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Sarah Anne Cooper (born December 19, 1977) is an American author, YouTuber and comedian. Her first two books, 100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings and Draw What Success Looks Like were published in 2016, with her third book, How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men's Feelings, being published in 2018.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cooper began uploading videos of herself statements made by Donald Trump. The success of these led to appearances on several talk shows, and in October 2020 her show premiered on Netflix.
Her first book, 100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings, a satirical version of a self-help book, was published on October 4, 2016. Her "colouring and activity book", Draw What Success Looks Like, was published in the same month. Her third book, How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men's Feelings, was published on October 30, 2018. It is subtitled "Non-threatening Leadership Strategies for Women", and contains satirical advice for women such as "Pepper your emails with exclamation marks and emojis.... Your lack of efficient communication will make you seem more approachable." Her books were not commercially successful. At the end of 2019, five years after she had resigned from Google, Cooper was considering quitting her comedy career due to lack of success.
In an interview with The Atlantic, Cooper said that she enjoyed performing on TikTok and that she might continue on the platform following the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns rather than perform stand-up in front of a live audience. The Boston Globe remarked that Cooper's videos are also noted as being examples of extremely economical political satire since they are structured around an unedited voice clip of a politician speaking. This extremely minimalistic comedic approach, which includes neither a script nor an audience, was described as an innovative response to the limitations that comedians faced during COVID-19 lockdowns. Cooper analyzed the videos by commenting that "I had taken away the suit and the podium and the people behind him smiling and nodding and calling him "sir," and all that was left were his empty words, which, in reality, were not the best. It felt like the antidote to the gaslighting." Cooper lip-synced Trump talking about Postal voting, for a video played during the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
She was named Digital Creator of the Year by Adweek, and was nominated in the "Creator of the Year" and "Comedy" categories for the 10th Streamy Awards.
In October 2020, the Netflix special was released, produced by Maya Rudolph and directed by Natasha Lyonne. It features Cooper as the host of a fictional morning news program. The show is structured around spoofs of news segments, interviews, and commercials, and it incorporates a series of Sketch comedy featuring appearances from celebrities including Jon Hamm, Whoopi Goldberg, Helen Mirren, Ben Stiller, and Marisa Tomei. Cooper's character is a news anchor who struggles to retain her sanity and positive attitude despite the dramatic upheaval that she is reporting on, which is a commentary on the experience of observing the political, economic, and pandemic-related disruptions throughout the world in 2020 (as is the sarcasm of the title, Everything's Fine).
Reviews for the show were generally positive, with most critics arguing that its satire was insightful but not uniformly successful. The Guardian rated the show 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "a funny and striking document of what living feels like in this fraught and febrile year." A CNN review called the show "on balance impressive, especially factoring in the logistical challenges of turning it around during a pandemic". Variety gave the show a negative review, saying that "Cooper ends up being the straight man in her own comedy special." A New York Times review compared Everything's Fine favorably to the parody news show Saturday Night Live, arguing that Cooper captured the zeitgeist of the news experience in 2020 more successfully than many other contemporary satires, but also asserted that "the comic ideas vary wildly in quality" with jokes that "are hit and miss".
It was announced in August 2020 that Cooper and Cindy Chupack would be producing a comedy show for CBS based on How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men's Feelings. The pilot was not picked up to series. Cooper was listed as one of the "Breakout Stars" of 2020 by Vogue and The New York Times, and as one of five Breakthrough Entertainers of 2020 by the Associated Press. In August 2021, Bleecker Street and Stage 6 Films picked up the worldwide rights to James Ponsoldt's coming of age film Summering, starring Cooper alongside Megan Mullally.
On October 3, 2023 Cooper published her memoir Foolish: Tales of Assimilation, Determination, and Humiliation.
Television
In the wake of the popularity of her TikTok videos, Cooper was invited to appear on The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She has also appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and as a guest host on Jimmy Kimmel Live! She played Inigo Montoya in , a fan film recreation of The Princess Bride, which premiered on Quibi in June 2020.
Personal life
Cooper married Jeff Palm, a senior software designer for Google, in February 2015. They divorced in 2021.
Publications
Filmography
Awards and nominations
+ Awards and nominations received by Sarah Cooper
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External links
Categories: Official, 1977 Births, Living People, 21st-century American Comedians, African-american Bloggers, African-american Stand-up Comedians, American Stand-up Comedians, American Sketch Comedians, American Women Bloggers, American Bloggers, American Women Comedians, American Writers Of Jamaican Descent, American Tiktokers, Comedians From Maryland, American Comedy Youtubers, Commentary Youtubers, Georgia Tech Alumni, Jamaican Emigrants To The United States, People From Rockville, Maryland, University Of Maryland, College Park Alumni, Writers From Maryland, Writers From New York City, Writers From San Francisco, 21st-century African-american Women Writers, 21st-century American Women Writers, 21st-century African-american Writers, 20th-century African-american People, 20th-century African-american Women, Comedians From San Francisco, African-american Female Comedians, Youtubers From San Francisco, Youtubers From Maryland, American Writers Of Chinese Descent, Jamaican People Of Chinese Descent
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