Wilma Jeanne Cooper (born October 25, 1928 in Taft, California), best known as Jeanne Cooper, is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Katherine Chancellor on the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless. Though she was not on the series when the show debuted in March 1973, she made her onscreen debut in November of that year, and remains the longest-tenured actor on The Young and the Restless.
Cooper began her career in the 1950s. Her first starring role was as Myra in 1953's western The Redhead from Wyoming. She also appeared as a player in films with stars like Maureen O'Hara, Glenn Ford, Tony Curtis, and Henry Fonda. Cooper was a fixture on episodic television throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1965, she appeared in the western television series The Big Valley as Heath's money-hungry aunt. Her husband was portrayed by John Anderson, who years later became known as MacGyver's often quoted grandfather, Harry Jackson.
Cooper's character has broken ground in the daytime medium; Katherine has endured several bouts with alcoholism, and the loss of many men in her life (four late husbands, and a child given away after birth).
Katherine (and Cooper) also had a
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