Courteney Bass Cox (previously Courteney Cox Arquette; born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and filmmaker. She gained international recognition for her starring role as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends (1994–2004), for which she received seven Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, of which she won one. Cox 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 on the FX drama series Dirt (2007–2008), and as Jules Cobb on 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 film credits 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).