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Courteney Cox Arquette (born Courteney Bass Cox on June 15, 1964) is an American actress and former fashion model, best known for her role as Monica Geller in the long-running television series Friends.

Early life

Cox Arquette was born in Birmingham, Alabama to an affluent Southern family; 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 was raised in an exclusive society town, Mountain Brook, Alabama. She 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 for Women. 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

Early Career

Cox first came to prominence in the 1984 music video for Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" (in which she became the pulled-on-stage-girl who danced onstage with Springsteen). Cox is also notable for being the first person to use the word "period" on U.S. television in its physiological sense, in a 1985 advertising campaign for Tampax brand tampons. Her early film roles include Masters of the Universe (1987) and Cocoon: The Return (1988).

Pre Friends

Cox's early television work include a starring role in the short-lived television series, Misfits of Science (1985) and later a recurring role (1987 - 1989) on the television series Family Ties as the last girlfriend of Alex P. Keaton (Michael J. Fox). Cox also appeared as Meryl, Jerry's girlfriend/pretend wife on the hit TV sitcom Seinfeld in 1994.

During Friends

After appearing in the Jim Carrey comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), Cox found fame playing Monica Geller on the hit TV series Friends (1994-2004). This would be the role she would become most famous for. The six principal cast members, including Cox became household names due to the mass popularity and success of the show. However, she became the only principal member of the show's cast not to be nominated for an Emmy Award.

During her time on Friends, Cox appeared in the highly successful and high-profile Hollywood films, including Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), and Scream 3 (2000). It is whilst filming the first of this trilogy that she would meet her husband David Arquette.

Whilst starring in several other films during her time on Friends none achieved the same level of success as the show. Such films include The Runner, 3000 Miles to Graceland and The Shrink is In.

In late 2003, Cox produced the television series Mix It Up. The lifestyle show received low ratings and was not renewed for a second season.

Life after Friends

Since Friends, Cox has primarily concentrated on her family but has starred in the independent film November (2005), which had only a limited theatrical release and cameoed in the big budget remake of The Longest Yard, as the girlfriend of Adam Sandler. She has recently supplied her voice for the animated film Barnyard.

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 be the executive producers of the series.[1]

Private life

Courteney Cox previous relationships include the late Ian Copeland and a long term relationship with actor Michael Keaton. Cox also dated Counting Crows singer Adam Duritz, and appeared in their music video for song A Long December in 1997. Duritz has also dated Cox's "Friends" co-star, Jennifer Aniston.

She met actor David Arquette on the set of Scream; 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.

Filmography

1. Down Twisted (1987)
2. Masters of the Universe (1987)
3. Cocoon: The Return (1988)
4. Mr. Destiny (1990)
5. Blue Desert (1991)
6. Shaking the Tree (1992)
7. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
8. Scream (1996)
9. Commandments (1997)
10. Scream 2 (1997)
11. The Runner (1999)
12. Scream 3 (2000)
13. 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001)
14. The Shrink Is In (2001)
15. Get Well Soon (2001)
16. Alien Love Triangle (2002)
17. November (2004)
18. The Longest Yard (2005)
19. Alpha Dog (2006)
20. Barnyard (2006) (voice)
21. Zoom (2006)

Upcoming:

1. The Tripper (2007)

Television work

• As the World Turns (cast member in 1984)
• Code Name: Foxfire (1985)
• Misfits of Science (1985-1986)
• Sylvan in Paradise (1986)
• If It's Tuesday, It Still Must Be Belgium (1987)
• Family Ties (cast member from 1987-1989)
• Seinfeld (guest star on March 17, 1994)
• Friends (cast member from 1994-2004)
• Dirt (Premieres in January 2007)

External links

Interviews

• Combustible Celluloid interview (April 26, 2005)
• Mr. Showbiz interview (February, 2001)
• Dr. Drew interview (2000)
• collection of interviews (1995-1999)

Web sites

• Fansite at Courteney Online

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