Bradley Cooper Admitted He’s “Not Sure” He'd Be Alive If Not For His And Irina Shayk's 6-Year-Old Daughter

In conversation with Dax Shepard, Bradley said his daughter’s birth completely shifted his perspective on life after realizing that “there’s something more important than you.”

By
Ellen Durney
by Ellen Durney

BuzzFeed Staff

Bradley Cooper made some candid confessions about fatherhood.

Bradley in a tuxedo with bow tie at the Producers Guild Awards
Elyse Jankowski / WireImage

In case you didn’t know, Bradley shares a 6-year-old daughter, Lea De Seine, with supermodel Irina Shayk.

Irina Shayk in a sequined gown beside Bradley Cooper in a tuxedo at the Golden Globe Awards
Daniele Venturelli / WireImage

Bradley and Irina started dating in 2015 and welcomed Lea in March 2017. They split in 2019 after four years together, but appear to have maintained a close relationship as coparents.

During Monday’s episode of the Armchair Expert podcast with Dax Shepard, the two actors talked candidly about how fatherhood changed their lives, with Bradley admitting he’s “not sure” he’d be alive today if not for Lea.

Bradley Cooper in a suit with his daughter who's wearing a leopard print dress at the "Maestro" Netflix event
Axelle / FilmMagic

“I just needed someone to say, like, ‘We’re gonna drop this massive anchor,’” the 49-year-old recalled. “I’m like, ‘Why? We’re speeding! I just got an upgrade on the boat, and I know where the wind’s coming in.’ They’re like, ‘No, no, no, there’s a tsunami coming in, and you need an anchor and we’re gonna drop it.’ Because this is gonna dictate everything you do from now on.”


He added: “Your DNA is going to tell you that there’s something more important than you.”

Interestingly, the Maestro director recalled that his connection with Lea didn’t develop for a few months after she was born, confessing that he didn’t initially relate when other parents would say they’d “die in a second” for their child.

Bradley in a suit smiling at a Netflix event.
Gilbert Flores / Variety via Getty Images

“The first, like, eight months I’m like, ‘I don’t even know if I really love the kid,’” he remembered. “It’s dope, it’s cool, I’m watching this thing morph, and then all of a sudden, my experience was totally that. Fascinated by it, love taking care of it. Would I die if someone came in with a gun? It’s only a couple of months! … She could be an asshole!”


“And then all of a sudden, it’s like no question,” he added.

Talking about their close bond today, Bradley said that he’s constantly in awe of Lea’s “ability to articulate her feelings” at such a young age.

Bradley smiling in a casual blazer over a collared shirt at an event
Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

“Her mother and I are bowled over at this human being that we’re raising that is able to articulate, and by the way, in her voice,” he said. “I don’t even think I found what my speaking voice was really like until a couple years ago.”

Back in 2019, Bradley said that having a daughter “changed everything” about his life, revealing during a conversation with Oprah Winfrey that Lea often reminds him of his father, who died in 2011.

Bradley in suit smiling at an event, style evident, on a branded background
Ruby Wallau / WireImage

“I see my father in her quite often,” he said, confessing that sometimes he’s shocked by how much he feels his presence.


“I can't believe I'm gonna admit this, but I had moments when…I was in the room with her, I would say, ‘Dad?’” he recalled. “There are some moments where she looks just like my father… I watch too many movies.”

You can listen to Bradley’s full Armchair Expert episode here.

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