Christina Applegate

Christina Applegate is an American actress born on November 25, 1971, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Her father, Robert William Applegate, was a staff producer at Dot Records, and her mother, Nancy Priddy, is a singer and actress. Her parents separated shortly after her birth, and she was raised by her mother. She has two half-siblings, Alisa and Kyle, from her father's second marriage. She was named after the Andrew Wyeth painting Christina's World, a work her mother also referenced in a song on her album You've Come This Way Before. As a child, Applegate trained in multiple dance styles, including jazz and ballet.

Applegate's career began remarkably early. At three months old she appeared in a commercial for Playtex baby bottles, and in 1972 she made her television debut alongside her mother in the soap opera Days of Our Lives. Her film debut came in the 1981 horror film Jaws of Satan, and that same year she appeared in Beatlemania. She portrayed a young Grace Kelly in the 1983 television biopic Grace Kelly and joined the cast of Showtime's political comedy Washingtoon in 1985, playing a congressman's daughter. Guest appearances followed on Father Murphy, Charles in Charge, and Silver Spoons, and in 1986 she won the recurring role of Robin Kennedy, a policeman's daughter, in the police drama Heart of the City, earning a Young Artist Award for the performance.

Her breakthrough came in 1987 when she was cast as Kelly Bundy, the ditzy, sexually promiscuous daughter of the Bundy family, on Fox's first sitcom Married... with Children. The role kept her employed through 1997 and established her as a recognizable television presence. During that period she also appeared in the television film Dance 'til Dawn in 1988, the film Streets in 1990, and guest-starred on 21 Jump Street in 1988. She hosted Saturday Night Live in 1993 and MADtv in 1996. Her first starring role in a mainstream film came in the 1991 black comedy Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, in which she played Sue Ellen Crandell, a rebellious teenager forced to care for her siblings after their babysitter dies. Additional film credits from this era include Vibrations, Across the Moon, and Wild Bill, all from 1995, Tim Burton's Mars Attacks! in 1996, and Gregg Araki's Nowhere in 1997. When Married... with Children was cancelled in 1997, producers proposed a spinoff centered on Kelly Bundy, which Applegate declined.

Applegate was also one of the founding members of The Pussycat Dolls, which debuted at Johnny Depp's Viper Room on the Sunset Strip in 1995. She served as emcee for the group when they moved to The Roxy Theatre in 2002.

Her film work expanded considerably in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 1998 she appeared in the action-comedy The Big Hit and the Mafia satire Jane Austen's Mafia, and starred as Claudine Van Doozen in the independent feature Claudine's Return. Her titular role in the sitcom Jesse, which ran from 1998 to 2000, earned her a first nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy. She played dual roles in the time-travel comedy Just Visiting in 2001 and appeared in The Sweetest Thing in 2002 as Cameron Diaz's best friend, Courtney Rockcliffe. Further film appearances included View from the Top, Wonderland, and the Gram Parsons biopic Grand Theft Parsons, all in 2003, followed by Surviving Christmas and Employee of the Month in 2004.

A significant television achievement came through her recurring guest role on NBC's Friends. Applegate appeared in the ninth and tenth seasons, in 2002 and 2003 respectively, playing Amy Green, the sister of Rachel Green, across episodes titled "The One with Rachel's Other Sister" and "The One Where Rachel's Sister Babysits." She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in the first of those episodes. In 2004, she received wide recognition for portraying anchorwoman Veronica Corningstone in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy alongside an alternate version of the film, Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie.

Applegate has also worked extensively in stage productions, including The Axeman's Jazz, Nobody Leaves Empty Handed, The Runthrough, and John Cassavetes' The Third Day, in which she co-starred with Gena Rowlands. Her Broadway debut came in 2004 when she took on the title role of Charity Hope Valentine in a revival of the 1966 musical Sweet Charity. During the run she broke her foot, and it was announced that the production would close during previews. Applegate persuaded the producers to reverse that decision and continued performing in special shoes to prevent further injury. The production ran until December 31, 2005. In April 2005, she participated in the annual Broadway Cares Easter Bonnet Competition, where she was sawed in half as part of a magic illusion. For her work in Sweet Charity, Applegate received the Theatre World Award in 2005 and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical the same year. In a 2013 interview she reflected that the foot injury left her unable to perform in strenuous dance roles, though she continues to dance when opportunities allow.

From 2007 to 2009, Applegate starred in the ABC comedy Samantha Who?, playing a 30-year-old who develops amnesia following a hit-and-run accident and must rediscover her life and relationships. The series co-starred Jean Smart, Jennifer Esposito, and Melissa McCarthy, and Applegate served as a producer on the project. She received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for the role. She subsequently starred in the sitcom Up All Night from 2011 to 2012 and appeared in films including Hall Pass in 2011, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues in 2013, Vacation in 2015, Bad Moms in 2016, and Crash Pad in 2017. From 2019 to 2022, she starred in the dark tragicomedy series Dead to Me, for which she received additional Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, and on which she also served as a producer.

In 2021, Applegate was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She subsequently announced that she would step away from on-screen work but would continue to pursue voice acting.