Fans Alarmed As 'Almost Unrecognizable' Bradley Cooper Drops Off His Daughter At School

Sep 15, 2023

Bradley Cooper has a wealth of experience in the entertainment industry, and when fatherhood came knocking, it opened him up to more life lessons. Cooper, a father of one, attributes significant changes in his life perspective to parenting. For him, being a father means having a young person who looks up to him and watches his every move to learn from. 

In a July 2023 interview with Bear Grylls, he shared that he hopes his child learns from his shortcomings just like he did from those before him. Cooper has made a name for himself in Hollywood thanks to a successful career in acting and directing. The star got his start decades ago with a minor appearance on "Sex and the City." 

He gradually gained public recognition in the early 2000s starring in his first film role in 2001's "Wet Hot American Summer." More of Cooper's early movie and TV roles can be gleaned from "Alias," "Wedding Crashers" and "The Hangover." Even though Cooper found immense success with blockbusters like "A Star is Born," his career has not been free of difficulties. 

The "Nightmare Alley" actor has been married once to actress Jennifer Esposito and had several high-profile relationships. Cooper has dated big-shot actresses like Renée Zellweger, Suki Waterhouse and Zoe Saldana.

In fact, the earlier parts of being in the industry were marred by a diminished career and substance abuse. When Cooper's role in "Alias" was reversed to a minor one, he doubted his craft and delved into alcoholism. However, he was able to pick himself up in 2004 when he quit alcohol. 

In September 2023, fans of Cooper were alarmed to see the actor look skinny and almost unrecognizable when he was spotted dropping off his daughter at school and walking around the city.

The notoriously private star maintained a low-profile relationship with supermodel Irina Shayk for four years. The model, equally known for religiously keeping her life private, was with him from 2015 to 2019. 

During their relationship, the pair appeared at star-studded events a few times, but they mostly kept mum about their romance. Shayk and Cooper welcomed their daughter and only child together, Lea de Seine, in 2017, and after their separation, both parents have been putting their best foot forward by co-parenting.

Besides fatherhood being an upgrade for Cooper, the star has revealed in the past that it changed him. Once in an interview on Amazon Music's SmartLess Podcast, the Grammy-winner admitted that "everything changed." He noted that "every single thing is absolutely shaded by, or brought into glorious colors, by the fact that I get to be a father to a wonderful human being."

According to People Magazine, during Oprah's SuperSoul Conversations from Times Square, Cooper told Oprah Winfrey that he saw his late dad in little Lea. His father passed on in 2011 after a lung cancer battle. He revealed that having a child was a "miracle" that helped him to be "present."

While he and Shayk mostly keep to themselves regarding their personal lives, they have shared tidbits about parenting a few times. The former Victoria's Secrets angel told Elle in 2021 about her parenting arrangement with Cooper. She revealed that she "never understood the term' co-parenting.'" She added: "When I'm with my daughter, I'm 100 percent a mother, and when she's with her dad, he's 100 percent her dad. Co-parenting is parenting."

During the interview, Shayk also shared that her ex was "an amazing dad." In his interview with Grylls on "Running Wild With Bear Grylls: The Challenge," the actor proved this as he spoke about the trajectory of his life since Lea's birth and his dad's demise.

Cooper joined Grylls in the Wyoming Basin, where they laid it bare about his dad's death. The anchor asked the father-of-one how he approached being a dad after his father's passing. Grylls said, "You've had that whole journey with your dad, and now you're a dad." The movie star replied: 

"I mean you learn from your predecessor's mistakes and I'll make tons that hopefully Lea will learn from and then being rigorous with myself to grow. To help unburden her with any of my bulls***."

He relayed that although he wished his dad was alive, the late patriarch gave him a "huge gift." The star noted that his father died in his arms, and "that kind of factual example of mortality" was an eye-opener. 

Grylls asked if that experience changed his outlook, and Cooper replied affirmatively, stating it had changed him in "some ways for the worst." The star explained that he had a "nihilistic attitude after, for a short while."

Cooper explained that it did not feel great until he decided "to just embrace who I actually am and try to find peace with that. And then it sorta evened out." After his dad's death, the actor made his mom, Gloria Campano, move in with him, and he has been taking care of her since then. 

Although they have split already, Shayk has deemed Cooper to be a “hands-on” father. 

“Lea went on holiday with him for almost two weeks — I didn’t call them once,” Shayk recalled in an interview with High Snobiety. “Me and her father are very strict. When she finishes eating, she gets up from the table, takes her plate, and says ‘thank you.’ Without ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ she’s not getting anything.”

In fact, the two reunited when they dropped off their daughter Lea at school in New York City. Page Six spotted the ex-couple with their little kid. The “A Star is Born” actor was dressed in a blue T-shirt, baseball cap, shorts, sunglasses, and a pair of sneakers. Meanwhile, Shayk was shrouded to the public in a black sweatshirt dress and leather knee-high dress. 

Days after the said encounter in New York City, Cooper was spotted by paparazzi looking very thin. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt, jeans, cap, and a pair of sunglasses as he brisked walk through the city. 

Fans noticed that the actor had grown thin, and thought that he had a shaved head, similar to the look in the school drop-off with his kid. 

“Almost unrecognizable,” a fan pointed out, while others described him to be “very weird” and “very skinny.” 

One fan even wondered why Cooper looked “skinny” and if it was for a role. 

“Skinny and shaved head. Gotta be a new role,” another user wrote, echoing others who noticed that he also shaved his beard. 

“He did LOSE weight. His pants are LOOSE. And too long. He's probably on the way to his tailor,” another user theorized. 

Are you a fan of Bradley Cooper? What can you say about his relationship with his daughter? Why do you think he looked skinny and unrecognizable? Let us know, and pass this on to your family, friends, and other Bradley Cooper fans!