Alice Smith

"You think that he killed Jason? Your father? You think that he has the stomach for that? I wish he'd killed Jason. I wish I had after what Jason did to Polly. I swear, Elizabeth, you're sounding crazy just like your sister."

- Alice to Betty

Alice Cooper is a recurring character on Riverdale. She is portrayed by Mädchen Amick.

Alice is the editor of a local newspaper, wife of Hal Cooper and the mother of Betty and Polly Cooper

Character description
Editor of the local paper, described as a steely perfectionist who places exceedingly high expectations on her daughter, Betty.

Early life
Prior to the start of the series, Alice married and later went on to have two daughters with Hal Cooper, they were named Betty and Polly. She also owns the local newspaper, The Register, along side his her husband.

Season 1
Having learned that Jason Blossom supposedly drowned at Sweetwater River, Alice stood along the shore, hoping that it was true. Alice had a brief mother-to-daughter chat with Betty, shortly before she took off for the first day of her Sophomore year. She informed her daughter that this year would be very influential for colleges, grades, extracurricular, and athletics, they would all play a major role. But most importantly, she must maintain a decent character, Alice didn't want Betty to end up like her eldest daughter, Polly. She also had a bright future ahead of her. Alice claimed to only want the best for her daughter, but for that to happen, Betty must remain focus. That night, Alice was displeased to learn that Betty had joined Cheryl Blossom's cheerleading squad, demanding that Betty take off the uniform immediately. However, Betty refused, she's sick of doing what everyone else wants her to do. She informed Alice that she's staying on the team, and that she going to the Semiformal with Archie and Veronica, the daughter of Hermione Lodge'. Alice attempted to explain that girls like Cheryl and Veronica aren't really friends, but Betty didn't stick around to listen.

Alice and Hal notified Betty that due to the scandal surrounding Jason Blossom's death, they'll be having a lot of late nights. No one cares about an accidental drowning, but the murder of the sociopathic son of the wealthiest family in town is bound to make headlines. Alice then told Betty the thing she loved most about her is that she always wants to see the good in people, like Archie, Veronica and Cheryl, but since they're betrayal, she now should see their true colors. Later that day, she visited the local coroner, succeeding his autopsy of Jason Blossom, every corpse has a tale to tell, he said. In this case, there were several morbid details that would be relevant for her article, such as animal scavenging, ligature marks, and signs of him being frozen. Alice paid Dr. Curdle off in small bills for his service. She came bursting into Betty's room with sage, hoping to banish the evil spirits that Cheryl may have brought in with her. She professed to have told Polly about Jason's death, but, half the time Polly doesn't even know what day it is. She was against Polly and Jason being together for many reasons, one of which being that everything the Blossom's touch, rots.

Hot off the presses, Alice handed Betty their latest print from the Register, it read "CHERYL BLOSSOM GUILTY AS SIN!". As much as people are loving the coverage, Betty suggested that she stop sensationalizing it. However, as the owner of the Register, it is her duty to keep the residents of Riverdale informed. Betty believed that her mother should be writing about the real story, like who was holding him captive? Who shot him? Why he was frozen? Alice advised Betty to come join her and her father at the Register if she's so keen on reporting the facts. The following night, she couldn't help but notice the new shade of lipstick Betty was applying, a shade that she didn't believe was a good fit for Betty, it belonged to Polly, who notably grew up too fast, and Alice would rather her other daughter not make the same mistake, thus she wiped the lipstick from Betty's lips. She later attended the Taste of Riverdale, in which she had a violent run-in with Penelope Blossom. Mere minutes after the incident with Penelope, Alice went and picked a fight with another rival, Hermione Lodge, who she informed that Veronica was being slut-shamed.

Alice and Betty were joined at breakfast by Jughead, it was a rather quiet and awkward meal. Silence broke as she accused Jughead of getting Betty wrapped up in the Jason Blossom murder case, to which Betty responded that she approached Jughead for his assistance in writing for The Blue and Gold. Jughead asked for directions to the restroom, and as expected, Alice offered to show him. Unbeknownst to her, this was simply a distraction for Betty to go through her checkbook. Later that day, she was notified by the Sisters of Quiet Mercy that Polly had visitors, Betty and Jughead.

As she prepared to take the two of them home, Alice was first confronted by Polly, who demanded to know why she was lied to about Jason's death, which Alice claimed was due to her protective nature. Back at the house, she hysterically laughed at the notion that Hal could be Jason Blossom's killer. He doesn't have the stomach for it, though she wished he'd done it, or that she she had done it, as Jason deserved it after what he did to Polly. She then told Betty that she was beginning to sound just as crazy as Polly, and that she may not believe them when they say Polly is crazy, but she will obey them.

Relationships

 * Alice and Betty