Paulette Cooper

Paulette Cooper (born July 26, 1942) is an American author and journalist whose writing about the Church of Scientology resulted in harassment from Scientologists. An early critic of the church, she published The Scandal of Scientology in 1971. She endured many years of attacks from church leadership and their agents, including lawsuits, smear campaigns, overt and covert surveillance, outright threats, and even a criminal frame-up. Church founder and leader L. Ron Hubbard was reportedly obsessed with her and personally plotted against her. The Church of Scientology instituted a total of nineteen lawsuits against Cooper from all over the world. She countersued them three times before finally settling with the church in 1985.

Cooper has authored or co-authored nearly two dozen books, covering a wide range of topics including travel, missing persons, psychics, and pets, in addition to Scientology. Her books have sold close to half a million copies in total. She has had her articles published by (among others) Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, and the National Enquirer. She was nominated for an Edgar Award for her 1973 non-fiction book on forensic science. She has also served as a ghostwriter for Margaret Truman, a daughter of President Harry S. Truman.