Christina Applegate

Christina Applegate was married to actor Johnathon Schaech from 2001 to 2007. She married musician Martyn LeNoble in 2013, and they have one daughter, Sadie, who was born in 2011.

In 2008, Applegate was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer after an MRI. She underwent a bilateral mastectomy and later had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed to reduce her risk of ovarian cancer. She has also supported breast cancer education and research through public advocacy and her foundation, Right Action for Women.

Applegate announced her multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2021 while filming the final season of Dead to Me. The production paused for five months, and she completed the series with adjustments to her filming schedule. She later said that she might not work on camera again but remained open to voice work.

Applegate was born in Los Angeles, California, to record producer Robert Applegate and singer-actress Nancy Priddy. Her parents separated shortly after her birth, and her mother took her to auditions and acting jobs. Applegate made her television debut with her mother on Days of Our Lives when she was three months old and appeared in a Playtex baby bottle commercial as an infant.

She appeared in Father Murphy, Charles in Charge, Silver Spoons, Amazing Stories, and Family Ties before winning the role of Robin Kennedy on Heart of the City in 1986. Her early film appearances included Jaws of Satan, Beatlemania, and Mars Attacks!. She also trained in jazz and ballet and had a background in dance.

At age 15, Applegate was cast as Kelly Bundy on Fox's sitcom Married... with Children. She played the daughter of Al Bundy, portrayed by Ed O'Neill, and Peggy Bundy, portrayed by Katey Sagal. The series ran for 11 seasons from 1987 to 1997 and established Applegate as a prominent television actress.

During the show's run, she starred in the black comedy Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead and appeared in Streets, Across the Moon, Wild Bill, and Nowhere. After the sitcom ended, she declined a proposed spinoff centered on Kelly Bundy.

After Married... with Children, Applegate starred in the sitcom Jesse from 1998 to 2000. She played a single mother trying to balance work and family and received her first Golden Globe nomination for the role. Her film work during this period included The Big Hit, Jane Austen's Mafia!, and The Sweetest Thing.

Applegate played Rachel Green's sister Amy on two episodes of Friends in 2002 and 2003. She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her first appearance. She later starred in Samantha Who?, playing a woman with amnesia who attempts to rebuild her life, and received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for the series.

Her film credits included Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Hall Pass, Vacation, Bad Moms, and Crash Pad. She also voiced Brittany in three Alvin and the Chipmunks films and Mary Beth in The Book of Life.

Applegate made her Broadway debut as Charity Hope Valentine in the 2005 revival of Sweet Charity. She received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical and won a Theatre World Award for the performance. During the production, she broke her foot but persuaded producers to continue the show after it was initially expected to close during previews.

From 2011 to 2012, she starred with Will Arnett in the sitcom Up All Night, on which she also served as a producer. In 2019, she began starring with Linda Cardellini in the Netflix dark comedy Dead to Me. Applegate played Jen Harding, a widowed mother who forms a friendship with a woman grieving the death of her fiancé, and she also served as an executive producer.

Applegate received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2022. In 2024, she began the podcast MeSsy with actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, focusing on their friendship and experiences with multiple sclerosis.