Courteney Cox, known professionally since her marriage to David Arquette as Courteney Cox-Arquette, was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on June 14, 1964. She was born to father Richard L. Cox, a businessman, and mother Courteney, a housewife. Her parents divorced when she was ten, and she has two older sisters and a brother, as well as nine half siblings from her parents’ remarriages. In high school, Cox was a cheerleader, was on the swim team, and also played tennis. She entered college initially with the intention of studying architecture and interior design, but dropped out after just one year to pursue a career in modeling.
Cox was signed to the Ford Modeling Agency in New York City, and also studied acting when she had the time. She appeared on the covers of magazines and romance novels, and also filmed commercials for Noxema, Maybelline, and most notably Tampax, where she was the first person to ever utter the word "period" on television. Her first television role was a bit part on the soap opera As the World Turns.
After just that tiny role in the soap opera, Cox was tapped by director Brian De Palma to play the dancer in Bruce Springsteen’s video for "Dancing in the Dark." She was paid $350 to dance with Springsteen for those few seconds. This led to a starring role in the television series Misfits of Science with Dean Paul Martin, although the show was very short lived.
Cox built on this small success with small television guest spots on shows such as Love Boat and Murder She Wrote, along with a few small movie roles. This led to her first big part in a movie, as she starred with Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella in Masters of the Universe. Next up for Cox was a reoccurring role on the television series Family Ties as Michael J Fox’s girlfriend. During this time she also filmed the sequel Cocoon: The Return with Steve Guttenberg.
When Family Ties ended, Cox moved on to the made-for-television movie, Roxanne: The Prize Pulitzer, about the famous Pulitzer divorce, starring Perry King and Chynna Phillips. She followed this with a television mini-series based on a Judith Krantz book, Till We Meet Again. Cox starred alongside Michael York, Hugh Grant, and Charles Shaughnessy. Despite the fact that Cox had been enjoying starring roles, she took a supporting role as James Belushi’s secretary in the movie Mr. Destiny, which also starred Linda Hamilton, Michael Caine, and Jon Lovitz.
Cox made a few movies that didn’t do well at the box office, and enjoyed guest star roles on television series likes Dream On and Seinfeld, and also filmed a surprising movie hit, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, starring with Jim Carrey. She auditioned for the role of Rachel on Friends, but while she didn’t get the part, she received the part of another "friend" Monica Geller. Jennifer Aniston got the part of Rachel, and the other friends that were cast were Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer.
Starring in Friends for ten years, Cox continued to make movies when time allowed. She appeared in all three movies of the Scream triology. Each of these movies starred Cox, along with David Arquette (who would go on to become her husband), Neve Campbell, Jamie Kennedy, and Liev Schreiber. Aside from the Scream movies, Cox also filmed 3000 Miles to Graceland with Arquette, as well as Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, Christian Slater, Kevin Pollak, and once again, with Jon Lovitz.
Post-Friends, Cox has lent her voice to the animated movie Barnyard: The Original Party Animals. She has also starred in November, a movie about a photographer trying to overcome the death of her boyfriend, starring alongside Nora Dunn and Anne Archer.
Before settling down with David Arquette, Cox had a long relationship with actor Michael Keaton, and also had a relationship with rocker Adam Duritz of the Counting Crows. Her union with David has given Cox some famous in-laws, such as Rosanna Arquette, Patricia Arquette, and Alexis Arquette. She and David have one child, Coco.
YUDDY
