Bradley Cooper Documentary Highlights America’s Caregiving Crisis

The actor shares his experience caring for his father as he battled lung cancer. ‘Caregiving’ will premiere on PBS on June 24.

Actor and filmmaker Bradley Cooper arrives for the UK premiere of the film "A Star is Born" in central London on Sept. 27, 2018. Anthony Harvey/AFP/Getty Images

A new documentary executive produced by actor Bradley Cooper is shining a spotlight on the nation’s care crisis.

The two-hour film, titled “Caregiving,” will premiere on the PBS channel on June 24.

Narrated by Emmy-winning actress Uzo Aduba, the documentary centers on six family and professional caregivers in homes across the country as they navigate the “often-complicated challenges and extraordinary moments” of caring for others full-time, according to a synopsis.

In the film, Cooper, 50, also shares his own experience caring for his father, Charles Cooper, after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. The “Star Is Born” actor was holding his father in his arms when he succumbed to the disease in January 2011 at the age of 71.

“I didn’t even think of caregiving until my father was diagnosed with cancer,” he says at the start of the documentary, which is currently available to stream on PBS’s website.

“My dad was somebody who I idolized. ... And then to go from that to giving him a bath is quite a traumatic thing.”

The actor said he felt lucky to be able to care for his father in his time of need, noting that his family also received help from paid caregivers.

“These are heroic people,” he said. “Their ability to focus and give all of themselves is something I stand in awe of.”

Caregiving in America

Matthew Cauli, a resident of Goldens Bridge, New York, is one of the caregivers featured in the documentary.

Cauli was forced to quit his job to care for his wife, Kanlaya, after she suffered two debilitating strokes in May 2020—just three years after giving birth to their first child. Doctors later discovered the strokes were caused by undiagnosed ovarian cancer.

A young mother named Tracy Eacret, from Fort Collins, Colorado, also shares her experiences with caregiving.

Eacret chose to take on the role of end-of-life caregiver for her father, John, after doctors recommended she put him in hospice in April 2023 amid his battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

“Caregiving was just not something that I had done before,” Eacret explains in the documentary. “But I was ready to do whatever it took to make sure that my dad had a quality to his life.”

In addition to sharing these personal stories, the documentary also highlights factors that have contributed to America’s care crisis, including inadequate support and pay for caregivers.

The film notes that the more than 5 million caregivers employed in private homes and assisted living facilities across the country earn an average annual salary of only $23,700 per year.

“We need to reimagine caregiving,” Paul Irving, a senior advisor for the nonprofit Milken Institute, says in the film. “Not simply as something that we don’t talk about, but as a universal condition that we will all experience.”