Cooper was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She earned a B.A from Goucher College in 1972 and an M.A. and Ph.D from the University of Pittsburgh in 1976 and 1978, respectively. From 1977 to 1982 she worked as an economist for the Federal Reserve Board. In 1983, accompanied by her (now divorced) husband and her son, Stefan Atkinson (b. 1980), Cooper moved to Toronto to accept a position with Burns Fry Limited; subsequently becoming a dual citizen of Canada and the United States. She is now married to Toronto businessman Peter J. Cooper.