| Gale Weathers | |
|---|---|
| Scream character | |
 Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers in Scream 4 | |
| First appearance | Scream (1996) |
| Created by | Kevin Williamson |
| Portrayed by | Courteney Cox |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Gale Riley Gale Weathers Riley Miss Weathers Mrs. Riley |
| Occupation | News reporter Television personality Author Television host |
| Family | Tatum Riley (sister-in-law; deceased) Mrs. Riley (mother-in-law) |
| Spouse | |
| Significant other | Brooks (boyfriend; deceased) |
| Location | Woodsboro, California, US[1][2] Windsor College, Ohio[3] Hollywood, California[4] New York City |
| Status | Alive |
Gale Weathers is a fictional character of the Scream film series, created by Kevin Williamson and portrayed by Courteney Cox. The character first appeared in Scream (1996), followed by five sequels: Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000), Scream 4 (2011), Scream (2022), and Scream VI (2023). She is the only character who has appeared in every film in the series.[5][6] For playing Gale, Cox also holds the record of being the only actress to appear in six consecutive films of a horror franchise.[7] At the MTV Movie & TV Awards, Scream VI (2023) won Best Fight (Courteney Cox vs Ghostface) for the scene where Ghostface attacks the character, the first time in the franchise where the killer and the character interacted over the phone.[8][9]
Gale Weathers appears in the Scream films as an ambitious, strong-willed journalist and writer who is initially built up as an antagonist, but ultimately joins forces with Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and Dewey Riley (David Arquette), the latter of whom she eventually falls in love with and marries, in order to investigate and stop the Ghostface murders.
In the movie-within-a-movie Stab universe, Gale Weathers is originally portrayed by actress Judy Jurgenstern under the stage name Jennifer Jolie (portrayed by Parker Posey in real-life) in the first two Stab films. During the production of the original Stab 3 known as Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro, Jurgenstern is murdered by Roman Bridger (Scott Foley), Sidney (Campbell)'s half-brother. Scream 4 reveals Stab 3 was eventually re-made based on the events of the studio murders, implying Jurgenstern was recast for the third movie-within-a-movie.
- ^ Wes Craven (Director) (1996). Scream (DVD). United States: Dimension Films.
- ^ Wes Craven (Director) (2011). Scream 4 (DVD). United States: Dimension Films.
- ^ Wes Craven (Director) (1997). Scream 2 (DVD). United States: Dimension Films.
- ^ Wes Craven (Director) (2000). Scream 3 (DVD). United States: Dimension Films.
- ^ Reel Views 2: The Ultimate Guide to the Best 1,000 Modern Movies on DVD and Video Archived 2023-11-01 at the Wayback Machine by James Berardinelli, Roger Ebert; Published by Justin, Charles & Co., 2005; ISBN 1-932112-40-5, ISBN 978-1-932112-40-5.
- ^ "Courteney Cox Officially Returning For Scream 6". IGN. March 18, 2022. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
- ^ Colangelo, B. J. (July 18, 2022). "Scream 6 Will See Courteney Cox Break A Cool Horror Movie Record". /Film. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ Franklin, McKinley (2023-05-07). "MTV Movie & TV Awards 2023 Full Winners List: 'The Last of Us,' 'Scream VI' Take Top Honors". Variety. Archived from the original on 2023-05-08. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
- ^ Thomas, Carly (2023-05-08). "Most Memorable MTV Movie & TV Awards Moments: Tom Cruise Acceptance Speech, Drew Barrymore Recorded Segments". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2023-05-08. Retrieved 2023-05-12.