Courteney Cox
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Courteney Cox | |
|---|---|
 Cox meets fans at the rehearsal for the 1995 Emmy Awards, September 9, 1995 |
|
| Born | Courteney Bass Cox June 15, 1964 Birmingham, Alabama United States |
| Spouse(s) | David Arquette (1999-present) |
Courteney Bass Cox Arquette (born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and former model, known for her role as Monica Geller in the popular television sitcom Friends and as Lucy Spiller, in the television drama Dirt.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Cox was born Courteney Bass Cox in Birmingham, Alabama to a wealthy Southern family. Her mother, also named Courteney (née Bass) and her late father, Richard Lewis Cox, was a contractor.[1] Cox has two older sisters (Virginia McFerrin and Dottie Pickett), an older brother (Richard, Jr.) and nine half-brothers and half-sisters. Her parents divorced in 1974, and her father eventually wound up in Panama City, Florida, where he opened a company called Cox Pools, while Cox grew up with her mother and her stepfather, New York businessman Hunter Copeland.
Cox was raised in a wealthy suburb of Birmingham, Mountain Brook, Alabama where she was known as CeCe. 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 a 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 worked to lose her southern accent.
[edit] Career
[edit] Early career
Cox first came to prominence in the 1984 music video for Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" (in which she was the pulled-on-stage girl who danced onstage with Springsteen for 26 seconds). 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.[2] Her early film roles include Masters of the Universe (1987) and Cocoon: The Return (1988). 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). She had a supporting role as Jewel, the hard-as-nails assistant to Jim Belushi's character in the 1990 fantasy film Mr. Destiny.
In 1994, shortly before the debut of Friends, Cox appeared with Jim Carrey in the film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and on Seinfeld, as Jerry's girlfriend Meryl.
[edit] Friends
Later in 1994, Cox was asked to audition for the part of Rachel Green on a new sitcom called Friends, but she was instead cast as the character Monica Geller. At first the most famous cast member of the new show, Cox joined fellow castmates Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Greene), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay), Matt Le Blanc (Joey Tribbiani), Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing) and David Schwimmer (Ross Geller) for what would become her most famous role, lasting for 10 seasons until 2004.
Between seasons, Cox married David Arquette, becoming Courteney Cox Arquette. An in-joke reference to this is made in the opening credits of the episodes The One After Vegas, where the rest of the cast and executive producers have "Arquette" added to their names. The dedication "To Courteney and David, who did get married" appears during the fade out to the tag scene. [3]
[edit] Film career
During her time on Friends, Cox appeared in the highly successful and high-profile Hollywood films Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), and Scream 3 (2000) as the ruthless reporter Gale Weathers. While filming the first of this trilogy, she met her husband David Arquette.
Although she starred 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.
[edit] After Friends
After her Friends role, Cox was producer Marc Cherry's first choice to be offered a starring role as Susan Mayer on Desperate Housewives. However, Cox was unavailable due to her pregnancy and the role went to Teri Hatcher. A couple of years later, Cox signed a deal with ABC Television Studio (formerly Touchstone Television), to star in her own series.
Since Friends, Cox has primarily concentrated on her family but has starred in the independent film November (2005), which had a limited theatrical release, co-starred with Tim Allen in the critically derided Zoom and cameoed in the big budget remake of The Longest Yard, as the girlfriend of Adam Sandler. Cox later said her breasts were digitally enhanced to portray her role as the wife of a quarterback. She has recently supplied her voice for the animated film Barnyard.
Since 2007, Cox has starred as Lucy Spiller, a tabloid editor, in Dirt, a television drama for the FX Network. Cox and her husband, David Arquette, are the executive producers of the series.[4] According to Cox, the series was canceled after the second season in 2008.[5]
[edit] Personal life
Cox's previous significant others include Ian Copeland and a long-term relationship with actor Michael Keaton. Cox also dated singer Adam Duritz of Counting Crows and appeared in their music video for song "A Long December" in 1997. (Duritz has also dated Cox's Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston.)
Cox married David Arquette on June 12, 1999. On June 13, 2004, she gave birth to their first child, daughter Coco Riley Arquette. The child was originally to be named after her mother as Courteney Cox Arquette.[6] However, Arquette's family objected to this on the grounds that naming a child after a living relative goes against Jewish tradition (David Arquette's mother is Jewish). Coco is a nickname Cox's friends gave her mother when she was a child. Jennifer Aniston is the baby's godmother.[7]
In June 2007, Cox announced plans to expand her family. The actress said she hopes to have a child through in vitro fertilisation despite battling post-partum depression after Coco's birth.
[edit] Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
| 1987 | Down Twisted | Tarah | |
| Masters of the Universe | Julie Winston | ||
| 1988 | Cocoon: The Return | Sara | |
| 1990 | Mr. Destiny | Jewel Jagger | |
| 1991 | Blue Desert | Lisa Roberts | |
| 1992 | Shaking the Tree | Kathleen | |
| 1993 | The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them | Carrie Davenport | |
| 1994 | Ace Ventura: Pet Detective | Melissa Robinson | |
| 1996 | Scream | Gale Weathers | |
| 1997 | Commandments | Rachel Luce | |
| Scream 2 | Gale Weathers | ||
| 1999 | The Runner | Karina | |
| 2000 | Scream 3 | Gale Weathers | |
| 2001 | 3000 Miles to Graceland | Cybil Waingrow | |
| The Shrink Is In | Samantha Crumb | ||
| Get Well Soon | Lily | ||
| 2002 | Alien Love Triangle | Alice Connor | |
| 2004 | November | Sophie Jacobs | |
| 2005 | The Longest Yard | Lena | |
| 2006 | Barnyard | Daisy | Voice Role |
| Zoom | Marsha Holloway | ||
| The Tripper | Cynthia | ||
| 2008 | Bedtime Stories | Wendy | |
| 2009 | The Big Change | ||
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1984 | As the World Turns | Bunny | |
| 1985 | Code Name: Foxfire | Flight Attendant | Uncredited Role NBC TV-Movie |
| 1985–1986 | Misfits of Science | Gloria Dinallo | |
| 1986 | The Love Boat | Episode: Dare Devil/Picture Me As a Spy/Sleeper | |
| Sylvan in Paradise | Lucy Apple | NBC TV-Pilot | |
| Murder, She Wrote | Carol Bannister | Episode: Death Stalks the Big Top (1) Episode: Death Stalks the Big Top (2) |
|
| 1987 | If It's Tuesday, It Still Must Be Belgium | Hana Wyshocki | NBC TV-Movie |
| 1987–1989 | Family Ties | Lauren Miller | |
| 1988 | I'll Be Home for Christmas | Nora Bundy | NBC TV-Movie |
| 1989 | Roxanne: The Prize Pulitzer | Jacquie Kimberly | TV-Movie |
| Judith Krantz's Till We Meet Again | Marie-Frederique 'Freddy' de Lancel | CBS Miniseries | |
| 1990 | Curiosity Kills | Gwen | NBC TV-Movie |
| 1991 | Morton & Hayes | Princess Lucy | Episode: Oafs Overboard |
| 1992 | Battling for Baby | Katherine | CBS TV-Movie |
| Dream On | Alisha | Episode: Come and Knock on Our Door | |
| 1993 | The Trouble with Larry | Gabriella Easden | |
| 1994 | Seinfeld | Meryl | Episode: The Wife |
| 1994–2004 | Friends | Monica Geller | |
| 1995 | Sketch Artist II: Hands that See | Emmy | Showtime TV-Movie |
| Saturday Night Live | Host | Episode: Courtney Cox/Dave Matthews Band | |
| 1999 | Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | Voice Role Emerald Salt Pork |
Episode: The Three Little Pigs |
| 2007–2008 | Dirt | Lucy Spiller | |
[edit] Awards & Nominations
- 1999: Nominated, "Funniest Supporting Female Performer in a TV Series" — Friends
Blockbuster Entertainment Award
- 1998: Nominated, "Favorite Actress - Horror" — Scream 2
- 2001: Nominated, "Favorite Actress - Horror" — Scream 3
- 1995: Won, "Female Discovery of the Year"
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
- 1997: Nominated, "Favorite Television Actress" — Friends
- 2000: Nominated, "Favorite Television Friends" — Friends (shared w/Jennifer Aniston & Lisa Kudrow)
- 2002: Nominated, "Worst Screen Couple" — 3000 Miles to Graceland (shared w/Kurt Russell & Kevin Costner)
- 2002: Nominated, "Worst Supporting Actress" — 3000 Miles to Graceland
- 1998: Nominated, "Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture" — Scream 2
- 1999: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" — Friends (shared w/co-stars)
- 2000: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" — Friends (shared w/co-stars)
- 2001: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" — Friends (shared w/co-stars)
- 2002: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" — Friends (shared w/co-stars)
- 2003: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" — Friends (shared w/co-stars)
- 2004: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" — Friends (shared w/co-stars)
- 2000: Won, "Film - Choice Chemistry" — Scream 3
- 2002: Nominated, "Choice TV Actress, Comedy" — Friends
- 2003: Nominated, "Choice TV Actress, Comedy" — Friends
- 2005: Nominated, "Choice Movie Hissy Fit" — The Longest Yard
TV Guide Awards
- 2000: Won, "Editor's Choice" — Friends (shared w/co-stars)
- 2006: Nominated, "Most Wonderful Wedding" — Friends (shared w/Matthew Perry)
- 2007: Nominated, "Break Up That Was So Bad It Was Good" — Family Ties (shared w/Michael J. Fox)
[edit] References
- ^ Courteney Cox Biography (1964-)
- ^ IMDB.com. Courteney Cox - Biography. Retrieved on March 2, 2007.
- ^ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Friends-Episodes-1-4-Jennifer-Aniston/dp/product-description/B00004I9PR
- ^ IMDB.com. "Dirt" (2007) - Full cast and crew. Retrieved on March 2, 2007.
- ^ "Courteney Cox's Show 'Dirt' Canceled""FoxNews.com" June 10, 2008 Retrieved June 10, 2008
- ^ IMDB.com. Courteney Cox - Biography. Retrieved on March 2, 2007.
- ^ Moono.com. Jennifer Aniston is Coco Arquette's godmother. Retrieved on March 2, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Courteney Cox at the Internet Movie Database
- Courteney Cox at People.com
- collection of interviews (1995-1999)
| Preceded by Will Smith |
MTV Movie Awards host 1995 (with Jon Lovitz) |
Succeeded by Janeane Garofalo and Ben Stiller |
