Daisy May Cooper is a celebrated English actress, comedy writer, and television personality, renowned for her refreshingly raw humour, distinctive storytelling, and fearless approach to both her personal and professional life.
Roots in Gloucestershire
Born in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, around 1986, Daisy May Cooper grew up in a two-bedroom council house, alongside her younger brother and future creative collaborator, Charlie Cooper. Raised in a working-class environment, Cooper’s early years shaped her deep sense of authenticity and the social realism that would later pervade her comedy. She attended Cirencester Deer Park School and eventually won a coveted spot at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), where she fought hard for recognition and struggled to find roles that suited her flair for comedy.
Even after drama school, Cooper’s path was anything but smooth. She worked as a cleaner while living with her brother, who was just as hungry to succeed in show business. Their shared struggles became fodder for their future creative work, inspiring the grounded, relatable comedy that defines their subsequent television hits.
This Country: A Comedy Phenomenon
After minor TV appearances, Cooper’s life changed when she and Charlie co-created and co-wrote the mockumentary sitcom This Country, debuting in 2017 on BBC Three. Set in their West Country hometown, the show centres on cousins Kerry and Kurtan Mucklowe, played by Daisy and Charlie respectively, as they navigate the banality and oddities of rural British life.
This Country quickly became a cultural touchstone in the UK comedy scene. Its intimate portrayal of socio-economic challenges, delivered with witty, deadpan humour, resonated with audiences and critics alike. Cooper’s performance as Kerry earned her the BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance in 2018, cementing her status as one of UK comedy’s leading talents.
Despite the immense popularity and three highly successful series, Daisy ruled out any future revivals of This Country in 2025, citing her dramatic health transformation and cosmetic enhancements as reasons why reprising her role would be implausible. She joked that a return would necessitate a far-fetched plot twist to explain her changed appearance, underscoring her candid wit and refusal to feign authenticity.
Expanding Her Horizons: TV, Film, and Beyond
Cooper’s success with This Country quickly led to numerous opportunities. She played memorable roles in various television dramas and comedies, including Doc Martin, The Wrong Mans, Celebrity Gogglebox, and Armando Iannucci’s HBO space-faring comedy Avenue 5. She also starred in The Personal History of David Copperfield and voiced characters in new animated series, such as Impedimenta in Asterix and Obelix: The Big Fight in 2025.
Her versatility is further showcased through her work as team captain on the panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks, a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs. the World, and as a participant on Taskmaster and The Masked Singer. In each appearance, Cooper brought her unique blend of vulnerability, relatability, and caustic humour, quickly becoming a favourite of both critics and viewers.
Another high-profile project was the critically acclaimed comedy-thriller series Am I Being Unreasonable?, which Cooper co-wrote and starred in alongside Selin Hizli. The show masterfully combines dark comedy and suspense with themes of grief, friendship, and motherhood, a testament to Cooper’s depth as a performer and a writer.
Personal Struggles and Candid Transformations
Daisy May Cooper’s personal life has often made headlines. After marrying her long-term partner, Will Weston, in 2019, Cooper faced significant changes, including the birth of two children and a widely publicised separation in 2021. In recent years, she has spoken candidly about her struggle with food addiction, her journey to lose ten stone, and her experimentation with cosmetic procedures such as lip fillers and Botox.
Cooper’s transformation has been so drastic that it delayed filming for the second season of Am I Being Unreasonable? and prompted humorous, self-aware commentary from Daisy herself about continuity gaps and altered looks. She shared that her agent eventually banned her from further procedures to prevent them from affecting her expressive comedic talents.
Despite criticism from some fans who claimed her weight loss made her less funny, Cooper has remained committed to body positivity and honesty about the struggles she faced at her heaviest. Her open conversations on podcasts and interviews have helped break stigmas around weight, addiction, and mental health in show business.
Family, Fame, and Future Projects
The Cooper family’s creative flair runs deep, with her younger brother, Charlie, and cousin Mathew Baynton both making marks in British comedy. Daisy has continued collaborating with Charlie, recently teasing an unscripted project together, though she insists This Country cannot return in its original form. Beyond joint projects, Cooper has been cast as DJ Fat Tony’s mum in a new film based on his memoir, expanding her acting repertoire into dramatic territory.
In 2025, Daisy and Charlie reunited for Nightwatch, a paranormal-themed TV special focused on hunting ghosts, again blurring the line between reality and comedy. Daisy’s enduring curiosity about the world around her and her refusal to shy away from the weird and wonderful keep her career exciting and unpredictable.
Lasting Impact in Comedy
Daisy May Cooper’s story stands out for its combination of hard-won success, fearless self-disclosure, and unflinching humour. As an actress, writer, mother, and cultural icon, she represents a new breed of British celebrity: one grounded in real experience but unafraid to laugh at life’s absurdities.
Her landmark BAFTA win and continued presence on screens big and small make her a guiding light for aspiring comedians, particularly those from unconventional backgrounds. With new projects constantly in development and a resolute commitment to authenticity, Cooper’s influence on TV comedy continues to grow.
Whether through transformative roles, personal revelations, or innovative writing, Daisy May Cooper remains an essential figure in the UK entertainment landscape, inspiring audiences to embrace both laughter and vulnerability.