Courteney Cox

Courteney Cox Arquette (born Courteney Bass Cox in 1964) is an actress, best known for her role in the long-running television series Friends.

Early life

Cox was born in Mountain Brook. her late father, Richard L. Cox, was a businessman and her mother, also named Courteney, was a housewife. Cox has two older sisters (Dottie Pickett and Virginia Cox), one older brother (Richard, Jr.) and nine half-brothers and half-sisters. Her parents divorced in 1974, and her father moved to Florida, while Cox grew up with her mother and her stepfather, New York businessman Hunter Copeland.

Cox attended Mountain Brook High School, where she was a cheerleader, tennis player and swimmer. Upon graduation, Cox went to study architecture and interior design at Mount Vernon College. She dropped out after one year to pursue a modeling career, after being signed by the Ford modeling agency in New York City. While modeling, she also took acting classes, and lost her Southern accent.

Career

After her first appearance in the 1984 music video for Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark", she was cast in several theatrical films, including Masters of the Universe (1987) and Cocoon: The Return (1988).

Cox had a starring role in the short-lived television series, Misfits of Science (1985) and later had a recurring role (1987 - 1989) on the television series Family Ties.

Cox is best known for playing Monica Geller on the hit TV series Friends (1994 - 2004). She became the only principal member of the show's cast not to be nominated for an Emmy Award. After the show became successful, Cox appeared in several high-profile films, including Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), the three Scream films(1996-2000) and 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001).

In late 2003, Cox hosted her own television series, entitled Mix It Up. It was taped at her home and focused on dealing with a partner moving in and interior decoration. The show received low ratings and was not renewed for a second season.

In 2005, Cox starred in the independent film November, which had only a limited theatrical release, and appeared in an uncredited role in the big budget remake of The Longest Yard. She has signed on to star in Dirt, a television drama for the FX Networks, in which she will play Lucy Spiller, a tabloid editor; Cox and her husband, David Arquette, will produce the series. [1]

Private life

Cox has dated singer Adam Duritz and actor Michael Keaton. She met actor David Arquette on the set of Scream; and the couple married on June 12, 1999 in an Episcopalian ceremony. While Cox has occasionally used her full married name, "Courteney Cox Arquette", professionally, she continues to be generally known simply as "Courteney Cox". On June 13, 2004, she gave birth to their first child, Coco Riley Arquette, a baby girl; her "Friends" co-star, Jennifer Aniston, is the baby's godmother. Reportedly, Cox initially wanted to name their child "Courteney," just as Cox herself was named after her mother, however Arquette resisted this idea because his Jewish faith discourages naming children after living relatives. As a compromise, they agreed upon the name Coco, which was a nickname for Cox's mother. A second child for the couple is expected in fall 2006.

In 1999, Cox underwent laser eye surgery to correct her vision.

In 2005, she donated money to the Natalee Holloway investigation.

Selected filmography

• The Longest Yard' (2005)
• November (2005)
• 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001)
• Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000)
• Commandments (1997)
• Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
• The Opposite Sex (1993)
• Cocoon: The Return (1988)
• Masters of the Universe (1987)

References

• "Courteney Cox." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 12 Apr 2006, 15:03 UTC. 13 Apr 2006, 15:53 [2].

External links

• Courteney Cox at IMDB.com
• The Young Courteney Cox Compendium
• The Unofficial Courteney Cox Arquette Homepage
• Combustible Celluloid interview (April 26, 2005)
• Mr. Showbiz interview (February, 2001)
• Dr. Drew interview (2000)
• collection of interviews (1995-1999)