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Thursday, September 27, 2001
Nikki Cox is ready for marriage
She started dancing professionally at 9
By Luaine Lee
Scripps Howard News Service

Cox

   BURBANK, Calif. - It was not your usual marriage proposal. He didn't fall on one knee and pledge eternal devotion. Instead, he spraypainted his message on an overpass on a New York bridge.
   Actress Nikki Cox, the recipient of this sweeping romantic gesture, almost missed the point. "He had our song playing on the tape deck and we drove by. And, of course, I didn't see it. So he had to make a U-turn and drive by again and kind of nudge my glance up. I immediately started crying and don't think I said yes for hours because I couldn't stop crying."
   The instigator of this leap of love was comedian Bobcat Goldthwait, Cox's boyfriend.
   Changed feelings
   Though Goldthwait is 16 years older than she, she says, "It was just a moment where you look at this person and say: 'I'm going to be with you for the rest of my life,' and I think that immediately changes how you feel about yourself and about everything."
   Cox, the star of the WB's comedy, "Nikki," isn't exactly new to such flamboyant expressions. And in spite of 14 years in show business, she's still more at ease far away from all the glitz. She and Goldthwait would rather work jigsaw puzzles than brave the flashbulbs of heady premieres, she says.
   As the eager young showgirl on "Nikki," Cox incorporates facets of her own life. She always knew she wanted to be a performer, she says, and her parents enrolled her in dance class hoping she'd get over the idea.
   "It was very strange to them, so my mom put me into dance classes thinking, 'She'll perform, she'll dance, that'll keep her busy.' That kind of backfired because a dance agent came to the studio where I was taking lessons and asked if I wanted to dance professionally. And I was 8 or 9 years old at the time. And once again my parents kind of caved, and said, 'All right, she'll give it a try, and she'll see how hard it is.' And I ended up working."
   She's been working ever since. Cox is sitting in her small dressing room on the Warner Bros. soundstage, the walls peppered with good wishes written for her birthday in Magic Marker by cast members who were silly on champagne.
   Steady climb
   It's been a steady climb to this damp little room. She was a regular on "Norm," guested on "The Drew Carey Show," and enjoyed recurring roles on "Baywatch," "Pearl," and "General Hosital."
   Though she sometimes wishes she were more ambitious, Cox has been consistent and persistent, starring in her first sitcom, "Unhappily Ever After," when she was only 16.
   That was an eye-opener for the dishy Cox, who's now 23. "Unbeknownst to me, I was supposed to be the sexpot type. They dolled me up in the outfit, and I made my first entrance down a flight of stairs. And they had the audience, and it was all Marines and they all started caterwauling and yelling and screaming. And I had to stand there and wait before I could deliver my first line. I thought my knees were going to buckle because I'd never had that reaction walking past a construction site. It hit me like a ton of bricks, going, 'Oh my God, they think I look so good?' I thought I was going to wet my pants, I was terrified. But a little part of me went, 'Oh, well, that's OK.'"
   Still essentially shy, Cox was so busy during her teens that she never had time for dating. "I've only really ever had two serious relationships. One began when I was quite young and now I'm with the man I'm going to marry, so it was never a big issue for me. I can't ever really say I was a big datin' gal. I think if I'd had more dating experience I'd be a lot more bitter."
   Though Goldthwait has a 14-year-old daughter, Cox says she isn't worried about donning the stepmother's pointed hat. "I already have been a stepmother to some degree, we've been living together for two years," she says, waving her left hand, which is burdened by a nearly five-carat diamond engagement ring.
   "She's a great girl and I love her dearly and she's a big kid. She can cook. I'm not scared. I f it was a different kid, I might be, but not with this one."
   It was on the set of "Unhappily Ever After" that she and Goldthwait met. "We were working together and friends for many years. And I had a mad crush on him, and we ended up together. It took years," she says, rolling her eyes. "He didn't get the message. I had to pretty well blurt it out. I was the initiator. I just said, 'Look, I think I'm in love with you.' So it kind of progressed from there."
   "Nikki" will begin its second season on Oct. 14 on the WB.

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