Tragic Details About Christina Applegate's Diagnoses
Christina Applegate has had a long and respected career. Sadly, it's been repeatedly slowed by medical issues, which she has opened up about in the past few years.
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00:00Christina Applegate has had a long and respected career. Sadly,
00:04it's been repeatedly slowed by medical issues, which she has opened up about in the past few
00:10years. Applegate began film acting professionally when she was 9 years old. She's been a popular
00:16star of TV and movies ever since she broke into the mainstream as teenager Kelly Bundy in the
00:22Fox sitcom Married... with Children at just 15 years old. For 11 hugely popular seasons,
00:29she portrayed the character along with Ed O'Neill and Katie Seagal, who played her
00:33dysfunctional parents. Applegate's innate comedic talents meant that she was soon
00:38recruited to star in Hollywood movies, laying the foundation for a career that has lasted more than
00:43three decades. Since her breakout part, she has taken on roles in some of the most memorable
00:49comedies of the 21st century, including Anchorman and Dead to Me, and shown her diverse abilities
00:55in other genres. Unfortunately, fans of Applegate will probably have to get used to seeing less of
01:00her on screen, as numerous health issues have reduced her ability to make public appearances
01:06or commit to a rigorous shooting schedule. The first major health scare in Applegate's life
01:11came in 2008, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 36.
01:17At the time, the actor was starring in the sitcom Samantha Who and was in high demand.
01:22She decided to keep her condition a secret until after her treatment,
01:26which included a double mastectomy to stop the cancer from returning.
01:30Applegate later admitted that she regretted not being open about her illness. In an appearance
01:35on the Armchair Expert podcast, she described an interview with Robin Roberts shortly after
01:41her diagnosis, where she refrained from telling the truth about her experience.
01:46The pain of keeping her feelings secret even brought her to tears.
01:50Everything I was saying was a freaking lie. It was me trying to convince myself of something,
01:55and I think that did no service to anyone."
01:57Applegate has since complained of the treatment she received at the hands of her employers at
02:02the time. In an interview with Vanity Fair, she said after returning to work on Samantha Who,
02:07following her mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, the network executives at ABC were,
02:13quote, "...not very sympathetic or empathetic human beings."
02:16She also said she regrets not respecting her own boundaries more in terms of the speed with
02:22which she returned to work. In the aftermath of her breast cancer treatment, Applegate revealed
02:27that she has also had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as precautionary measures to prevent
02:33other cancers. Sadly, Applegate's health troubles were far from over. In 2021, the actor revealed
02:39that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, or MS, a disease of the central
02:45nervous system. She announced on X, formerly known as Twitter,
02:49"'Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. It's been a strange journey. But I have
02:55been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It's been a tough road. But
03:01as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some a*****e blocks it."
03:05In an ABC News interview the same year, she explained that she had begun to develop
03:10troubling symptoms while working on the set of Dead to Me.
03:13My symptoms had started in the early part of 2021,
03:17and it was like literally just tingling on my toes."
03:19By the end of the shoot, her condition had worsened to the point she had to be brought
03:23to set in a wheelchair. However, she also described the great support she received
03:28from friends and colleagues, particularly actor Selma Blair, who also has MS,
03:33and convinced Applegate to get tested. Applegate believes she may have had
03:38MS for years without knowing before her eventual diagnosis in 2021.
03:43Since first going public with the news, she has kept her fans updated on the state of her health.
03:48She's made it clear that living with MS is far from easy,
03:52and that her condition has caused her a great deal of suffering.
03:55On the Armchair Expert podcast, Applegate revealed that her brain is covered in 30 lesions,
04:02including one behind her right eye, which causes her a lot of pain. She added that the condition
04:07affects the use of her hands, and that she often feels on the edge of a brain seizure.
04:12In an interview with Good Morning America, she admitted she's in pain every day and spends much
04:18of her time isolating, but she continues to work hard to live with her diagnosis.
04:23"'I might get to a place where I will function a little bit better.'"
04:27Applegate's openness about the way multiple sclerosis affects her daily life has led to
04:32fans growing increasingly worried about her. In June 2024, she revealed on her podcast Messy
04:39that she was depressed.
04:40"'Real depression, where it's kind of scaring me, too, a little bit, because it's,
04:45it feels really fatalistic.'"
04:47She also admitted that she does not enjoy living as a result of MS, which raised alarm among
04:53listeners, and led to several sensationalized articles being published online about her mental
04:58condition.
04:59"'It's important to be able to say these things, and, um, no, I'm not sitting here on suicide
05:05watch, okay?''
05:06Applegate has also been open about the fact that her acting career may have to come to
05:11a permanent end, with the demands of shooting schedules too much for her, as she learns
05:16to manage the disease. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available.
05:23Call or text 988 or chat 988Lifeline.org.