Courteney Cox

Courteney Cox married actor David Arquette, her co-star in Scream, on June 12, 1999. They separated in 2010, and their divorce was finalized in 2014. The former couple have a daughter, Coco, born in June 2004, whose godmother is Cox's Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston. Cox and Arquette also founded and maintained a business partnership through the production company Coquette Productions.

Cox dated actor Michael Keaton from 1989 to 1995. She began a relationship with Snow Patrol musician Johnny McDaid in 2013, and they announced their engagement in 2014 before calling it off while remaining together. Their separation was announced in 2026. Cox has also spoken about experiencing postpartum depression six months after her daughter's birth.

Cox was raised in Mountain Brook, Alabama, the youngest of four children. Her parents divorced in 1974, after which she lived with her mother and stepfather, Hunter Copeland. At Mountain Brook High School, she was a cheerleader, tennis player, and swimmer. She studied architecture at Mount Vernon College for a year before leaving to pursue modeling in New York City, where she was signed by the Ford Modeling Agency and appeared in advertisements and teen magazines.

Her first major break came in 1984, when director Brian De Palma cast her as the young woman pulled onstage to dance with Bruce Springsteen in the music video for “Dancing in the Dark.” Her early acting work included Misfits of Science, Family Ties, and the films Masters of the Universe and Cocoon: The Return. In 1994, she appeared with Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and played Meryl, Jerry Seinfeld's girlfriend, in an episode of Seinfeld.

Cox was initially asked to audition for Rachel Green on Friends, but was cast as Monica Geller instead. She played Monica for all ten seasons of the NBC sitcom from 1994 to 2004, appearing alongside Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer. The role made her internationally recognized, and she later reunited with the cast for the 2021 television special Friends: The Reunion.

In 1996, Cox played television reporter Gale Weathers in Wes Craven's horror film Scream. She reprised the role in Scream 2 in 1997 and Scream 3 in 2000, while her character's on-screen relationship with David Arquette's Dwight “Dewey” Riley developed alongside their off-screen relationship.

Cox returned as Gale Weathers in Scream 4 in 2011, Scream in 2022, and Scream VI in 2023. She also executive produced Scream VI, and won the MTV Movie & TV Award for Best Fight for her confrontation with Ghostface in the film.

After Friends, Cox starred as tabloid editor Lucy Spiller in the FX drama Dirt from 2007 to 2008. She then played Jules Cobb, a newly single mother, in the ABC and TBS comedy Cougar Town from 2009 to 2015. The series became her most successful television work after Friends, earning her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy. Cox also directed episodes of the show and served as an executive producer.

Cox made her directorial debut with the television film TalhotBlond in 2012. She directed and produced the black comedy film Just Before I Go in 2014, and executive produced programs including Celebrity Name Game and the documentary series 9 Months with Courteney Cox. She later starred as Patricia “Pat” Phelps in the Starz horror comedy Shining Vale from 2022 to 2023.

Her other screen credits include The Shrink Is In, 3000 Miles to Graceland, Barnyard, Bedtime Stories, and Mothers and Daughters. In 2021, she launched the home-products line Homecourt, and in 2023 she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.