Christina Applegate made an emotional first public appearance since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2021.
The Dead To Me star accepted her on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, 14 November. Applegate was initially set to receive a star on the Walk of Fame in 2020, but the pandemic delayed the ceremony. One year later, the 40-year-old actor announced her MS diagnosis.
According to Variety, Applegate’s former Married…With Children co-stars Katey Sagal and David Faustino were present at the ceremony, along with her Dead To Me co-star Linda Cardellini and the show’s creator, Liz Feldman.
During the Los Angeles ceremony, Applegate was assisted by Sagal when she took to the podium to give her speech. The Anchorman star thanked her family – husband Martyn LeNoble and their 11-year-old daughter, Sadie Grace LeNoble – who watched as Applegate received her Hollywood star.
“To my family who has spoken here today, you are my everything,” she said, through tears. “I love that I started with you two and end it with you two, and I thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. You are my people. You are my loves.”
The mother of one also gave a special shoutout to her daughter, and praised Sadie Grace for her constant support since her MS diagnosis. “The most important person in this world is my daughter,” Applegate said. “You are so much more than even you know. You are so beautiful and kind and loving and smart and interesting. I’m blessed every day that I get to wake up and take you to school…thank you for standing beside me through all of this.”
Of course, Applegate also took a moment to call her fans in attendance “gorgeous” and added, “Every single one of you. I love you [all] so much.”
Prior to the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, Christina Applegate teased in October that she had a “very important ceremony” coming up, and asked her fans to help choose a walking stick for the occasion.
“I have a very important ceremony coming up,” Applegate tweeted at the time, along with an image of her five “fancy” cane options. “This will be my first time out since diagnosed with MS. Walking sticks are now part of my new normal.”
On 10 August 2021, Applegate revealed she had been diagnosed with the autoimmune disease that summer, tweeting: “Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition.”
In a recent interview with the New York Times, Applegate reflected on the symptoms she wished she’d paid more attention to before her MS diagnosis. The actor recalled how she found herself off balance while filming a dance sequence for season one of Dead To Me. She also found herself struggling to play tennis.
Instead of recognising the instances as signs of possible health issues, Applegate said she only pushed herself harder.
“I wish I had paid attention,” she explained. “But who was I to know?”
Multiple sclerosis is a lifelong condition that can affect the brain and spinal cord, causing a variety of symptoms such as mobility issues, partial or complete loss of vision, or balance issues.
According to the National MS Society, more than 2.3 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with the autoimmune condition, while women are more than two to three times as likely as men to develop the disease.
