By LOUIS B. HOBSON --

NEW YORK -- Courteney Cox and musician Adam Duritz. Just friends.

Courteney Cox and actor David Arquette. Just friends.

Courteney Cox and actor Liev Schreiber. Just friends.

Courteney Cox and actor Michael Keaton. No longer friends. No longer lovers.

"I have lots of great friends, but I don't have a special man in my life right now. I find dating a drag, so the prospects don't look that good," admits Cox.

"I guess I'll just have to content myself with all the great career stuff that's happening for me and put relationships, marriage and kids on some back-burner."

Cox, 33, stars as the control-nut Monica Geller on the hit TV sitcom Friends and as hard-as-nails anchorwoman Gale Weathers in Scream 2, which opens Friday.

She was also Jim Carrey's love interest in the original Ace Ventura Pet Detective.

"In this business it's luck, timing and talent in that order. I was in a lot of right places at the right time."

When she was 17, Cox appeared in an ad for a department store in her hometown of Mountain Brook, Ala.

"I got an agent from that ad and I spent the whole summer that year modelling in New York."

She appeared on the cover of Tiger Beat. The following year she attended university, but gave it up to move to New York to become a full-time model. The modelling led to a two-day stint on As the World Turns.

"I played Bunny, a young Southern girl, and got one line. I was so nervous, I sweated clean through my dress."

A few weeks later, Cox attended an open audition for the Bruce Springsteen video Dancing in the Dark. The director was Brian de Palma.

"There were hundreds of girls and for some reason Brian chose me. That stroke of luck got me to Hollywood."

For three years, she guest-starred on TV sitcoms, made several direct-to-video movies and then landed the role that would change her life.

She was cast as Michael J. Fox's girlfriend on Family Ties.

"It was a wonderful experience. I learned so much about comic timing just by watching Michael. I had a great time, but I never felt like one of the family.

"They'd been together for so many years before I joined the show. It's the same with guest stars on Friends. There's no way we can include them fully in our relationship.

"We have become friends on and off the set of Friends.

"Lisa (Kudrow), Jennifer (Aniston) and I hang out together a lot. Matt (LeBlanc), David (Schwimmer) and Matthew (Perry) do the same and we hang out a little as a six-some, but not as much."

In 1989, shortly after her run on Family, Cox met Michael Keaton. She was 25. He was 38. They were together for six years. Since their break-up two years ago, they've had little contact.

"It was a difficult break-up because I thought our relationship was my last one. I thought it was forever."

She refuses to elaborate or to lay blame.

Being single has given Cox more time to pursue her hobby. She studied architecture at university and uses her skills to renovate homes.

"I'm working on my fifth one now. I used to buy the houses, renovate them and sell them, but I'm pretty sure I won't let this one go.

"I've fallen in love with it. I've made it look a little like Elizabeth Taylor's home in Elephant Walk. I have to finish it in the next couple of months because it is going to be featured in Architectural Digest in the spring."

With her $100,000-per-episode on Friends and her seven-figure salary for Scream 2, Cox has no financial worries.

"It was my choice to come back for Scream 2. It wasn't in my contract, but when I heard there was going to be a sequel I called (director) Wes (Craven) and asked to have my character included."

Though Cox likes to think of herself as resilient and tough, she's quick to point out she's not as tough as her Scream character Gale Weathers.

"I'm tough but nice and I'm certainly not ruthless. I've met a few successful women in Hollywood who are vulnerable, but they're more of an exception."


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