Christina Applegate, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in August 2021, is opening up about how the disease may impact the future of her acting career.
The Bad Moms star, 50, was diagnosed with MS while filming the third season of her Netflix dramedy Dead to Me. In a recent interview with Variety, the beloved actress revealed that filming the final season was "as hard as you would possibly think it would be."
"It's about finding what I'm capable of doing," the actress said of her acting future. "I'm so new in this right now. It takes time to kind of figure out this disease, and figure out what's bringing on symptoms. I'm just a newbie to all of this. So I'm trying to figure it out — and I'm also in mourning for the person who I was. I have to find a place that's as loving as my set was, where they won't think I'm a diva by saying, 'Hey, I can only work five hours.'"
Applegate, who will be receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Nov. 14, explained that she's seeking "a place that will allow me to do that if I'm not the star," and that starring in something might be off the table in the future. "There's no way I could do the work that I just came off again. I mean, it was so hard."
Her focus at the moment is on her family, specifically her 11-year-old daughter Sadie Grace LeNoble, who she shares with husband Martyn LeNoble. "I love being here for her 100% all the time — to take her to school, to pick her up from school, to be here for her homework, to make her dinner, to be here when she needs me," she added. "That's kind of what I missed out on for a while. And she's very happy to have me here."
While Applegate is now "tired all the time," she admitted that she's "getting stronger," having come off six straight days of a Peloton workout at the time of her latest interview. As long as she gets bored with being inside, she said there's a chance fans can see her name on screen in more ways than one.
"I'm pretty convinced that this was it, you know? But who knows — I'm probably gonna get real bored of being in my room. I'd like to develop stuff, I'd like to produce stuff," she said. "I've got a lot of ideas in my mind, and I just need to get them executed."
EXCLUSIVE: Christina Applegate to be honored with star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on November 14th
— Variety (@Variety) November 2, 2022
(via @wofstargirl @walkoffamestar) pic.twitter.com/QEtqERvHI6
The Married with Children alum has faced health concerns in the past, including a breast cancer diagnosis in 2008 followed by a double mastectomy, getting her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed in 2017, having surgery-induced menopause in 2018, and experiencing struggles with insomnia.
Applegate previously told the New York Times that the new season of the Netflix show will mark the "first time anyone's going to see me the way I am," after she gained 40 pounds and now has to walk with a cane. However, the show's cast and crew adapted to the changes, oftentimes altering scenes. Her co-star, Linda Cardellini, was especially a "mama bear" for her, Applegate said. But she's unsure whether fans will accept her in the new "role."
"If people hate it, if people love it, if all they can concentrate on is, 'Ooh, look at the cripple,' that's not up to me," she said. "I'm sure that people are going to be, like, 'I can't get past it.' Fine, don't get past it, then. But hopefully, people can get past it and just enjoy the ride and say goodbye to these two girls."
Season 3 of Dead to Me premieres on Netflix Nov. 17.
