After Dinner Speakers: Courtney Cox, Hermione Norris, Nigel Starmer-Smith

Courteney Cox was born on June 15 in 1964 in Birmingham, Alabama. She is the youngest of four children. Cox was close to her father, a building contractor, and had a typical mother-daughter relationship with her mom. When Cox was 10, her parents divorced after 19 years of marriage. Cox stayed with her mother, brother and two sisters, but blamed her mother for the divorce. She thought her dad was the most fun person in the world and wished secretly that things were back to the way they were before her parents split. Cox matured and finally realized that her parents didn't belong together forever. Both her father and mother have since remarried, and Cox now considers her mother her best friend. Cox attended Mountain Brook High and worked afternoons at a pool supply store. She later saved enough money from that job to buy her own car when she was 16 - a blue Datsun 210. Cox also participated in the usual teenage activities like cheerleading, tennis, and swimming. In 1982, Cox graduated from high school and then began to study architecture at Mt. Vernon college in Washington. Near the end of her first and last year of college, Cox met Ian Copeland, her stepfather's nephew. They worked together for a New York City music agent. Though Cox and Copeland were 15 years apart, a romance formed. At that time, Cox wanted to be a model, so Copeland suggested she pursue it, but also try acting. Cox did ads for Noxema and Maybelline and also, had a small soap role on As the World Turns. When Copeland found Cox blossoming into her choice of career, the two called it off. At that time, Cox wanted to be a model, so Copeland suggested she pursue it, but also try acting. Cox did ads for Noxema and Maybelline and also, had a small soap role on As the World Turns. When Copeland found Cox blossoming into her choice of career, the two called it off. It wasn't until 1984 that Cox gained mational attention as the girl Bruce Springsteen pulled on stage to dance with at end of his Dancing in the Dark video. The job paid $350, but the exposure was enough to springboard Cox to other work in the industry. In 1985, Cox was in the NBC series Misfits of Science, which was dropped in four months. That same year, Cox was cast as Lauren, Michael J. Fox's girlfriend on Family Ties. The end of Family Ties brought Cox to a standstill in her career. She did several motion pictures after, but it wasn't until 1994 when she got her next big break. Cox was cast as Jim Carrey's boss in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Soon after, Cox won the part of Monica Geller on Friends. From this point on, Cox is looking towards the future. Success has been a long-time for this thirtysomething young woman, rightly deserved and for Cox, richly rewarded.