Tony Cox’s wife is Otelia Cox. The actor, best remembered as the scheming elf Marcus in Bad Santa, has been married to her for decades. By most accounts they met as teenagers at school in Uniontown, Alabama, years before anyone in Hollywood had heard of him.
Cox was born Joseph Anthony Cox on 31 March 1958 and spent more than thirty years working in film and television. He wore an Ewok costume in Return of the Jedi (1983) and appeared in Beetlejuice, Willow, Spaceballs and Friday. Bad Santa in 2003 finally gave him a part that suited his comic timing, and he played Marcus again in the 2016 sequel.
He is 68 now and has not taken regular screen work since that sequel, though he has talked about a possible return. Otelia has stayed out of the public eye. This article therefore sticks to what is documented about her and says so plainly where sources disagree, particularly over the year they married.
Tony Cox Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
| Full name | Joseph Anthony Cox |
| Date of birth | 31 March 1958 |
| Age | 68 (as of 19 October 2026) |
| Birthplace | New York City, USA (raised in Uniontown, Alabama) |
| Profession | Actor |
| Current role | Retired from regular screen acting since 2016 |
| Education | Robert C. Hatch High School (class of 1976); briefly attended Alabama State University |
| Spouse | Otelia Cox |
| Year of marriage | Usually given as 1981; some listings say 1989 |
| Children | One child (details not public) |
| Siblings | Not publicly documented |
| Height | 3 ft 6 in (107 cm) |
| Known for | Marcus Skidmore in Bad Santa and Bad Santa 2 |
Who Is Tony Cox?
Tony Cox is an American actor who made his name in comedy. He stands 3 ft 6 in tall, and for years the roles offered to little people were mostly costumes, sight gags and punchlines. He took those parts, kept turning up, and waited for a script that gave him something to do.
He is often counted among the most prominent working actors with dwarfism of his generation. His delivery is dry and fast, and it made even small appearances stick in the memory. Most people know him as Marcus, a role that put him in the second-lead seat opposite Billy Bob Thornton.
Early Life and Family Background
Cox was born in New York City to Joe Cox and Henrietta Cox-Penn. His mother was a social worker and stayed in the city for her job, sending money home when she could. Tony grew up in Uniontown, a small town of about 2,000 people in Alabama’s Black Belt, with his grandparents, Lottie Jones Witherspoon and Henry Jones.
He remembers a happy childhood and says he never had trouble with anyone. As a boy he went through several operations meant to lengthen his legs, and he spent much of primary school on crutches. The children on his street made room for him anyway, sometimes hauling him around in a wagon. His cousin, Bettie Jimerson, recalls that he hated being treated differently from other boys.
His grandmother mattered most. On the first day of third grade in 1967 he noticed that all his classmates had shot up over the summer and he had not, and he went home upset. She told him that some people are tall, some are very tall, and the very short ones go on to be famous. He says he stopped worrying about his height from that day. She also bought him his first drum kit, which led to a band called Tony and the Real Thing, and a Ford Galaxie 500 for his sixteenth birthday.
Education and Life Before Fame
Cox graduated from Robert C. Hatch High School in 1976 and enrolled at Alabama State University in Montgomery to study music. He had played drums by ear since he was small, but he could not read music, and his high school’s music programme had folded before he got far into it. Once he saw how far behind he was, he left, after only about three weeks.
Practicalities played a part too. Many campus buildings had no lifts, and his cousin thought a long stay would have been hard on his body. Family friends in California suggested he try acting, and by January 1977 he was in Los Angeles.
Two performers pointed the way. One was Billy Barty, the little-person actor who founded Little People of America. The other was Michael Dunn, best known for The Wild Wild West. Both showed him that a career was possible. It was also at Hatch High School that he met Otelia, who appears in more detail below.
How Tony Cox Started His Career
Work did not come quickly. Cox signed up at the Merrick Studio School of Acting, where he learned improvisation and how to make a script’s lines sound like his own. He has said he never thought of himself as naturally funny, only that he knew how to find the funny in a script.
About a year and a half after arriving he began landing commercials. One, for Burger Chef, put him next to Barty himself, who taught him how to behave as a professional. His first film part was “Bad William” in the 1980 comedy Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype. Early auditions could be bruising, and one casting director told him flatly that costume work was all he would ever get.
Outside the studios, he played for the Hollywood Shorties, a basketball team made up of little people working in the industry, and had a short spell with the L.A. Breakers.
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Tony Cox’s Career: Timeline and Key Roles
A chronological timeline
- 1958: Born in New York City and raised in Uniontown, Alabama.
- 1976–1977: Finishes high school, briefly attends university, then moves to California.
- 1980: Makes his film debut in Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype.
- 1983: Played the Ewok Widdle “Willy” Warrick in Return of the Jedi.
- 1984: Plays Bubba in Faerie Tale Theatre.
- 1987–1988: Appears in Spaceballs, Beetlejuice and Willow.
- 1993–1994: Appears in the sitcom Martin.
- 1995: Plays Mr. Parker on Friday.
- 2000: Plays the limousine driver in Me, Myself & Irene.
- 2003: Plays Marcus in Bad Santa.
- 2006–2008: Appears in the spoof comedies Date Movie, Epic Movie and Disaster Movie.
- 2013: Plays Knuck in Oz the Great and Powerful.
- 2016: Returns as Marcus in Bad Santa 2, then steps away from acting.
The roles in more detail
His work in the 1980s was mostly small parts, but it kept him employed and kept his face in front of casting directors. A New York Times critic picked out his turn in Faerie Tale Theatre as especially entertaining. In Me, Myself & Irene he had a pivotal comic role as a limousine driver who runs off with Jim Carrey’s character’s wife. He also popped up in music videos for Eminem and Snoop Dogg, and in 2Pac’s “California Love”.
After Bad Santa the offers got bigger, though several of them, the spoof films in particular, leaned on broad humour and were often measured against Marcus. Cox says he never felt typecast. Comedy, as he sees it, is simply what he does best.
How Tony Cox Rose to Prominence
The breakthrough took stubbornness. In 2002, nearly every little-person actor in the country wanted to play Marcus. Director Terry Zwigoff remembered Cox from small parts, including Me, Myself & Irene, and was won over when Cox started ad-libbing different versions of the lines in his audition.
The producers needed more convincing, and wanted someone else. Cox auditioned six times. Zwigoff has said he eventually had to threaten to walk away before they let him hire Cox. Mickey Rooney and Peter Dinklage were among the others who read for the part, but it went to Cox.
Bad Santa took more than $76 million worldwide and became a cult Christmas favourite. Cox says it changed everything: after more than twenty years in the business, he was suddenly an overnight success. He also saw Marcus as the real boss of the partnership, even with Thornton as the star, and that confidence comes through on screen.
Major Works, Records and Career Achievements
The two Bad Santa films are his calling card, but his filmography is wide. It runs from Return of the Jedi, Beetlejuice, Willow and Spaceballs through Friday, Me, Myself & Irene and Date Movie to Oz the Great and Powerful. He also lent his voice to Partysaurus Rex and Strange Magic.
His biggest achievement is probably the simplest one: he moved out of costume work and became a second lead in a mainstream comedy. No major industry awards are widely documented for him. What he has instead is Marcus, a character families still put on every Christmas, as Zwigoff has pointed out, and a long career that began with very few options.
Career Turning Points and Professional Relationships
The first turning point was Billy Barty, who inspired Cox to act and then worked alongside him on one of his earliest commercials.
The second was Terry Zwigoff. He fought for Cox on Bad Santa and has kept looking for ways to work with him since, including a television comedy in 2008 that never got made. The pairing with Billy Bob Thornton drove much of the film’s appeal. Asked about his collaborators, Cox singled out Kathy Bates, who played Thornton’s mother in Bad Santa 2.
The third was his health. After the sequel he had hip replacement surgery and found that fewer interesting parts were coming his way. A friend asked why he did not simply retire, and he took the advice. Hollywood, he says, tends to phase out older performers.
Faith runs through all of it. He goes to church in Los Angeles and has worn a wooden cross necklace, made by his cousin, for more than twenty years.
Tony Cox’s Latest News in 2026
There is no verified new film or television role for Cox in 2026. He turned 68 on 31 March, and the coverage around that date, including a Parade feature, looked back over his career rather than announcing anything new.
In a 2023 interview he said he had enjoyed retirement, spending time with his family and driving around Los Angeles at his own pace. He added that fans kept urging him to come back, and that he had started to feel the itch. He mentioned a Mafia comedy screenplay written with friends, an idea for a travel show, and a wish to share a film with another comedian. None of these has been confirmed as going ahead. Zwigoff has said he hopes to find Cox a part in a future series.
Tony Cox’s Net Worth and Earnings
Cox’s net worth is not publicly confirmed. Some websites quote figures of a few million dollars, but the numbers differ from site to site and are not backed by verifiable financial records. Four decades of film and television work have plainly given him a living, but nothing reliable puts a figure on it.
Tony Cox’s Wife Otelia Cox and Children
Tony Cox’s wife is Otelia Cox. Most biographies say he met her at high school in Uniontown, Alabama, and married her when he was 23, which points to 1981. Some film databases, however, list the marriage as starting in 1989, so the year is uncertain. Whichever is right, they have been together for well over three decades.
Otelia has never courted publicity. Her birth date, parents, career and background are not publicly confirmed. A few websites offer a maiden name, but nothing verifies it, and other pages give her entirely different names and professions. Treat those with caution.
What Cox himself has shared is brief and warm. Before the Bad Santa audition in 2002, he and Otelia prayed together that he would get the part. He has also said she is deeply spiritual and does not watch the film, which made it awkward to practise its profane dialogue at home.
Public sources say the couple have one child, whose name and details have not been made public. Cox describes himself as a family man and has talked about enjoying time at home since he stopped working. Beyond that, their private life is theirs.
What Makes Tony Cox Stand Out?
Cox spent about twenty years waiting for the role that defined him, and he did it without losing his humour or his faith. People who know him describe him as kind and down-to-earth. His cousin calls him a country boy from Uniontown who fame never changed.
That sits oddly beside Marcus, who is sharp-tongued and ruthless, and the contrast is a big part of why the character works so well.
Final Thought
Search for Tony Cox’s wife and you find a long, quiet partnership. Otelia has been in his life since their schooldays in Alabama, through the lean years, the Bad Santa breakthrough and into retirement. Some details of the marriage are private and a few are disputed, but the main facts are clear enough. And Cox’s own story, from a small Alabama town to a role people still quote, is worth telling for its own sake.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Tony Cox’s wife?
Tony Cox’s wife is Otelia Cox. She is a private person and has not pursued a public career.
How did Tony Cox meet his wife?
Public biographies say he met Otelia at high school in Uniontown, Alabama. He graduated from Robert C. Hatch High School in 1976.
When did Tony Cox marry Otelia?
Most biographies give 1981, when he was 23, while some listings say 1989. The year is not firmly settled.
Do Tony Cox and Otelia have children?
Public sources report one child. Their name and details have not been made public.
How old is Tony Cox?
He was born on 31 March 1958, so he is 68 as of 19 October 2026.
Where was Tony Cox born?
He was born in New York City and raised in Uniontown, Alabama, by his grandparents.
Is Tony Cox retired?
Yes. He stepped away from acting after Bad Santa 2 in 2016, following hip surgery. In 2023 he said he was thinking about a gradual return, but no new roles have been confirmed.
What is Tony Cox’s net worth?
It is not publicly confirmed. Online estimates vary and are unverified.
What is Tony Cox best known for?
He is best known for playing Marcus Skidmore in Bad Santa (2003) and Bad Santa 2 (2016), as well as roles in Return of the Jedi, Beetlejuice, Willow, Friday and Me, Myself & Irene.