"I wish I'd been a firmer parent"— Courteney Cox reflects on raising her daughter, Coco Arquette

Actress and filmmaker Courteney Cox appeared on the April 24 episode of the podcast Minnie Questions and was candid about her relationship with her 19-year-old daughter Coco Arquette and her journey into motherhood.

The Friends star noted that, while she is a proud mom and appreciates the young woman her daughter has become, she also stated,

“Earlier on, when she was a kid, or not even that many years ago, I wish I’d been a firmer parent.”

Courteney Cox shares her daughter and only child, Coco, with her former husband, actor and professional wrestler David Arquette, 52. The couple was married from 1999 until their divorce in 2013.

Coco is now a college student, aspiring actress, and influencer with 294,000 Instagram followers.

---

Courteney Cox wishes she “stepped in” more into the life of her daughter Coco

British-American actress Minnie Driver hosts the podcast Minnie Questions, where the most recent guest was Courteney Cox. On Wednesday, the Scream star appeared on the show and talked about her career, relationships, and motherhood.

In the half-hour episode, Cox expressed her regret about not being a “firmer parent” back when her daughter Coco Arquette was growing up and protecting her from certain situations and people.

She mentioned how Coco always wanted to be independent, make her own decisions, and deal with things on her own.

“I didn’t want to step in even though I knew something wasn’t right because she would get so mad at me… I did understand and I should have trusted myself and I should have stepped in,” the 59-year-old shared.

Courteney Cox further continued by saying,

“I am not saying I made her who she is but you do see things in other people, whether it’s just always taking care of people and being the nicest person. And I mean, that’s one of the things with age, I’ve learned to say no, I’ve learned to have boundaries.”

This is not the first time Courteney Cox has opened up about her bond with Coco. Earlier, during a 2021 chat with Drew Barrymore for the latter’s The Drew Barrymore Show, the Shining Vale actress said how she supported her daughter wearing makeup and frequent hair-dyeing, referring to them as her form of “self-expression.”

At the time, Cox also mentioned that it was crucial for parents to allow their children to be creative and offer them the outlet to express themselves, but “with boundaries, of course,” which she noted she was “not great at,” but strived to “get better at.”

Coco, whose godmother is Cox’s Friends co-star and lifelong pal Jennifer Aniston, often appears on her mother’s social media, and vice versa. They also travel together and were recently captured outside London’s Heathrow Airport in March 2024.

Not only that, but they also attend red carpet events together, including the New York City premiere of Scream 6, which happened in March 2023.

The mother-daughter duo also got matching arrow tattoos, which Courteney Cox shared on her Instagram in January 2023. Cox’s longtime friend and actress Laura Dern and her two kids, Ellery and Jaya, also got the same ink.

Notably, elsewhere in the Minnie Questions podcast, the Dirt actress discussed her temporary breakup with her partner and Northern Irish musician Johnny McDaid (since 2013) and how it made their bond stronger and deeper.

Additionally, Cox also shared why she is more interested in where we come from than where we are headed, her insecurities and jealousies with age, and her online cooking journey.