Christina Applegate’s Walk of Fame ceremony marks triumphant return after MS diagnosis
Christina Applegate now has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And it’s been a long time coming for the “Dead to Me” actor.
“Life started as being a little girl waiting in line to see the first ‘Star Wars’ on this very street, at that very theater [Grauman’s Chinese Theatre], looking at these [stars],” she said on Monday. “‘Who are these people? What did they do? Did they do something right? Did they do something wrong? Whatever it is, I want one.’”
Decades after making her television debut in “Days of Our Lives” in the ‘70s, then winning over audiences as Kelly Bundy on “Married... With Children” in the ‘80s, Applegate said Monday’s star ceremony “means more to me than you could possibly imagine.”
Presented by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the event for the “Up All Night” actor was supposed to happen two years ago. But like everything else in 2020, her Walk of Fame celebration was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, Applegate has gone public with major changes in her personal life.
In August 2021, the Emmy-winning actor, 50, announced she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, saying in a tweet that she faces “a tough road.” Applegate has kept a low profile since then, but in October she tweeted that she had a “very important ceremony coming up.”
“This will be my first time out since diagnosed with MS. Walking sticks are now part of my new normal,” she said, sharing a photo of several canes. “Stay tuned to see which ones make the cut for a week of stuff.”
Emmy-winning actor Christina Applegate announced Monday on social media that she has multiple sclerosis, describing her diagnosis as ‘a strange journey.’
On Monday, the Emmy winner accessorized her black pantsuit ensemble with a clear and black crystal walking stick. In her first “new normal” appearance, Applegate found support in her “Married... With Children” mother Katey Sagal, who held onto her as she addressed scores of loyal viewers and Hollywood passersby. Shoeless.
“Oh, by the way, I have a disease. Did you not notice?” Applegate cheekily reminded the audience gathered around her star at 7007 Hollywood Blvd. “I’m not even wearing shoes. Anywho, you’re supposed to laugh at that.”
At security guards’ behest, curious spectators — including Mickey Mouse and Wonder Woman impersonators — crammed into the entrance of the La La Land souvenir shop to catch a glimpse of the television star. Pedestrians jaywalked across Hollywood Boulevard, and tour buses crept to a slow roll to do the same.
Monday’s event marked not just one reunion for Applegate, but two. Helping celebrate her Hollywood landmark were her “Married... With Children” co-stars Sagal and David Faustino and her “Dead to Me” collaborators Linda Cardellini and Liz Feldman.
Her “Married... With Children” colleagues kicked off the tributes.
“Christina and I are truly like brother and sister even to this day,” said Faustino, who played Applegate’s on-screen sibling, Bud Bundy, in the ‘80s sitcom. “I learned so much from my cast mates ... however, Christina’s fearlessness was a huge part of that learning curve.”
Christina Applegate is a working mom, and she plays one on TV too
Faustino remembered the trips he took with the “Samantha Who?” star and spoke about how she “introduced me to my spiritual community, which helped me go from negative to positive and helped me transform my life.”
“Rebel” star Sagal lauded her former co-star — “you are so effing famous” — for her strength, courage and perseverance.
“I’ve seen you the high highs of love and enormous success, coupled with extreme challenges, but you came in with those shoulders and you bear the weight and you bend and you don’t break,” Sagal said.
Christina Applegate didn’t realize how big Netflix’s ‘Dead to Me’ was catching on. It wouldn’t have without co-star Linda Cardellini, she says.
Next up was the “Dead to Me” crew.
To Feldman, Applegate is a fierce mother, both on- and off-screen.
“A lioness for her crew, her fellow actors and for her showrunner. A den mother to us all — someone willing to draw from her enormous strength to put the work in but always looking out for everyone involved,” she said. “What more could you want.”
Days before the final season of “Dead to Me” drops on Netflix on Thursday, Cardellini channeled Judy and Jen’s ride-or-die spirit in her tribute to the Tony nominee.
“If you are lucky enough to have her in your life, you know that you’re supported to no end. And that she will anything in her power for you,” Cardellini said.
Also in the audience were actors Selma Blair and Amanda Bearse, the latter of whom was another of Applegate’s former “Married ... With Children” co-stars. They sat alongside Applegate’s team and loved ones in a closed-off portion of the sidewalk.
Among Applegate’s fans who attended the ceremony, Alex Dwyer arrived wearing a “Married …With Children” shirt. The Studio City resident joined fellow “Dead to Me” devotees Kirsten Straccamoro and Kallie Larsen to celebrate Applegate’s big moment.
“I can’t not go. It’s like not going to my son’s baseball game,” Straccamoro, who was visiting from New Hampshire, told The Times Monday.
The trio were already familiar with Applegate’s roles in the movies “The Sweetest Thing” and “Anchorman” and the sitcom “Friends,” but said they were most struck by the actor’s performance on “Dead to Me.”
“She’s crying one minute and being so funny the next. She just has, I think, the best comedic timing in the industry,” Dwyer said. “I think she’s the funniest person.”
The Applegate fans said that they are “really proud” of the actor for her Hollywood landmark, especially considering her diagnosis.
“I’m also disabled and have a difficult time getting out and doing things sometimes,” said Larsen. “And also my mom was just diagnosed with ALS, which is also a motor neuron [disease] ... It’s just nice to see her accepting this incredible honor for something so historic.
“It’s always going to be on the Walk of Fame, everyone will walk by and see it, people will spill their coffee on it, but it’s there and she’s cemented literally as a part of that history.”
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