Born in Pilsley, North East Derbyshire, Cooper studied at the University for the Creative Arts. He also achieved a PhD degree at Middlesex University.
Since 1999, he was visiting Professor of Ceramics and Glass at the Royal College of Art. He was the author of many books on ceramics, including his definitive biography of Bernard Leach that was published in 2003 (Yale University Press), and was also the editor of The Ceramics Book, published in 2006.