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Cooper was born Marianne Leone in Boston, Massachusetts, to Italian immigrants.[1] She married actor Chris Cooper in 1983. In 1987, their son, Jesse Lanier Cooper, was born. Three months premature, Jesse developed a cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral palsy. After searching for the best schools for children with special needs, Cooper and Leone moved to Kingston, Massachusetts, where they became strong advocates for disabled children.[2]
Her screenplay, Hurricane Mary, is a true life story of a mother's struggles to have her disabled twin daughters integrated into the public school system. It is being made into a movie starring Chris Cooper, William H. Macy and Meryl Streep.[citation needed]
On January 3, 2005, Jesse Cooper died from SUDEP. A memorial fund was set up in his name, the Jesse Cooper FoundationArchived 2008-07-24 at the Wayback Machine. Leone's memoir, Knowing Jesse: A Mother's Story of Grief, Grace, and Everyday Bliss, was published in September 2010 by Simon & Schuster.[4]
She and her husband Chris Cooper adopt and live with rescue dogs.[5]
