Friends Fact!
Cox was the best-known member of the cast before Friends. She played opposite rubberfaced funnyman Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and was in Cocoon: The Return.

Courteney Cox

Photo Gallery


Biography


          Courteney, who plays the character of Monica, is a Birmingham, AL native. When Cox was 10, her parents divorced after 19 years of marriage. Cox stayed with her mother, brother and two sisters, but blamed her mother for the divorce. She thought her dad was the most funnest person in the world and wished secretly that things were back to the way they had been before her parents split. Cox matured and finally realized that her parents didn't belong together forever. Both her father and mother have since remarried, and Cox now considers her mother her best friend. (So I guess she was wrong about her parents not belonging together!)
          In 1982, Cox graduated from high school and began to study architecture at Mt. Vernon college in Washington. Near the end of her first and last year of college, Cox met Ian Copeland, her stepfather's nephew. Though Cox and Copeland were 15 years apart, a romance formed.
          Courteney moved to New York City after her graduation from high school and was subsequently signed by the Ford modeling agency. Shortly thereafter, she started working in television commercials for Maybelline, Noxema and a very sexy one for the New York Telephone Company.
          In 1984 Cox made her acting debut on the daytime drama "As the World Turns." Copeland, scared off by her success, fled the relationship to sink into obscurity as an unknown music guy.
Friends Fact!
The first thing Courteney Cox bought with her Friends money was a brand new Porsche.

          Meanwhile, Cox was rockin' her way to the top. She appeared in Bruce Springsteen's music video "Dancing in the Dark." She was cast by director Brian DePalma (The Last Temptation of Christ) to portray the young fan whom Springsteen pulls out of the audience to be his dance partner. The job paid $350, but the exposure was enough to springboard Cox to other work in the industry.
          In 1985, Cox was in the NBC series Misfits of Science, which was dropped in four months. It was not her fault. She was very good. That same year, Cox was cast as Lauren, Michael J. Fox's girlfriend on Family Ties. The end of Family Ties brought Cox to a standstill in her career. She did several motion pictures after, but it wasn't until 1994 when she got her next big break. Cox was cast as Jim Carrey's boss in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Soon after, Cox won the part of Monica Geller on Friends.
          Courteney Cox's other television credits include regular series roles on "Misfits of Science" and "The Trouble with Larry" as well as guest-starring parts on such hits as "Murder, She Wrote," NBC's "Seinfeld" and the cable series "Dream On" and "The Larry Sanders Show." She has starred in several television movies, including "Prize Pulitzer," "Battling for Baby" and "Curiosity Kills," as well as in the miniseries "Till We Meet Again," based on Judith Krantz's best-selling novel.
          On stage, she starred with Michael Spound in "King of Hearts" at the Tiffany Theatre in Los Angeles. When she is not working, she enjoys remodeling and decorating homes. Cox lives in Los Angeles.
Friends Fact!
Cox claims to have been really in love only once. The lucky man was called Paul, hailed from Leeds, and "he made a hell of a Yorkshire pudding".


Filmography

Scream 2 1998 Movie (Gale Weathers)
Commandments 1996 Movie (Rachel Luce)
Scream 1996 Movie (Gale Weathers)
Sketch Artist II: Hands that See 1995 TV Movie (Emmy)
Friends 1994 TV Series (Monica Geller)
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective 1994 Movie (Melissa Robertson)
The Trouble with Larry 1993 TV Series (Gabriella Easden)
Battling for Baby 1992 TV Movie (Katherine)
The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them 1992 Movie (Carrie Davenport)
Blue Desert 1991 Movie (Lisa Roberts)
Curiosity Kills 1990 TV Movie (Gwen)
Mr. Destiny 1990 Movie (Jewel Jagger)
Shaking the Tree 1990 Movie (Kathleen)
Roxanne: The Prize Pulitzer 1989 TV Movie (Jacquie Kimberly)
Till We Meet Again 1989 TV Movie (Freddy)
Cocoon: The Return 1988 Movie (Sara)
I'll Be Home for Christmas 1988 TV Movie
Down Twisted 1987 Movie (Tarah)
If It's Tuesday, It Still Must Be Belgium 1987 TV Movie (Hana Wyshocki)
Masters of the Universe 1985 Movie (Julie Winston)
Misfits of Science 1985 TV Series (Gloria Dinallo)
Misfits of Science 1985 TV Movie
Family Ties 1982 TV Series [Lauren Miller (1987-1989)]
Dream On 1981 Movie

Return to Friends Page