Courteney Bass Cox is an American actress, producer, and director. She is best known
for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror
series Scream, and as Jules Cobb in the ABC/TBS sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her
first Golden Globe nomination. Cox also starred in the FX series Dirt. She owns a production
company, called Coquette Productions, which was created by herself and then husband David
Arquette. Cox has also worked as a director on her sitcom Cougar Town and the television
movie Talhotblond.
Early life Courteney Cox was raised in Mountain Brook,
Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, the daughter of businessman Richard Lewis Cox and his wife
Courteney. She has two older sisters, Virginia and Dottie, and an older brother, Richard,
Jr. Her parents divorced in 1974 and her mother then married businessman Hunter Copeland.
After graduating from Mountain Brook High School, Cox left for Mount Vernon College
in Washington, D.C., but did not complete her architecture course, opting instead to
pursue a career in modeling and acting. Career
Early career Cox appeared in the 1984 music video for Bruce
Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" as a young woman pulled onstage at the St. Paul Civic
Center to dance with Springsteen. Her early television work includes a starring role in
the short-lived television series Misfits of Science, and later a recurring role on
the TV series Family Ties as Lauren Miller, the girlfriend of Alex P. Keaton. Her early
film roles include Masters of the Universe and Cocoon: The Return and I'll Be Home for
Christmas. She had a supporting role as Jewel, the hard-as-nails assistant to James Belushi's
character, in the 1990 fantasy film Mr. Destiny. In 1994, shortly before the debut of the sitcom,
Friends, Cox appeared with Jim Carrey in the film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and on Seinfeld
in "The Wife" episode as Jerry's girlfriend named Meryl. In 1995, she was cast in Toad
the Wet Sprocket's music video "Good Intentions". The song is also on the Friends Soundtrack.
Friends Later in 1994, Cox was asked to audition for
the part of Rachel Green on a new sitcom, Friends; she was cast as Monica Geller instead.
At first the most famous cast member of the new show, Cox joined fellow castmates Jennifer
Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer for what would become
her most famous role, lasting for 10 seasons until 2004. According to the Guinness Book
of World Records, Cox became the highest paid TV actress of all time with her $1 million-per-episode
paycheck for the final two seasons of Friends. Between seasons five and six, Cox married
David Arquette, and changed her name to Courteney Cox Arquette. An in-joke reference to this
is made in the beginning credits of the episode "The One After Vegas", where the rest of the
cast and executive producers have "Arquette" added to their names. The dedication "For
Courteney and David, who did get married" – a reference to Monica and Chandler's decision
not to marry in the episode – appears during the fade out to the tag scene.
Film career During her time on Friends, Cox appeared in
the high-profile Hollywood films Scream, Scream 2, and Scream 3, as reporter Gale Weathers.
She met her husband, David Arquette, who played her on-screen love interest Dwight "Dewey"
Riley, while filming the first Scream film. Both Cox and Arquette reprised their respective
roles from the Scream trilogy in 2011's Scream 4. The movie was released in theaters April
15, 2011. Her other films include The Runner, 3000 Miles
to Graceland and The Shrink Is In. In late 2003, Cox and Arquette produced one season
of the reality television series Mix It Up. The lifestyle show, which aired on the We
cable channel, struggled with low ratings and was not renewed for a second season.
Later work
After her Friends role, Cox was producer Marc Cherry's first choice to be offered a starring
role as Susan Mayer on Desperate Housewives. However, Cox was unavailable due to her pregnancy
and the role went to Teri Hatcher. A couple of years later, Cox signed a deal with ABC
Studios to star in her own series. After Friends, Cox starred in the independent film November
which had a limited theatrical release; costarred with Tim Allen in the critically derided Zoom;
and cameoed in the big budget remake of The Longest Yard as the girlfriend of Adam Sandler's
character. She supplied her voice for the animated film Barnyard. A Friends reunion
film was rumored to be in production; following the success of Sex and the City: The Movie,
but this has been denied by Warner Bros. and others.
In 2007, Cox starred as Lucy Spiller, a cynical tabloid editor, in Dirt, a television drama
for FX. Cox and her husband David Arquette were the executive producers of the series.
According to Cox, the series was canceled after the second season in 2008. In July 2008,
Entertainment Weekly announced that Cox had signed on to star in a three-episode arc for
the television series Scrubs. In 2009, Cox began her roles as the star of
the single-camera comedy series on ABC called Cougar Town, playing a newly single 40-year-old
mother on the hunt for new experiences. The show's third season was to premiere in November
2011 but was moved to February 14, 2012. In the third season, Cox directed two of the
show's fifteen episodes of that season. The show's fourth season premiered on January
8, 2013. In 2009 she also starred in a three episode arc on former Friends co-star Lisa
Kudrow's online web series Web Therapy. In June 2012, Cox directed and made a cameo
appearance in a Lifetime television movie called Talhotblond, which premiered on the
network on June 23, 2012. The movie depicts a man who begins an online affair and a secret
life, while his wife and family remains unaware. Personal life
Cox's previous boyfriends include rock promoter Ian Copeland, Michael Keaton and Adam Duritz
of Counting Crows. Cox married actor David Arquette on June 12, 1999. After their daughter,
Coco, was born in June 2004, Cox suffered from postpartum depression. Jennifer Aniston
is Coco's godmother. On October 11, 2010, it was announced that Cox and Arquette had
separated, though they still maintain a close friendship and business relationship. In June
2012, Arquette filed for divorce after nearly two years of separation from Cox. The divorce
became final in May 2013. Cox began dating Snow Patrol band member Johnny
McDaid in late 2013. The couple announced their engagement on Twitter on June 27, 2014.
Filmography Films
As actress As director/producer
Just Before I Go - Director/Producer Television
Awards and nominations References
External links Courteney Cox at the Internet Movie Database
Courteney Cox at People.com Courteney Cox on Twitter