Veronica Cooper

Veronica Cooper (née Balfe; May 27, 1913 – February 16, 2000) was an American actress who appeared in The Gay Nighties under the name Sandra Shaw. She was the wife of the actor Gary Cooper and mother of painter Maria Cooper Janis.

Veronica Balfe was born to Veronica Gibbons and Harry Balfe, Jr. Following her parents' divorce, she lived in Paris with her mother. Balfe did not see her father for many years, but kept in touch with her grandfather, who owned a ranch in California. Balfe saw her father a few years before his death in the 1950s. Her mother married Paul Shields, a successful Wall Street financier.

An avid sportswoman, Balfe was known to her friends by the nickname, "Rocky."

Balfe was sent to Miss Bennett's School for Girls for her education. In 1933, she went to see her uncle, Cedric Gibbons, in Hollywood. She played parts in King Kong, Blood Money, and No Other Woman, as well as the sleepwalking countess in the Clark & McCullough comedy short The Gay Nighties (1933). She also played herself in Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 3 (1942), and appeared in a few television shows and documentaries.

Balfe married actor Gary Cooper on December 15, 1933, at her mother's home at 778 Park Avenue, New York; the wedding had been planned for the Waldorf Astoria hotel, but the location was probably changed to avoid public attention.In 1937, Balfe gave birth to their daughter, Maria Veronica Cooper. Following Cooper's death, Balfe married John Converse in 1964. She was an enthusiastic sportswoman and was the female California skeet champion in the 1930s. She also enjoyed golf, swimming, tennis, and scuba-diving.

She and her daughter were both devout Catholics.

Balfe died in Suffolk County, New York, on February 16, 2000.