Anderson Cooper has paid tribute to his late mother a year after she died at the age of 95.
On Wednesday, the CNN host shared a photo of his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, sitting next to an easel, on Instagram, where he reflected on her “extraordinary spirit” and “almost childlike optimism”.
“My mom, @gloriavanderbilt, died one year ago today,” the new father wrote. “She is alive in my heart and in the hearts of all who knew her and loved her. She had an extraordinary and indomitable spirit, grit, determination, passion, and vulnerability.
“She experienced great love and horrific tragedies, but she never lost her almost childlike optimism; her openness to the world around her."
According to Cooper, his mother “chose to remain vulnerable” when others would have “closed off their hearts”.
“Others would have closed off their hearts, protected themselves,” he continued. “My mom wanted to see and hear and feel everything… and that is exactly what she did. Bravo, Mom, Bravo.”
On his Instagram stories, the news anchor also remembered his mother, who died of advanced stomach cancer, in a series of photos and videos.
In two of the videos, Vanderbilt can be seen giggling in a hospital bed. According to Cooper, he gets his “silly giggle” from his mother.
“Minutes later she said something funny, and we both started giggling. That's when I discovered where my silly giggle comes from," he said. "It was her giggle all along."
In the final photo, Cooper can be seen holding his mother’s hand atop her hospital bed.
"In the end. When everything else is taken away. There is only love,” he wrote.
The tribute comes after Cooper, who welcomed son Wyatt Cooper in April, revealed earlier this month that he had told his mother about wanting to become a dad just two weeks before she died.
"She was thrilled," the 53-year-old told People. "I told her maybe two weeks before she died. When she started to get ill, it was very quick. [Wyatt Morgan] was just an idea in my head and a desire - but I thought: 'This is the time to tell her.’"
