why are they famous?; courteney cox

Main Claim: Playing uptight Monica, the least popular cast member of cult sitcom Friends. Cox displays a genuine talent for being neither funny nor likeable in a show where even the pet monkey is funny and likeable. But sated with Jennifer Aniston, glossy mags have had to resort to second- best Cox, hence her arrival on the pages of Tatler and Elle this month.

Overlooked Courteney Cox Fact: Her name sounds like a question Charles Hawtrey might ask Hattie Jacques in a Carry On film (think about it).

Appearance: Skinny with thin lips, ashen skin and jet-black locks. Grim. Straggly. Lifeless. Favours tight black dresses and jewelled crucifixes. We're talking Vampyra, Bride of Dracula. Not really a big surprise, then, that her first venture into film as a bona fide star is in the Wes Craven horror flick Scream. In it she sports white streaks in her hair a la Audrey in Breakfast At Tiffany's and eyes so cobalt blue, all America is asking, "Are they real or are they contacts?"

Past Perfect: Cox hails from Alabama but moved to New York to model, getting her first break aged 18 as the fan who is pulled on stage to dance with The Boss in Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark" video. She sported a tank-top, ripped drainpipe jeans, cropped hair and a daffy grin and provided ample evidence that dancing comes to her as easily as comic timing.

You Can't Start A Fire Without A Spark: Allegedly dating Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, ex-amour of her Friends colleague, Jennifer Aniston. On being caught making out at an airport, Cox claimed, "The photographer shot 50 frames of this one second to make it look like the world's longest kiss." The relationship is eminently believable. With his designer dreadlocks and appalling grizzled alternative rock band, Duritz is exactly the kind of man a tight ass like Monica/ Courteney would see as soulful. "He is a poet, I truly believe that." She is a comedienne, I truly believe that.

Look. She Finished Everything On Her Plate: Cox is plagued by tabloid reports that she suffers from anorexia nervosa, something she strenuously denies. (Given her Flora Poste-like dedication to organisation, one imagines the slimming disease would be more likely to suffer from her than the other way round.)

She's From The Deep South So Her First Boyfriend Was Probably Her Cousin: Correct, although she claims, "He wasn't a blood cousin."

Fame prospects: Shrewd businesswoman, Cox made a million before the series even began by dealing in property. Meanwhile, Scream II is currently in pre-production. Big-haired Jennifer Aniston is advertising shampoo. Courteney could do hair dye, contact lenses or even Weight Watchers campaigns.