Cox was born Courteney Bass Cox in Birmingham, Alabama to a wealthy Southern family.

Cox first came to prominence in the 1984 music video for Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" (in which she was the pulled-on-stage girl who danced onstage with Springsteen for 26 seconds).

During her time on Friends, Cox appeared in the highly successful and high-profile Hollywood films Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), and Scream 3 (2000) as the ruthless reporter Gale Weathers.

While filming the first of this trilogy, she met her husband David Arquette.

Although she starred in several other films during her time on Friends, none achieved the same level of success as the show. Such films include The Runner, 3000 Miles to Graceland and The Shrink Is In.

In late 2003, Cox produced the television series Mix It Up. The lifestyle show received low ratings and was not renewed for a second season.

As of 2008, Cox plays Lucy Spiller, a tabloid editor, in Dirt, a television drama for the FX Networks.

Cox and her husband, David Arquette, are the executive producers of the series.

She will appear again with Adam Sandler in Bedtime Stories, which is set for a Christmas release.