Cooper was born to Joe and Pam Neill, and grew up in Henderson, West Auckland. She attended Henderson High School, and volunteered at Lifeline crisis support service as a teenager. She left school at the age of 15 and married two years later. She and her husband ran a building business together, but the marriage ended in divorce when Cooper was 21.
Career
Cooper's design business began in the early 1980s, with her first boutique opening in 1985. She then took a break from business to have a baby, and returned in late 1996. Cooper creates five clothing ranges - Trelise Cooper, Cooper by Trelise, COOP, Board Room and Trelise Cooper Kids, all of which she shows at New Zealand Fashion Week. Customers include Liv Tyler, Miley Cyrus, Lindsay Lohan, Stevie Nicks, Suri Cruise, Julia Roberts, and The Pussycat Dolls. She also produces Trelise Cooper Interiors, a fabric range made in association with textiles house Charles Parsons. Cooper's signature fragrance 'Trelise' was launched in late 2009. It was designed by perfumer Yves Dombrowsky and has been described as an uplifting, positive scent. In March 2009, she became the first New Zealand designer to stage a fashion showon board the Queen Mary 2cruise ship. Cooper is a patron of the Breast Cancer Research Trust, an advocate for domestic violence awareness and supports Habitat for Humanity. At 2009's New Zealand Fashion Week Cooper initiated an onsite house build to promote this charity. She is also an environmental supporter, producing eco bags for supermarket chainProgressive Enterprises. She is involved with the UN-sponsored organisation MARITAGE International, which connects young women in developed and developing countries, and also mentors young people in New Zealand. In December 2005, Cooper was involved in an intellectual property dispute with fellow New Zealand fashion designer Tamsin Cooper, objecting to Tamsin registering her name as a trademark. In July 2007, Cooper agreed to drop the suit and let Tamsin Cooper operate under her own name. As of 2016, Cooper has 10 boutiques around the world, and her ranges are stocked in more than 200 stores in Australasia, Asia, Europe, America and the Middle East.
In 2011 she and at least 10 of her models were accused of creating an Asian look by stretching the models' eyes. In 2014 Trelise Cooper sparked controversy when she ordered models to wear Native American feathered headdresses which suppose to be a '70's bohemian vibe.
Personal life
She has a husband, Jack, and a stepdaughter, Nadia Cooper. Nadia was charged with smuggling of Methamphetamine into one of the Mount Eden Prisons, as well as its distribution in 2008.
