If you’ve ever watched Bad Santa, Friday, or Me, Myself & Irene, you already know Tony Cox. He’s one of those actors who walks into a scene and owns it completely. But behind that career — stretching across decades of film and television — there’s a woman most people have never heard of.
Her name is Otelia Cox. And honestly, that’s the way she prefers it.
Otelia isn’t an actress, a public figure, or someone chasing likes on social media. She’s Tony Cox’s wife — his partner of over 40 years — and she’s built her life entirely outside the glare of Hollywood. That choice, in an industry that rewards constant visibility, says more about her than most bios ever could.
Let’s walk through what we actually know about Otelia Cox, and where the honest answer is simply “we’re not sure,” let’s say that too.
Bio at a Glance
| Detail | What We Know |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Otelia Cox |
| Known For | Wife of actor Tony Cox |
| Birthplace | Uniontown, Alabama, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | African American |
| Marital Status | Married (since 1981) |
| Children | One daughter |
| Religion | Christian |
| Profession | Private individual |
| High School | Robert C. Hatch High School, Alabama |
| Height | Unclear — sources conflict significantly |
| Age | Estimated early 60s (exact birthdate not public) |
| Net Worth | Not independently confirmed; shared lifestyle built on Tony Cox’s career earnings |
Where Otelia Cox Came From
Otelia grew up in Uniontown, Alabama — a small, tight-knit town where community matters and people look out for each other. That kind of upbringing shapes a person. It teaches you to value loyalty, family, and being present for the people who depend on you.
She attended Robert C. Hatch High School in Alabama. That’s also where she first met Tony Cox. Two kids from the same town, long before any of the Hollywood chapters of their story began. No red carpets, no industry connections — just two people figuring out who they were.
Relationships that start that early, before any outside pressure shows up, tend to have a different kind of foundation. And in their case, that foundation held.
Marriage to Tony Cox: What We Actually Know
Here’s where a lot of articles get messy. Depending on which article you read, Otelia and Tony married either in 1981 or 1989. Those are very different timelines. It matters because it changes how you understand their story.
Based on the more consistent accounts — and the fact that Tony himself has spoken about being married young — 1981 is the more widely cited year, which would make theirs a marriage of over 45 years as of 2026. That’s not a typo.
They got married in their early twenties, after meeting as teenagers. What followed was a career in entertainment for Tony and a very deliberate choice of privacy for Otelia. She never tried to ride his success into her own spotlight. She stayed by his side while he worked, traveled, and took on role after role.
In any industry, that kind of steady partnership is rare. In Hollywood, it borders on extraordinary.
Tony Cox: The Career Behind the Name
For anyone coming to this article primarily to learn about Otelia, a quick look at Tony Cox’s career helps put her role in context.
Tony Cox is an American actor with dwarfism who has built a career spanning several decades. He’s perhaps best known for playing Marcus in Bad Santa (2003), but his filmography is broader than most people realize. He appeared in Friday (1995), Me, Myself & Irene (2000), Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), and a range of television projects over the years.
What condition does Tony Cox have? Tony Cox has a form of dwarfism — a medical condition that results in short stature. He stands approximately 3 feet 6 inches tall. He has never shied away from discussing it, and his career has never been defined by it. He’s worked alongside major names in film, holding his own in both comedy and dramatic roles.
Tony Cox’s net worth is most commonly estimated at $2 million to $4 million, earned over a career spanning more than three decades of consistent work in film and television.
What is Tony Cox doing now? His last credited acting work appears to be around 2016. Since then, he’s largely stepped back from public life — much like his wife has always preferred. He and Otelia have settled into a quieter chapter.
Tony Cox’s Children and Family Life
Does Tony Cox have children? Yes — Tony and Otelia have one daughter together. They’ve been careful to keep her life private, and that’s been consistent throughout. No public appearances tied to her, no interviews about what she’s doing or where she lives. It’s a deliberate wall, and they’ve managed to keep it standing.
Tony Cox’s children — it’s just the one. And from everything available, she’s been raised with the same values Otelia grew up with: stay grounded, keep family close, and don’t let outside noise define you.
The Otelia Cox daughter question comes up often in searches, but there’s genuinely very little on the public record about her. Her name isn’t widely confirmed, her age isn’t documented, and she appears to have followed her mother’s lead in staying completely out of view. That’s not a gap in the research — it’s a choice the family made, and it deserves respect.
Otelia Cox’s Height: Let’s Be Honest About This One
This is one of the messiest parts of the public record on Otelia Cox. Different sources give wildly different numbers — one claims she’s 5 feet 4 inches tall, another places her at around 3 feet 8 inches. These aren’t minor discrepancies.
How tall is Otelia Cox? The honest answer is: we don’t know for certain. No verified public record confirms her exact height. Some sources list her as a little person, which would place her closer to Tony’s height. Others describe her as significantly taller. Without a confirmed source, it’s not responsible to present either number as fact.
What’s clear is that Otelia Cox has never made her appearance a public topic, and she shouldn’t have to. Her height doesn’t define her story. Her 40-plus-year marriage does.
Otelia Cox’s Age: Another Area Where Sources Conflict
Similar issues show up around her age. One source places her at just 49 years old, which mathematically doesn’t work if she married Tony in 1981 at a reasonable adult age. Other accounts put her in her early 60s, which aligns much more logically with the known timeline.
Otelia Cox’s age as of 2026 is most likely somewhere in her early 60s, with a birth year probably in the early 1960s. Her exact birthdate has never been made public. She’s never confirmed it herself, and no verified record has surfaced.
Again, the honest version of this article tells you what we know and what we’re estimating. Most articles skip that distinction entirely.
Otelia Cox’s Net Worth: Shared Stability, Not Personal Fame
Otelia Cox’s net worth isn’t something she’s ever disclosed, mainly because she doesn’t have a public career. She hasn’t appeared in films, launched a business, or cultivated any kind of professional public identity. There’s no earnings record attached to her name.
What exists is a shared financial picture tied to Tony Cox’s career. His estimated net worth sits between $2 million and $4 million, built steadily through decades of acting work. Tony Cox’s net worth represents a career earned through consistent effort across films, television, and appearances — not overnight success.
Together, the couple appears to live modestly. No public display of wealth, no visible luxury lifestyle. Their choices reflect the same thing their entire story reflects: stability over spectacle.
One thing worth saying plainly — the indirect financial contribution of a stable home life is real, even when it doesn’t show up in a bank statement. Otelia has provided that. It’s nothing.
Otelia Cox and Little Women: What’s the Connection?
Searches for “Otelia Cox Little Women” do come up online, which can be confusing. To be clear: Otelia Cox has not appeared on the TLC reality series Little Women or any related show. She has no documented appearance in any entertainment project. This search term likely appears because people are trying to understand more about her and Tony as a couple — possibly wondering if she’s appeared on any media alongside him. She hasn’t. Otelia has consistently avoided that kind of exposure.
Is Tony Cox Yoko Ono’s Ex?
Is Tony Cox Yoko Ono’s ex? This is a surprisingly common search, and the short answer is yes — but it’s about a different Tony Cox entirely. Yoko Ono was previously married to a man named Tony Cox (Anthony David Cox), a filmmaker and former art dealer. That Tony Cox is not the same person as actor Tony Cox from Bad Santa and Friday. They share a name, not a history. The actor Tony Cox has been with Otelia since their high school years, and there is no known connection between him and Yoko Ono.
What Privacy Actually Looks Like in Practice
In 2026, choosing to stay out of the public eye takes real effort. Social media makes it easy for anyone to build a following, and celebrity-adjacent people often feel pressure to capitalize on a spouse’s name.
Otelia never took that path. No interviews, no Instagram account, no podcast appearance. She hasn’t used Tony’s name as a platform. That’s not absence — that’s a decision.
There’s something worth pausing on there. When someone connected to Hollywood actively avoids it, it usually means they’ve thought carefully about what they actually want. Otelia seems to have made that calculation early and stuck with it.
Their long marriage — Tony Cox and Otelia Cox’s partnership of 40-plus years — isn’t just a fun fact. It’s the result of two people who figured out what mattered and protected it.
Final Thoughts
Otelia Cox’s story isn’t one built on fame or visibility. It’s built on consistency. Two people from a small Alabama town who met young, married young, and made something lasting out of it — through a Hollywood career, through a private family life, through more than four decades of choosing each other over the noise.
Most of what gets written about her is recycled from the same thin sources, presenting guesses as facts and filling space with vague praise. What she actually represents is quieter and more interesting than that: a person who decided what kind of life she wanted and then lived it, without needing anyone’s approval or attention.
That’s not a small thing. In fact, it’s pretty rare.
FAQs
Who is Otelia Cox, and why is she known?
Otelia Cox is a private individual known primarily as the wife of actor Tony Cox. She’s not a public figure in her own right, and she has never pursued any public career. She’s known simply because of her decades-long marriage to a well-known actor.
How long have Otelia Cox and Tony Cox been married?
They married in 1981, making their marriage over 45 years long as of 2026. They met as teenagers at Robert C. Hatch High School in Alabama.
Do Otelia and Tony Cox have any children?
Yes. Otelia Cox’s children consist of one daughter. They’ve kept nearly everything about her private — her name, age, and current life are not documented publicly.
What is Otelia Cox’s age, height, and net worth?
Her age is estimated to be in her early 60s, though her exact birthdate is not public. Her height is genuinely unclear — sources give conflicting numbers, and no verified record exists. Her net worth isn’t independently confirmed; financially, her life is tied to Tony Cox’s estimated $2–4 million in career earnings.
Does Tony Cox have children?
Yes. Tony Cox and Otelia Cox have one daughter together. He has spoken about valuing family throughout his career, though specific details about his child remain private.
What condition does Tony Cox have?
Tony Cox has dwarfism, which results in a height of approximately 3 feet 6 inches. It’s a condition he’s lived with publicly throughout his acting career without making it the center of his identity.
Is Tony Cox Yoko Ono’s ex?
No, not the actor. Yoko Ono was once married to a different man named Tony Cox, a filmmaker. The two Tony Coxes share only a name. The actor Tony Cox has been with Otelia since their teenage years.
What is Tony Cox doing now?
Tony Cox’s last credited acting work was around 2016. He appears to have stepped away from the industry since then. Based on available information, he and Otelia are living privately, which has always been the approach that suited them both.
How tall is Otelia Cox?
This is genuinely unclear. Conflicting sources list her height anywhere from around 3 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 4 inches. No reliable public record confirms the actual figure. Rather than guess, it’s better to acknowledge the uncertainty.
