Courteney Bass Cox (born June 15, 1964) is an American actress, director, and producer. She gained recognition for her starring role as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, which aired from 1994 to 2004. For her performance in the series, she received seven Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, of which she won one. She received further recognition for starring as Gale Weathers in the horror film franchise Scream (1996–present). She also starred as Lauren Miller in the NBC sitcom Family Ties (1987–1989), Lucy Spiller in the FX drama series Dirt (2007–2008), and as Jules Cobb in the ABC/TBS sitcom Cougar Town (2009–2015), the lattermost of which earned her nominations at the Golden Globe Awards and the Critics’ Choice Awards.

Cox’s other films include the action fantasy Masters of the Universe (1987), the comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), the animated comedy Barnyard (2006), the fantasy comedy Bedtime Stories (2008), and the independent drama Mothers and Daughters (2016). She owns the production company Coquette Productions, which was created by Cox and her then-husband David Arquette. She also worked as a director on her sitcom Cougar Town, the television drama film TalhotBlond (2012), and the black comedy drama film Just Before I Go (2014).