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Love and Coco

COURTENEY COX IS late for our interview at Coquette, the West Hollywood production company she runs with her husband, actor David Arquette, which gives me the chance to have a good look around.

Courteney, who dreamed of being an architect when she was growing up (and studied it at university before dropping out to start modelling), is responsible for the interior design.

Provocative modern art hangs on the walls, along with vintage movie posters, such as Fellini's 1954 film La Strada and Sean Connery as 007 in Dr No. There's a bubble-gum dispenser, a giant model of an old Kodak Instamatic camera and a whimsical family of cast-iron ducks waddling across a counter top.

The actress, who made her name as control-freak Monica in Friends, is full of apologies when she arrives. 'I'm so sorry to keep you waiting,' she says huskily, explaining that she - has a cold. I admire her watch, a rose gold Rolex with a black face, 'a present from David', and the necklace she's fingering, 'rose gold with diamonds and a shark's tooth, a gift to myself,' she laughs.

She's in high spirits, despite her cold. 'I've just closed a deal to do a TV comedy _called Cougar Town,' she says. 'I play a 40-year-old divorcée from Florida who's attracted to younger men and has a teenage son.' As well as starring, she will also be executive producer.

Her last show, Dirt, in which she played a tabloid editor, was cancelled, but she doesn't seem unduly concerned. 'It was fantastic because my character was completely different from Monica, so I was able to show a different side of myself.'

I had heard that the female Friends have become wary of press intrusion and reluctant to reveal anything about themselves. So it's a relief to discover that Courteney is forthright and open; nothing is off limits, including her four-year-old daughter Coco, who was conceived after a series of miscarriages and gruelling fertility treatment.

'I can't imagine life without a child; I don't even remember what it was like four years ago. Coco is everything to me,' she says.

'We did a lot of in vitro fertilisation, and it was tough. But we'd waited a few years before trying, and in retrospect I would say: don't wait as long as I did, especially if you want more than one child.'

Courteney is even willing to put the record straight on internet rumours about plastic surgery. Now 44, she looks younger, but there are lines around the eyes. 'I've done Botox,' she admits, 'and there were times when I thought, "That was nice", but I had one bad experience when I wasn't able to move my face for two or three months.'

Will she do it again? 'I don't know,' is her candid reply. 'I'm sure I'll be tempted when I get older, but you see too many people who look really strange.'

She adds that David, who's seven years younger, doesn't think she needs any improvement. 'He loves the ageing process; he thinks it's beautiful. Right now, I don't do Botox - or anything except this,' she says, pointing to a cabinet of creams and serums by Kinerase, the American skincare company for which she's spokesperson.

She settles at her desk, in front of her silver MacBook with a cup of Chinese herbal tea, and gestures for me to sit opposite. Although she's warm, there is a brisk efficiency about her.

Born into an affluent family in Birmingham, Alabama, she worked as a model before getting her big break in 1984 when Bruce Springsteen plucked her from a crowd of extras to star in his music video for 'Dancing in the Dark'. Film roles followed, notably Ace Ventura: Pet Detective with Jim Carrey.

Then came Friends, the show that defined a generation and brought her fame and wealth. Along with her co-stars (to whom she is still close), Courteney earned $1 million an episode during the final season.

She admits that it's a challenge to reinvent a career after a decade playing such a distinctive character, but there are no regrets. 'I wouldn't be sitting in this office if it wasn't for Friends. It's given me opportunities I would never have had and freedom financially.'

Does motherhood mean her career has taking a back seat? 'Not at all, because until Coco starts school I can take her everywhere I go for work. She came with me to Mexico at four weeks old, she's been to New York ten times.'

In fact, her daughter (who's at nursery school this afternoon) is rarely out of her sight for more than a couple of hours. Coco is the main reason for Courteney's appearance in the spectacular Disney blockbuster Bedtime Stories, with Adam Sandler.

'I was so excited to be part of a movie I can watch with Coco,' she says. Courteney plays Sandler's sister Wendy. 'She is a headmistress whose school closes. She has to look for a new job, and there's no one to look after her two children except her hotel-handyman brother Skeeter (Sandler).'

As Skeeter (with Russell Brand as his sidekick) regales his niece and nephew with elaborate fantasies of dragon-slayers, knights in armour and damsels in distress, the stories start to come true and the children find themselves transported in time and space. 'It's a wonderful family film, a fairy tale for everyone.'

Did she get to know Brand? 'I didn't work with him,' says Courteney, 'but he's hysterical, such a talented guy - and he's cute.'

Bedtime stories are a crucial part of life in the Cox/Arquette household in Beverly Hills. 'Coco's favourites are Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast - she's totally into princesses.' Courteney is the chief storyteller, but, she says, David is equally besotted with Coco.

'Christmas is insane in our house. I say: "Let's buy Coco one good toy", but he wants to buy her 900 presents. Our compromise lands closer to David.'

Coco is adored by their family and friends, including David's actress sisters Rosanna and Patricia Arquette and Coco's devoted godmother, Jennifer Aniston. 'Coco calls her Noona, which is Greek for godmother; they see each other and play together every weekend.

'The other day Jen came over with her yoga teacher and Coco stuck it out for an hour doing yoga with them!'

It's easy to assume that Courteney is the sensible one in the marriage; her husband, who she met making the horror film Scream in 1994, had a pretty wild reputation. Not true, she insists. 'People think I'm the conservative one and he's the crazy one, but it's not like that.

'I don't like to make plans because it makes me feel trapped, whereas he likes to know exactly what he's doing; he's happier with defined boundaries. But we have a good balance,' she says. 'He's got the best heart, he's so giving, he's smart and creative and he's gorgeous. Even though he acts kooky, David is as grounded as anyone I've ever met.'

Courteney is one of the few celebrities I've met who is candid about her relationship, admitting their nine-year marriage has had its rocky patches. 'Is marriage for ever? I think you get married with the intention that it will be, but who knows?

'I get shocked by people getting divorced all the time, that's why I choose to work on it. Therapy helps us,' she says, twirling her fingers around a long lock of hair. 'It's so easy to grow apart; marriage takes work. I suppose you can work it out by talking to each other - I would just prefer to have a referee, it reminds us why we're together.'

Courteney's own parents divorced when she was a child. 'Before my dad died, he said one of his big regrets was that he hadn't worked on their marriage enough. I don't know what the future's going to hold, but divorce isn't really an option.'

Isn't it difficult working together? 'It seems like it would be the worst thing in the world but we manage to handle it really well. We argue, but never about work. We love being together,' she says. 'Every Sunday we have people over to our house.

'David does the barbecuing, and we have a fantastic chef, Patrice, who makes great salads, vegetables and fish. Sunday is my favourite time because it's really about friends.' These reportedly include Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher. 'And, yes,' she smiles, 'Jen's there just about every Sunday.'

What makes her friendship with Jennifer Aniston so enduring? 'We've known each other nearly 15 years now, we grew up together emotionally. I lost my father, Jen got divorced, and I had a baby. We've been through huge life changes together. I can be myself around her.

'We never judge each other, we support each other, but we're honest with each other too. I feel lucky to have her.'

Courteney won't comment on her friend's love life. 'I want for Jen whatever she wants; she's really happy at the moment, so I don't have to worry about her.'

It's clear Courteney is also happy - excited about her company, the new film and the upcoming TV show. She's also thrilled about the election of Barack Obama. 'I was crying so much. I was so proud to vote, it was such a wonderful day. He's so smart and so fair. I can't wait for 2009.'

Her own dreams for 2009 and beyond? 'I'd love to work with Morgan Freeman and Meryl Streep. And I'd love to direct more.' (She has already directed her friend Laura Dern in a short film.) 'And I'd like another child, and maybe if it doesn't work, I'll adopt.

'There's no doubt that motherhood is the best thing in my life. It's all that really matters,' she says softly.

Then she's up - changing the mood for her next appointment, a business meeting, before she collects Coco from nursery school.