Courteney Cox was born on June 15 in 1964 in
Birmingham, Alabama. She is the youngest of four children. Cox was close to her
father, a building contractor, and had a typical mother-daughter relationship
with her mom. 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 fun person in the world and wished
secretly that things were back to the way they were 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 friends.
Cox attended Mountain Brook High and
worked afternoons at a pool supply store. She later saved enough money from that
job to buy her own car when she was 16 - a blue Datsun 210. Cox also
participated in the usual teenage activities like cheerleading, tennis, and
swimming.
In 1982, Cox graduated from high school
and then 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. They worked together for a New York City music agent.
Though Cox and Copeland were 15 years apart, a romance formed.
At that time, Cox wanted to be a model, so
Copeland suggested she pursue it, but also try acting. Cox did ads for Noxema
and Maybelline and also, had a small soap role on As the World Turns.
When Copeland found Cox blossoming into her choice of career, the two called it
off.
It wasn't until 1984 that Cox gained
mational attention as the girl Bruce Springsteen pulled on stage to dance with
at end of his Dancing in the Dark video. 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. 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.
From this point on, Cox is looking towards
the future. Success has been a long-time for this thirtysomething young woman,
rightly deserved and for Cox, richly rewarded.
Cox is married to actor, David Arquette,
whom she co-starred with in the Scream movies.
Click below to return Home:
Home