Hooper was born in Darlington, County Durham, where his father worked in the local rolling mills. His younger brother Mark played 500 matches in the Football League and won two First Division titles and one FA Cup with Sheffield Wednesday. Two other brothers, Carl and Danny, also played League football, and an uncle, Charlie Roberts, captained Manchester United and played for England. Hooper's two sisters, Sarah and Betty, were members of various Darlington-based women's teams that played charity matches in the 1920s and 1930s, raising money for causes including the National Union of Railwaymen's Orphans Fund.