Christina Applegate’s breakout performance as teen airhead Kelly Bundy on Fox’s famous comedy Married… with Children paved the way for leading positions on Jesse, Samantha Who?, Up All Night, and Dead to Me. She was 15 years old at the time. Applegate has had success on the big screen, appearing in comedies such as Anchorman and the reboot of Vacation. She has utilized her celebrity to raise awareness about breast cancer and multiple sclerosis through her public fights with the illnesses.
Early Years
Christina Applegate, born on November 25, 1971, in Los Angeles, made her TV debut at the age of three months on the daytime serial opera Days of Our Lives. Applegate made her first appearance in the arms of her mother, actor Nancy Priddy. Priddy raised Christina on her own after splitting from Applegate’s father, record executive Bobby Applegate.
TV Shows and Movies
Married… With Children
At the age of 15, Applegate scored her breakout role as teen airhead Kelly Bundy on Fox’s iconic comedy Married… with Children. She had previously been in Kmart commercials, movies, and TV shows. On the program, she portrayed the daughter of unpleasant father Al (Ed O’Neill) and pushy Peggy (Katey Sagal), as well as Bud’s older sister.
The sitcom was a big smash, running for an amazing 11 seasons. During this time, Applegate worked on various films, including the 1991 comedy, Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.
The Big Hit and Jesse
Applegate performed in various comedy films in the late 1990s, attempting to separate herself from the Kelly Bundy identity. In 1998, she portrayed the fiancée of a crime scion in the Mafia parody Mafia! alongside Lloyd Bridges and Jay Mohr. She also acted opposite Mark Wahlberg in the Hong Kong-tinged action-comedy The Big Hit.
In 1998, Applegate returned to series television. Applegate portrayed a single mom juggling job and family in the sitcom Jesse, drawing inspiration from her own childhood experience with her mother. Although the show had numerous highlights (including a People’s Choice Award in 1999), it was cancelled after two seasons.
The Sweetest Thing and Anchorman
In the 2004 comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Christina Applegate starred as news anchor Veronica Corningstone opposite Will Ferrell.
In 2001, Applegate starred in the commercially unsuccessful and critically panned time-travel comedy Just Visiting. She was then given the opportunity to demonstrate that she could hold her own against some of her more respected cinematic contemporaries. In 2002, Applegate was praised for her role as Cameron Diaz’s best friend in The Sweetest Thing. In 2003, she co-starred with Gwyneth Paltrow in the comedy A View From the Top. In Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, she paired well with Will Ferrell.
Up All Night, Vacation, and Dead to Me
In 2007, Applegate returned to television with the sitcom Samantha Who?, which had considerable popularity before being canceled after only two seasons. She co-starred with Will Arnett as parents dealing with a baby on Up All Night, which aired for two seasons.
Applegate’s filmography includes roles in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013), Vacation (2015), and Bad Moms (2016). She has contributed her voice to animated films such as the Alvin and the Chipmunks series and The Book of Life (2014). In April 2019, Applegate co-starred alongside Linda Cardellini in the dark comedy Dead to Me, which earned her an Emmy nomination.
Breast Cancer and MS Diagnosis
Applegate’s first severe health setback came in 2008. She had a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with an early stage of breast cancer. After the treatment, she seemed upbeat. Applegate dedicated her time to fighting breast cancer by speaking out about the condition and donating funds for research. She became a well-known advocate for breast cancer awareness, with survivors Sheryl Crow and Suzanne Somers.
In October 2017, Applegate disclosed that she had undergone another surgery, this time removing her fallopian tubes and ovaries, to significantly lower her cancer risk.
In August 2021, while filming the last season of Dead to Me, Applegate was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The disease affects the central nervous system by interrupting messages to and from the brain. This results in unanticipated symptoms such as discomfort, exhaustion, numbness, memory difficulties, blindness, and paralysis.
In a May 2023 interview with Vanity Fair, Applegate claimed she was “probably not going to work on-camera again” due to her illness and difficulty walking independently. “This is a progressive disease. I don’t know if I’m going to get worse. I can do voiceover stuff because I have to support my family and keep my brain working,” she explained.
Despite her minimal public appearances, Applegate attended the Primetime Emmy Awards in January 2024. She earned a standing ovation and presented the first award of the presentation while accompanied by host Anthony Anderson with a walking cane. Applegate even laughed about her illness. “You’re totally shaming me with disability by standing up, it’s fine, OK,” she quipped.
Husbands and Daughter
Applegate married her long-time partner, actor Jonathan Schaech, in October 2001. However, the union did not endure, and they filed for divorce in November 2005.
Around this time, Applegate met Lee Grivas, a fisherman and budding photographer. The couple met through a colleague on the Broadway production Sweet Charity. However, their relationship was strained due to Applegate’s disapproval of his drug use.
Grivas died from an alleged drug overdose in 2008. Applegate was “profoundly saddened” by Grivas’ passing and stated that he was “missed beyond words.”
In 2011, Applegate gave birth to her daughter Sadie Grace with musician Martyn LeNoble. They later married in 2013.