Jim Cooper was born on 19 June 1954 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. He has been married to Martha Bryan Hayes since 6 April 1985. They have three children.
Son of Prentice Cooper, who served as Governor of Tennessee (1939-1945) and U.S. Ambassador to Peru (1946-1948), and grandson of William Prentice Cooper, who served as Speaker of the House in the Tennessee General Assembly.