Birthday 360°: Looking Back at 45 Years of Anderson Cooper’s Greatest Moments

anderson cooper gloria vanderbilt carter home 1969 photo

Jack Robinson/Hulton

Anderson Cooper, with Gloria Vanderbilt and Carter Cooper, 1969

On June 3, 1967, was born a babe! Anderson Cooper was the son of heiress Gloria Vanderbilt and writer Wyatt Emory Cooper and was most assuredly destined for greatness, as this family photo suggests.

anderson cooper to tell truth 1976 photo

Anderson Cooper, To Tell the Truth, 1976

At age 9, Anderson was an impostor on To Tell the Truth. On the episode, a celebrity panel was meant to identify “Wally Norton: The World’s Youngest Bear Trainer.” According to Anderson, he got more votes than the real Wally Norton!

Anderson Cooper, Ford Model, 1979

When Anderson’s father died of a heart attack, he says that he suddenly became concerned with making money. Naturally, the best course of action for any 10-year-old boy is to become a Ford model. He made $75 an hour to model “big boys’ spring jackets” and other totally high-fashion spreads!

anderson cooper young high school yearbook 1984 photo

Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library

Anderson Cooper, Dalton School, Senior Year, 1984

Anderson attended the Dalton School in New York City and says that he was involved with student government and school plays. Today he admits that he was a total geek while in school, though somehow we doubt that.

anderson cooper young high school yearbook 1984 yankees photo

Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library

Anderson Cooper, Dalton School, Senior Year, 1984

In 1985, Anderson left the Dalton School a semester early to travel through Africa. Although he contracted malaria on the trip and needed to be hospitalized, eventually he returned to America and attended Yale, where he studied political science.

Anderson Cooper, Forged Press Pass, 1991

In 1988, Anderson’s older brother Carter committed suicide, and he says this had a great impact on his choice to pursue journalism. When he graduated from Yale in 1989, he had trouble getting his foot in the door. He was working as a fact checker at Channel One, but decided that instead he wanted to be a war correspondent. So he had a friend forge a press pass, then grabbed his home camera and headed to Burma to start filming.

Anderson Cooper, Channel One, 1993

While in Burma, Anderson managed to sell some of his stories back to Channel One (like this one), and found his way onto the airwaves. He was made a full-time correspondent in 1993 and was sent all over the world to cover various conflicts.

Anderson Cooper, 1990s

Even in the 1990s, while in his 20s, Anderson was becoming the silver fox we know and love today. But while traveling the world to report the news, he didn’t have as much time to focus on his personal fashion the way he does today—hence the white jeans.

Anderson Cooper, The Mole, 2000

In the late 1990s, Anderson became a reporter for ABC News but took a brief break in 2000 and 2001 to host two seasons of a reality show: The Mole. We would have loved to have him as a reality show host forever, but after 9/11, he felt like he wasn’t pursuing his true calling and returned to the news, on CNN’s American Morning with Paula Zahn.

Anderson Cooper, Anderson Cooper 360°, 2003

In 2003, CNN offered Anderson his own nighttime show, and Anderson Cooper 360° was born. Though he was working hard, he says it was a surprise to be given the show and a great honor. It doesn’t hurt that he is also really smart and easy on the eyes.

anderson cooper hurricane katrina 2005 photo

Anderson Cooper, Hurricane Katrina Coverage, 2005

What really put Anderson and his show on the map was his coverage of Hurricane Katrina through 2005. He spent more than a month in the Gulf Coast region reporting on the devastation, and he showed what he was really made of while passionately advocating for the people in danger, and for taking politicians to task for their inaction. The coverage won him a Peabody Award.

anderson cooper dispatches from edge 2006 photo

Anderson Cooper, Dispatches from the Edge, 2006

Anderson released his first book in 2006, Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival, and it was a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. It combined his stories of reporting on wars and Hurricane Katrina, with more personal stories about his life and his own losses.

anderson cooper sesame street 2008 photo

Anderson Cooper, Sesame Street, 2008

In 2008, Anderson took on a very important story, filling in for Oscar the Grouch on GNN to discuss the letter G. Nothing about this clip makes us grouchy.

Anderson Cooper, Haiti Earthquake Coverage, 2010

When the earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, Anderson was among the first journalists to get to the scene. Once again, he showed his cool under pressure and managed to report on the tragedy with empathy and intelligence.

Anderson Cooper, Anderson, 2011

Anderson made a foray into daytime TV in 2011 with the premiere of his new talk show, Anderson. The purpose of the syndicated program was to tackle a wider variety of interesting topics. But don’t worry! He’s not leaving CNN anytime soon. As a part of the deal, he also signed a multiyear contract to stay on the air with AC 360.