Early work Cox was chosen from a
casting call by director
Brian De Palma to appear in the 1984 music video for
Bruce Springsteen's "
Dancing in the Dark", as the young woman pulled onstage at the
St. Paul Civic Center to dance with Springsteen. Her early television work includes a starring role as Gloria Dinallo in the short-lived
NBC science fiction series
Misfits of Science (1985), and guest-starring roles in the
ABC comedy-drama series
The Love Boat (1986) and the
CBS crime drama series
Murder, She Wrote (1986). She also appeared in a 1985
Tampax ad notable for making her the first person to use the word "period" in an American television commercial. She later had a recurring role as Lauren Miller, the girlfriend of
Michael J. Fox's character
Alex P. Keaton in the NBC comedy series
Family Ties (1987–1989). She also played Jewel Jagger, the tough-as-nails assistant of Larry Burrows (
James Belushi), in
Mr. Destiny (1990).
1990s: International breakthrough In 1993, Cox co-starred in the short-lived CBS sitcom
The Trouble with Larry, alongside
Bronson Pinchot and
Perry King. The following year, shortly before the debut of the sitcom
Friends, Cox starred alongside
Jim Carrey in the comedy film
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and as
Jerry Seinfeld's girlfriend, Meryl, in the
Seinfeld episode "
The Wife". In 1994, Cox was asked to audition for the starring role of
Rachel Green on a new sitcom,
Friends; she was cast as
Monica Geller instead. At first the most famous cast member of the new show, Cox joined
Jennifer Aniston (
Rachel Green),
Lisa Kudrow (
Phoebe Buffay),
Matt LeBlanc (
Joey Tribbiani),
Matthew Perry (
Chandler Bing) and
David Schwimmer (
Ross Geller) for what became her most famous role, lasting for ten seasons until 2004. The series is commonly referred to as one of the greatest of all sitcoms. According to the
Guinness Book of World Records (2005), Cox (along with her female co-stars) became the highest-paid TV actress of all time, with her 1 million-per-episode fee for the final two seasons of
Friends. Syndication of the series earned Cox and her co-stars an estimated $20 million in annual residuals. In 1995, she was cast in
Toad the Wet Sprocket's music video "Good Intentions". The song was also featured on the
Friends soundtrack. Between seasons five and six, she married
David Arquette and consequently changed her name to Courteney Cox Arquette. A joke reference to this is made in the opening credits of the episode "
The One After Vegas", where the rest of the cast has "Arquette" added to their names. The dedication "For Courteney and David, who did get married" – a reference to Monica and Chandler's decision not to marry in the episode – appears during the fade out to the tag scene. Cox received further recognition and critical acclaim for her starring role as reporter
Gale Weathers in the high-profile slasher horror film
Scream (1996), and its sequels
Scream 2 (1997) and
Scream 3 (2000). The series is one of the
highest grossing and critically acclaimed horror franchises of all time. Cox's character was well known for her "snappy remarks and being brilliantly bossy". She met her future ex-husband, David Arquette, who played her on-screen love interest, Dwight "Dewey" Riley, while filming the first
Scream film. He also was in an episode of the TV Show Friends Cox also hosted an episode of the variety sketch series
Saturday Night Live in April 1995, and appeared in the crime thriller film
The Runner (1999).
2000s: Continued success Cox's major films during this period include the crime drama
3000 Miles to Graceland (2001) and the comedy
The Shrink Is In (2001). In late 2003, Cox and Arquette produced one season of the reality television series
Mix It Up. The lifestyle series, which aired on the WE cable channel, struggled with low ratings and was not renewed for a second season. After the conclusion of
Friends, Cox was producer
Marc Cherry's first choice to be offered a starring role as
Susan Mayer on
Desperate Housewives, but Cox was unavailable due to her pregnancy and the role later went to
Teri Hatcher. A few years later, Cox signed a deal with
ABC Studios (formerly Touchstone Television) to star in her own series. She starred in the
independent drama film
November (2005), which had a limited theatrical release. She had a
cameo appearance in the big-budget remake
The Longest Yard (2005) as Lena, the girlfriend of Paul Crewe (
Adam Sandler), and co-starred with
Tim Allen in the critically derided
Zoom (2006). Cox voiced Daisy the Cow in the animated film
Barnyard (2006). A
Friends reunion film was rumored to be in production following the success of
Sex and the City (2008), but this was later
denied by
Warner Bros. and others. Cox starred as Lucy Spiller, a cynical
tabloid editor, in the
FX television drama series
Dirt, which premiered in 2007. Cox and her then-husband David Arquette were the executive producers of the series. The series was eventually canceled after the second season in 2008. In July 2008,
Entertainment Weekly announced that Cox signed on to star in a three-episode arc for the television medical comedy series
Scrubs. Also that year, she starred in the fantasy comedy film
Bedtime Stories, reuniting with co-star Adam Sandler. She went to executive produce the short drama film ''
The Butler's in Love'', directed by David Arquette. Cox guest-starred in a three-episode
story arc on former
Friends co-star
Lisa Kudrow's web comedy series
Web Therapy (2009). Also in 2009, she began her role as the star of the
single-camera ABC comedy series
Cougar Town, playing a newly single 40-year-old mother on the hunt for new experiences. It is notably Cox's most successful work since
Friends, earning her a nomination for the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. The series' third season was set to premiere in November 2011 but moved to February 14, 2012. Cox directed two episodes of the series' fifteen episodes that season. The fourth season premiered on January 8, 2013. The series came to an end on March 31, 2015, after six seasons.
2010s: Directorial debut and expansion Cox reprised her role as Gale Weathers from the
Scream trilogy for the sequel
Scream 4. The film was released in theaters on April 15, 2011. She made her directorial debut and had a cameo appearance in a
Lifetime television drama film
TalhotBlond, which premiered on the network on June 23, 2012. In 2014, Cox directed and produced the black comedy film
Just Before I Go, starring
Seann William Scott and
Elisha Cuthbert. The film premiered at the
Tribeca Film Festival on April 24, 2014, and it was released in select theaters on April 24, 2015. From 2014 to 2017, she executive produced the syndicated game show
Celebrity Name Game, hosted by
Craig Ferguson. It ended after three seasons. The series earned her a nomination for the
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show. In 2016, Cox starred in the independent drama film
Mothers and Daughters, alongside
Susan Sarandon,
Mira Sorvino, and
Sharon Stone. The film was released to generally negative reviews on May 6, 2016. In 2019, she created and executive produced the
Facebook Watch documentary series
9 Months with Courteney Cox, which focuses on "people from across the country of various race, religion, and class as they self-document their 9-month journey of pregnancy". It lasted for three seasons until 2021. In 2019, it was reported she would executive produce and star as Brittany Wagner in the
Spectrum Originals adaptation of the documentary series
Last Chance U.
2020s: Current work In 2020, she guest starred in the ABC sitcom
Modern Family. Cox reunited with her
Friends co-stars for a reunion special titled
Friends: The Reunion, which was released on May 27, 2021, on
HBO Max. The special earned Cox a nomination for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded). In the same year she launched her line of home products, named Homecourt. She also participated in the
Celebrity Escape Room special to raise $150,000 for Red Nose Day. Cox reprised her role as Gale Weathers for the
fifth Scream film, which was directed by
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and
Tyler Gillett. The film was released on January 14, 2022, to box office success and positive reviews. Also in 2022, she signed on to star alongside
Greg Kinnear in the
Starz horror comedy series
Shining Vale, from creators
Sharon Horgan and Jeff Astrof; she plays Patricia "Pat" Phelps, who moves her family "from the 'crazy' of the city to a large, old house in the suburbs where evil and humor collide." Cox again reprised her role as Gale Weathers for the
sixth Scream film, which she also executive produced. ==Personal life==