Courteney Cox is one-of-a-kind.
She was the only actress capable of tackling the rigid-but-loveable Monica Geller on Friends .
RELATED STORIES
She’s also had quite the interesting career both before and after Friends . This includes a music video with Bruce Springsteen and being the first person to ever say “period” on TV.
Want to learn more? Here are 10+ facts fans didn’t know.
You know her, you love her. Courteney Cox is an icon thanks to her work on *Friends*, portraying the clean freak Monica Geller.
While she has other roles under her belt, she will definitely go down in history for her amazing portrayal of Monica.
However, just because we all are OBSESSED with her (as we should be), that doesn’t mean that we know everything about her.
Thankfully, we are here to help with that.
Let’s get into some interesting facts about the actress!
1. She studied architecture before becoming an actress.
First off, the actress was born on June 15, 1964, in Birmingham, Alabama.
Since she always wanted to be an architect growing up, she studied it at Mount Vernon College before dropping out to pursue modeling and acting.
2. She was in a Bruce Springsteen music video.
Before she was Monica Geller on Friends , Cox was an adoring fan in a Bruce Springsteen music video.
This was for the 1984 song, “Dancing in the Dark.” She even got to go up on stage with Bruce and dance!
3. She once spent $12,000 on a Chanel bicycle.
It pays to be Courteney Cox’s friend!
When Jennifer Aniston said she wanted to bike, Court gifted her bestie with a designer one. It came with eight speeds and a saddlebag that featured the famous Chanel “CC” logo.
4. She was the first person to say “period” on television.
It’s crazy to think now, but advertising menstrual products on television was banned up until 1972.
So when Courteney filmed this 1985 Tampax commercial and said the word “period,” she was making history.
5. She regrets her plastic surgery.
It took some time for the Friends star to realize that fillers weren’t her friend.
But once she did, she hasn’t looked back. “I’ve had all my fillers dissolved. I’m as natural as I can be,” she told Allure .
6. She was originally offered the role of Rachel Green on *Friends*.
Cox explained during an interview with Today that “For some reason, I thought I related more to Monica, which maybe it’s because I do.”
How different would the show have been without Courteney as Monica?!
7. She struggled with infertility.
Turns out, the actress had a lot more in common with her Friends character than just their wicked dance moves.
They both struggled with infertility. Eventually, Cox and her ex-husband, David Arquette, had their daughter via in vitro.
8. She’s BFFs with Ed Sheeran.
This is a friendship we didn’t see coming!
In a sweet birthday tribute to the singer, Courteney posted this hilarious pic of her and BFF Ed Sheeran.
Sheeran even lived at Cox’s Malibu beach house for three months to write music.
9. She’s hilarious on Instagram.
You need to follow her. Like, right now.
After Jared Leto posted a picture of himself on Instagram, Zach Braff commented: “Courtney [ sic ] Cox vibes today. Gorgeous.”
Cox playfully retaliated with this hilarious pic featuring a gender-bending filter. #Twinning!
10. She was married to David Arquette for 13 years.
The former couple first met on the set of the hit horror flick, Scream .
He even appeared on the hit Friends series. It was during a season three episode where he played Phoebe’s loveable stalker. Classic.
Sadly, the pair called it quits in 2010.
In an interview with radio host Howard Stern, Arquette went in-depth about the raw details of why they ended.
According to him, Courteney didn’t want to feel like his mother anymore.
11. Courteney and David got a sweet dedication on *Friends* in the opening credits of “The One After Vegas.”
After Courteney Cox married fellow actor, David Arquette, Friends celebrated this in a unique way.
They changed every cast member’s last name to include the surname “Arquette.”
12. She shares a daughter with ex-husband, David Arquette.
Her name is Coco and she’s 16.
Fun Fact: Courteney named her daughter after a shortened version of her own name. Despite her parents being divorced, she’s extremely close to both of them.
13. Coco and Courteney share a special bond.
They share a name (sorta) and even clothes!
In 2019, Coco went viral for wearing the same dress her mom wore to the 1998 premiere of the movie, Snake Eyes .
14. She was pregnant during the last season of *Friends*
This is actually why the show’s last season had fewer episodes than all the rest.
If you go back and watch the show, you’ll see that Cox wore a lot of scarves and baggy clothes
15. She doesn’t remember being on *Friends*.
The one where Courteney Cox forgets she was even on Friends .
This startling confession was made when the actress had a virtual interview with Jimmy Kimmel. “I don’t remember even being on the show, I have such a bad memory,” she laughed.
“I remember obviously loving everybody there and having fun and I remember certain times of my life. I was there, but I don’t remember episodes.”
She said that she has purchased the show and has since started going through it.
16. She hasn’t seen her boyfriend, Johnny McDaid, since the COVID-19 lockdown began.
That’s over 150 days!
During an episode of Foy Vance’s “The Vinyl Supper ” podcast, she revealed that the reason she hasn’t seen him is that he’s in Europe and she’s in the States.
As you can imagine, she misses him a lot.
“I have not seen him in so long,” she said, adding that they spend “a lot of time on FaceTime.”
“But now it’s like, oh my God, I just miss his physical touch, just all of it,” the actress admitted.
17. Like us normal folk, she has an embarrassing moment.
Her siblings told her that there was an emergency and that she had to get out of the shower and go outside.
She was pushed out the front door by her siblings and locked outside!
18. Besides her *Friends* costars, there are some huge names that she would invite to her dream dinner party.
They are John Lennon, Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama, and Meryl Streep.
They are some of her icons, and she expressed that she would have loved to get to know them. Hey, she still has time to meet some of them!
19. Her father was dying while she was filming *Friends*
“I was on the way to work, and my dad phoned me up and he told me he had cancer,” she said to the Stylist . “Doctors gave him three months to live.
Obviously, the idea that she would have to smile and put on a show was not easy for her.
“I went in and said to them that I don’t know if I can make it [the episode]. And that was a huge deal – you can’t just walk away [because there’s a live studio audience].”
Thankfully, everyone at Warner Bros., and the cast and crew of *Friends* were incredibly supportive and did their best to help her out.
“They were so great to me. We went through the show, I was in a terrible frame of mind, I couldn’t remember my lines, and I wasn’t there.”
20. She has some regrets in life.
Between her surgeries and her personal choices, she admits that there are some things about her past that bother her.
But she told Stylist that her new motto in life, in order to stay happy is: “let it be.”
21. She isn’t necessarily a fan of social media.
While she loves posting fun videos with her daughter, that doesn’t mean it’s always a walk in the park.
She has admitted that people can be very mean in the comments, but thankfully she doesn’t let it negatively affect her.
22. Her previous romances include someone quite surprising.
She had been in a relationship with Stewart Copeland’s brother, Ian Copeland.
But more shockingly, she had a six-year-long serious relationship with Michael Keaton . Tons of people had no idea that they ever dated.
23. She will always defend *Cougar Town*.
She knows very well that a lot of people find the show offensive just because of the name.
But the fact of the matter is, as long as the parties are consenting adults, as the show portrayed, there was really nothing wrong with the content of the show!
24. It’s not hard to keep her happy.
What Cox wants more than anything else in the world is to be happy, and who doesn’t?
All it takes is a sweet dinner with a friend and talking about their lives. I guess she’s more like Monica in that respect than we thought!
Do you know any other facts about Courteney Cox?
Or were you pleasantly surprised by all of the facts in this article?
Either way, let us know down below in the comment section! We would love to hear from you!
