Cooperstein Charney was born on July 8, 1939, to Grace and Harry Cooperstein. She was born and raised in
Fall River, Massachusetts, where she began her professional acting career at age 11, appearing opposite Edward Arnold in The Apple of His Eye. She then went on to produce, direct and narrate the weekly radio program, Juniors Speak. Later in New York City, she continued her radio career on
WEVD, where she wrote, directed and produced a weekly program called Women in the News. Her acting credits include Elaine May's Name of a Soup and A New Leaf, Jean Claude Van Itallie's King of the United States and Mystery Play and Connie Kaiserman's My Little Girl. She was an acting member of Andre Gregory's Manhattan Project, and an acting/teaching member of The Working Theatre, a project of Joe Chaiken and Kristin Linklater. As such she was awarded the title of “Master Teacher” from the Rockefeller Foundation. Cooperstein Charney has taught acting to prisoners on Riker's Island and taught teachers how to use acting as an instructional tool through the Teachers and Writers Collaborative. A graduate of Bennington College, Cooperstein Charney continued her studies at The Neighborhood Playhouse, The Berghoff School and Columbia University. ==Private life==