American journalist and broadcaster Anderson Cooper was BOTD in 1967. Born in New York into a wealthy family – his great-grandfather was the industrial magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt – he studied at Yale University and interned at the Central Intelligence Agency, before pursuing a career in journalism. After self-funding his own war reporting in Somalia, Bosnia and Rwanda, he became a news correspondent for ABC, becoming co-anchor of the World News Now programme. After a brief stint hosting reality TV show The Mole, he returned to broadcast journalism after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, working for CNN. He rose to prominence with his coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina for CNN’s NewsNight and 60 Minutes, becoming one of America’s most respected (and highest paid) news anchormen. He publicly came out as gay in 2012, and was in a nine-year relationship with Benjamin Maisani, with whom he had two children. Fiercely protective of his personal life, his current relationship status is unknown (but if anyone has his number, please contact BOTD Headquarters).