Alex Cooper Is Building Empires (Yes, Plural)

Seven years into her career, much of Alex Cooper’s lore has been well documented. But for those who don’t know, a quick rundown: the former Division 1 soccer player turned “Call Her Daddy” podcaster and Unwell founder, got her start at Barstool Sports with a co-host who, in a much-publicized and contentious breakup, eventually broke off to do her own thing. Cooper left Barstool, taking the podcast to Spotify for a big money deal, then to SiriusXM for an even bigger money deal—and she brought her Unwell Network of podcasts to the radio behemoth with her. Today, she announces her next steps for SiriusXM domination: Unwell Music—a channel of tunes curated by Cooper and friends; and Unwell On Air—a channel with daily live programming, including a place for faithful listeners (the Daddy Gang) to call in and join the conversation with the radio hosts, and once a week, Cooper herself. And let’s not forget that just last month, she launched Unwell Hydration, a line of electrolyte drinks.

I’m not an OG Daddy Gang member, but I’ve tracked Cooper’s goings-on for a few years now. I clocked the Vogue wedding article. Watched some moments from the 2024 Summer Olympics. Laughed as clips from interviews with celebs like Love Island’s Leah Kateb, Gywneth Paltrow, and Jojo Siwa hit my social media feeds at every turn. I may not have known about “Slim Shady” or “Mr. Sexy Zoom Man” (eventually revealed to be husband, film producer Matt Kaplan) but you’d have to have your head buried in the sand to miss that she’s got that business acumen and unflinching drive, combined with a certain X-factor, that gets you to the top. It would be simple—and frankly, uninspired—to chalk it up to being skinny and blonde. Those things will only get you so far. I needed to know more.

But I wasn’t supposed to interview Alex Cooper. Our teams had initially agreed to do something different—turn the mic back on the host and have former “Call Her Daddy” guests ask her a few questions. What’s the most rockstar thing you’ve ever done? What’s your superpower? Lasagna or chicken parmesan? Unexpectedly—or now that I’ve spent more than an hour getting to know Cooper—perhaps expectedly, we’d have to switch courses at the last moment to something more Cooper’s speed. “I do think anyone around me in business would say, Alex Cooper is tough to work for because she will not bend if it does not make sense for her and her brand and her audience,” Cooper, 30, tells me during our interview, speaking about her management style. It’s a stick-to-itness that as a woman who is used to calling the shots here at Marie Claire as the editor in chief I find simultaneously kind of annoying, and also respect. Trusting herself, Cooper intimates, is key. “I know what’s best for me. I will listen to people and I will sit in rooms and I will go back and forth and have good dialogues, but my gut has mostly never been wrong.”

When we speak on Zoom, Cooper joins me on a Friday morning in January, hair wet, sitting at a desk with a perfectly made bed behind her, “It’s chaos, always,” she tells me laughing. “I’ve literally been on the phone I think with six people already this morning.”

I’m not surprised. Time is money when you’re building an empire(s) and there are only so many hours in the day. The energy is palpable. Me volleying questions, and Cooper answering back like a non-stop game of pickleball. Some may have found this to be overwhelming. I found it to be exhilarating. “I understand a calm, loving, more quiet woman is easier to digest,” Cooper says, “but I want future generations to easily be able to acknowledge and lift up other women that are going for it and are going toe-to-toe in moments with the men and are making conversations. That’s all I want to do is create conversations.”

As the minutes ticked on, I’d venture to say that both of our guards came down, making way for two decidedly ambitious women who ask questions for a living to discuss everything from why Cooper’s sick of being compared to Joe Rogan and Howard Stern, to how she regains her confidence when it falters. What has it been like for Cooper to enter this new era of running the show; calling the shots and building something new?

Something Cooper said has stuck with me, and I replayed in my head for days after we spoke. “I don’t think we’ve cracked the code on how to embrace and celebrate and trust women who are running companies or who are leaning into the fact that they are a boss and or an entrepreneur,” Cooper says. I think she’s right. The environments we have to work in don’t always allow for women to fully show up as their complex, nuanced self. So, while I don’t think I’ve cracked the code of Alex Cooper, over the course of 90 minutes, I felt one step closer.

Before we start, I want to make sure things are good with you in L.A. considering the wildfires.