Courteney Bass Cox previously Courteney CoxArquette 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 1996present She also starred as Lauren Miller in the NBC sitcom Family Ties 19871989 Lucy Spiller in the FX drama series Dirt 20072008 and as Jules Cobb in the ABCTBS sitcom Cougar Town 20092015 the lattermost of which earned her nominations at the Golden Globe Awards and the Critics Choice Awards Coxs 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 thenhusband 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