Courteney Cox 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 (January
28, 1931 – September 3, 2001) and his wife Courteney (née Bass, later Copeland). 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 (uncle to music
promoter and business manager Ian 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 (1985), and later a recurring role (1987–89) on the TV series Family Ties as
Lauren Miller, the girlfriend of Alex P. Keaton (Michael J. Fox). Her early film roles include
Masters of the Universe (1987) and Cocoon: The Return (1988) and I'll Be Home for Christmas
(1988). 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 (Rachel Green), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay), Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani), Matthew
Perry (Chandler Bing) and David Schwimmer (Ross Geller) for what would become her most
famous role, lasting for 10 seasons until 2004. According to the Guinness Book of World
Records (2005), Cox (along with her female costars) 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 (1996),
Scream 2 (1997), and Scream 3 (2000), 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 (formerly Touchstone Television) to star in her own series. After Friends, Cox
starred in the independent film November (2005) 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 and 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.
Filmography Films
As actress As director/producer
Just Before I Go (2014) - Director/Producer Television
Awards and nominations