Courteney Cox, the former Friends star and the youngest of a wealthy Alabama family, celebrates her 45th birthday today. It’s hard to believe the raven-haired beauty who portrayed sweet-natured Monica Gellar on Friends was once a rebel in her early youth.
Cox grew up in Mountain Brook, Alabama and attended Mountain Brook High School. She was very athletic and was active in tennis, swimming and cheerleading. After high school she went on to study architecture and interior design at Mount Vernon College for Women.
She left college early to pursue a modeling career and was subsequently signed by the Ford Modeling Agency in New York City. While Cox did model for a short time, her dream was to become an actress.
Cox studied acting and took voice lessons to rid herself of her Southern accent. Her work paid off and she soon got a small part in As the World Turns in 1984 at age twenty.
Later that year she made an appearance in Bruce Springsteen’s video Dancing in The Dark, directed by Brian DePalma. A year later she moved to Los Angeles and landed a role in Misfits of Science.
After a brief lull in her career, Cox landed roles in Mr. Destiny and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Her fame and fortune came a year later when she was cast as the neurotic, controlling Monica Geller on the long-running and highly successful sitcom, Friends.
During her stint on Friends she also appeared in several movies including, Scream I, II and III, The Runner, Commandments, 3000 miles to Graceland, The Shrink is In, and November.
After the show ended she also had roles in The Longest Yard, Alpha Dog, Barnyard and Zoom.
In 2007 Cox and her husband David Arquette produced the short-lived television series Dirt for the FX Network. Ratings for the show were never strong despite the appearance of her former Friends cast mate Jennifer Aniston, an episode highlighted with the two of them kissing.
Cox obviously hasn’t gotten the attention of her friend Aniston but easily rivals her in the looks department. Her jet black hair and blue eyes make for quite the lovely vision as the images below bear out.
Enjoy the gallery and here’s hoping Courteney Cox has a very happy birthday.
