't be as desirable in the
eyes of the opposite sex.
If that sounds like something a crazy, obsessive person would do, that's because that description
describes Velez to the tee.
Anderson Lawler
While Cooper was still with the notoriously jealous firecracker Lupe Velez, she became
increasingly suspicious that he was having an intimate relationship with his good friend
Anderson Lawler.
One night at a party, Velez, believing that Cooper had just gotten back from hooking up
with Lawler, pulled down Gary's pants zipper and sniffed his crotch.
She then claimed that she smelled the distinct aroma of Lawler's cologne.
While it's never been confirmed that Cooper was bisexual or that he ever had an affair
with Lawler, Anderson was known in that era's vernacular as a 'swisher' – or a flamboyant
gay man.
Even though there is no proof that Cooper and Lawler ever were romantically involved,
it is known that the two shared a house on and off for over a year.
So, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Cooper might have experimented a bit.
A biographer named Michelle Vogel even went as far as to speculate that Velez once consented
to Cooper's alleged involvement with Lawler as long as she could participate.
Once again, however, it's difficult to authenticate such claims.
Marlene Dietrich
The drama in Cooper's life was taken to an unprecedented level after Cooper starred alongside
actress Marlene Dietrich in 1930s Morocco.
Lovestruck and smitten by her co-star Dietrich wanted desperately to get a piece of Cooper.
But as you might expect, Velez was not in the least bit interested in sharing him with
anyone.
An intensely bitter rivalry formed between the two actresses.
Although Dietrich did her best to remain professional, Velez made little attempt to keep things dignified.
In the press, Velez was depicted as a loose cannon who was unable to keep her emotions
at bay whenever Cooper was involved.
Ultimately, there was nothing she wouldn't do to keep her stranglehold on her man, even
if that meant hurting him.
Velez was once quoted as saying that if she had the opportunity, she would have torn Marlene
Dietrich's eyes out.
While Velez might have been extremely controlling and a bit unhinged, Cooper remained under
her spell.
So, even though he was deeply into Dietrich and carried on affairs with both women simultaneously,
it was typically Lupe that would end up winning the majority of his attention.
That is, however, until he finally worked up the courage to leave her after three years
of dating.
When he left Los Angeles and Velez behind by train en route to Chicago, Lupe allegedly
attempted to shoot him.
Fortunately, she had terrible aim, missed him, and fled the scene evading arrest.
When he left Velez, that effectively ended his relationship with Dietrich as well.
In the grand scheme of things, that was probably a pretty smart move.
Carole Lombard
After breaking things off with Velez and Dietrich, Cooper was known to have hooked up with actress
Carole Lombard.
The two met while filming the 1931 film I Take This Woman while Lombard was still married
to her husband, fellow Classic-Hollywood legend Clark Gable.
Lombard would claim that she had superior experiences in the bedroom with Cooper than
she ever did with Gable.
In fact, Gable felt so threatened by Cooper that he ended up purchasing a Duesenberg car
that was a foot longer than Cooper's.
If that's not compensating for something, we don't know what is.
Tallulah Bankhead
In 1932, Cooper was cast opposite the beautiful Tallulah Bankhead in the film Devil in the
Deep.
Like Velez, Bankhead was also known for being a bit on the wild side.
She once was even quoted as saying that the only reason why she went to Hollywood was
to sleep with Cooper.
Apparently, Bankhead achieved her goal – as did the majority of Cooper's co-stars, including
his rival Cary Grant.
Veronica Balfe
This actress best known for her appearance in the 1933 film The Gay Nineties, married
Cooper on December 15, 1933.
They tied the knot at Baife's mother's home on Park Avenue, although they originally intended
on exchanging vows at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel but changed locations at the last moment
to avoid public attention.
After getting married, Baife retired from acting.
Four years later in 1937, Baife gave birth to a daughter named Maria Veronica Cooper.
In 1951, the couple separated, but they reconciled two years later and remained married until
Cooper's death in 1961.
Ingrid Bergman
While married to Veronica Baife, Cooper had an affair with the high-profile Casablanca
actress Ingrid Bergman.
The two hit it off while working together on the set of the film For Whom The Bell Tolls
in 1942.
For a year, Cooper and Bergman managed to keep their clandestine affair under wraps.
After their forbidden love was discovered, however, they ended things after finishing
up shooting Saratoga Trunk in 1943.
Well, that about covers all of Gary Cooper's most prolific love affairs and relationships.
It's always fascinating to take an in-depth look at the tangled romances of the rich and
famous.
It makes you wonder if guys like Cooper really ever felt fulfilled sleeping around and cheating
on one partner after another.
Anyway, we're just about out of time, but now it's your turn to let your voice be heard.
Which one of Gary Cooper's lovers do you think was his most meaningful relationship?
And were you aware that he was almost gunned down by Lupe Velez after he broke up with
her?
Share your thoughts about Gary Cooper's love life in the comments.
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