Courteney Cox | |
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Cox in 2009
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Born |
Courteney Bass Cox June 15, 1964 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
Other names | Courteney Cox Arquette |
Occupation | Actress, producer, director |
Years active | 1984–present |
Spouse(s) | David Arquette (m. 1999; div. 2013) |
Partner(s) |
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Children | 1 |
Courteney Bass Cox (born June 15, 1964) 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 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 Cox and her then-husband David Arquette. Cox also worked as a director on her sitcom Cougar Town and the television film Talhotblond.
Cox was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, 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, DC, but did not complete her architecture course, opting instead to pursue a career in modeling and acting.
Cox appeared in the 1984 music video for Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" as the 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 in a recurring role as Lauren Miller, the girlfriend of Alex P. Keaton (Michael J. Fox) in the TV series, Family Ties (1987–89). Her early film roles include Masters of the Universe (1987), Cocoon: The Return (1988), and I'll Be Home for Christmas (1988). She played Jewel Jagger, the hard-as-nails assistant of Larry Burrows (James Belushi), in Mr. Destiny (1990). In 1994, shortly before the debut of the sitcom, Friends, Cox appeared with Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and as Jerry Seinfeld's girlfriend, Meryl, in the Seinfeld episode, "The Wife". In 1995, she was cast in Toad the Wet Sprocket's music video, "Good Intentions". The song is also on the Friends soundtrack.