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When you play a character on television, it’s the ultimate goal to have that character last for more than one season, and hopefully you can stretch it out for years. In the case of Courteney Cox, she’s had two characters that have eclipsed 100 episodes each, combining for nearly 350 episodes. Now in her mid 50s, Cox is a television legend thanks to her talent and charisma, while also having a busy life behind the camera.

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Cox was born in Birmingham, Alabama on June 15, 1964 where she grew up in a family that had connections to the music business. Cox would end up leaving Alabama following high school to head to Washington D.C. for college, but left there as well with aspirations to become an actress with some modeling work on the side. The first time that many people had seen Cox was in 1984, when she was in the music video for Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” where she dances on stage with the iconic singer.

Cox made her acting debut on an episode of the soap opera series “As the World Turns” in 1984. She then had recurring roles on the 1980s series “Misfits of Science” and “Family Ties”, as well as multiple television movies. Cox also made her big screen debut at this time, appearing in the 1987 film “Down Twisted”, followed up by “Masters of the Universe” and “Cocoon: The Return”.

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During the early 1990s, it was much of the same for Cox, who continued to have guest roles and TV movies, with films such as “Mr. Destiny” and “Blue Desert”. It was in 1994 that Cox would get her huge break. Not only did she star alongside Jim Carrey in the classic comedy “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective”, but she also landed the role of Monica Geller on the series “Friends”.

Of course, “Friends” would go on to become a powerhouse, lasting from 1994 until 2004 with one of the most watched finales in television history. All in all, there were just under 240 episodes of “Friends”, and Cox remained busy outside of the series during that time. Outside of her guest appearances on TV, Cox starred in the first three “Scream” films, as well as “The Runner” and “3000 Miles to Graceland”. After “Friends” came to an end, Cox had been in films such as “The Longest Yard”,  “Zoom” and “Bedtime Stories”, two of which starred Adam Sandler. 

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Cox has remained very close friends with her co-stars on “Friends”, and that includes Jennifer Aniston. In 2008, Cox decided to give a gift to her friend that set her back quite a bit of money. Cox gave Aniston a Chanel bicycle with jewels and genuine quilted leather. The bike ended up costing $12,000, and Aniston was very grateful.

“Jennifer said she wanted to start bike riding because it’s such good exercise,” a source close to the friends said. “So Courteney sent her the new, ultra-chic Chanel bicycle...Courteney only sent Jennifer the bike two weeks ago but she already loves it! She goes out riding all the time.”

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Just after purchasing the bike for her friend, Cox would land another TV show that would air for several years. This time it was “Cougar Town”, which became popular on two different networks. There were more than 100 episodes in total where Cox played Jules Cobb, with the series wrapping up in 2015. Since then, Cox has had a lot of production credits including several documentaries, and guest roles on “Shameless” and “Modern Family”. As for the big screen, Cox came back for the fourth installment of “Scream” and her most recent movie came in 2016 with “Mothers and Daughters”.

Along the way, Cox has been married once, and that was to actor David Arquette. The couple tied the knot in 1999, and had a child together named Coco. “There’s no doubt that motherhood is the best thing in my life,” Cox said. “It’s all that really matters.” She and Arquette would eventually get divorced after more than a decade, however. “I think every relationship has a point where you stop and reevaluate,” she said. “Are you happy? Have you grown together or apart? … I think that’s a normal thing to do, but it’s so much harder when it’s done publicly.”

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It’s been a fine career for Cox to this point, who is satisfied with what she’s been able to accomplish. “I’m at peace with myself and where I am,” she said. “In the past, I was always looking to see how everybody else was doing. I wasn’t competitive, I was comparative. I just wanted to be where everybody else was. Now I’ve gotten to an age when I am not comparing anymore.”