It's 'Friends' Behind Courteney Cox's $150 Million Net Worth
Courtney Cox, the iconic Friends star, has left an indelible mark on Hollywood with her magnetic charm and versatile acting skills. From Central Perk to countless other memorable roles, she continues to captivate audiences with her timeless talent and grace.
What's Courteney's net worth?
Courteney Cox, the accomplished American actress, and producer, boasts an impressive net worth of $150 million. She gained widespread fame for her role as Monica Geller in the beloved television series Friends, appearing in all 236 episodes across its ten-season run from 1994 to 2004 as per this article by Celebrity Net Worth
Early life
Courteney Cox was born on June 15, 1964, in Birmingham, Alabama, to her father Richard Lewis Cox, and mother Courteney Copeland. Her parents divorced when she was 10, and her mother later married Hunter Copeland. Hunter's nephews, Ian Copeland and Stewart Copeland were part of her extended family. After graduating from Mountain Brook High School, Courteney attended Mount Vernon College in Washington, D.C., but decided to pursue a career in acting and modeling instead of completing her architecture degree.
Career highlights
Courteney's breakthrough came when she moved to New York City and signed with the Ford Modeling Agency. Though she started with modeling, she attended acting classes and secured a role in one episode of As the World Turns in 1984. However, her major breakthrough came when Brian De Palma cast her in Bruce Springsteen's iconic Dancing in The Dark music video. Shortly after, she joined the cast of the highly successful sitcom Family Ties, where she played Michael J. Fox's girlfriend.
In 1994, Courteney Cox's career took a fortunate turn when she landed two significant roles – one in Jim Carrey's hit film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and the other as Monica Geller in the immensely popular comedy series Friends. Initially, she was asked to audition for the role of Rachel on Friends, but ultimately, she secured the iconic part of Monica, becoming her most famous role. Courteney's stellar performance kept her alongside Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc throughout the show's ten successful seasons until its finale in 2004.
'Friends' salary
During the first season of Friends, each cast member earned $22,500 per episode, totaling $540,000 for the season. Their salaries increased to $40,000 per episode in the second season, amounting to $960,000 for that season. For the third season, the cast negotiated as a group and secured a deal of $75,000 per episode, resulting in $1.875 million for the season.
The subsequent seasons saw further raises, with $85,000 for season 4 ($2.04 million), $100,000 for season 5 ($2.5 million), and $125,000 for season 6 ($3.125 million).
Before season 7, the cast negotiated another significant raise, earning $750,000 per episode for seasons 7 and 8, totaling $18 million per season. Seasons 9 and 10 saw each cast member earning $1 million per episode, amounting to $24 million for season 9 and $18 million for season 10.
When adding up their base salary alone, each cast member of Friends earned around $90 million from the show before backend bonuses and ongoing royalties.
Royalties from streaming deals
In 2000, the Friends cast negotiated backend points, allowing them to earn royalties from the show's syndication sales. The show generates over $1 billion yearly in syndication royalties and streaming deals. Each cast member can earn $10-20 million in royalties in certain years.
Real estate ventures: From Malibu to Beverly Hills
In 2007, Courteney Cox purchased a hilltop home in Malibu, California, for $17.15 million. That same year, she listed another Malibu home, located on the beach and designed by architect John Lautner, for $33.5 million. Eventually, she accepted $27 million for the sale, with the buyer being Frank McCourt, a one-time Dodgers owner.
For several years, Courteney also owned two units in the luxury Sierra Towers building in Beverly Hills. She spent approximately $5 million to acquire both units on the 25th floor. In August 2020, she sold one of the units for $2.9 million, and in December 2022, she sold the second unit for $4.5 million. Interestingly, both sales were made to the same buyer, a 25th-floor resident who now owns more than half of the entire floor.
