Christina Applegate received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, marking her first appearance in public after her MS diagnosis in 2021, via People Magazine.
The actress, 50, attended the ceremony in Hollywood on November, 14, 2022, along with former costars from the Fox sitcom series Married with Children by her side, including Katey Sagal and David Faustino, Applegate was also joined by Selma Blair, her costar in the 2002 film The Sweetest Thing, as well as her Dead to Me costar, Linda Cardellini.
Beginning her speech by joking that Sagal, 68, who stood behind her to provide physical and moral support, was there to "steal the thunder.”
“I've had a really interesting life, but the life started as a little girl waiting in line to see the first Star Wars on this very street at that very theatre. And looking at these things [stars on the street] and going, 'Who are these people? What are these things? Did they do something right? Did they do something wrong? Whatever it is, I want one. I f------ want one,’” she said. “And I was five years old, so this day means more to me than you can possibly imagine.”
Applegate shared that she couldn’t “stand for too long,” but she was “going to thank the people I really need to thank.”
“First of all, [thank you] to my family, who have spoken here today,” she said, referring to Sagal, Faustino, 48, Cardellini, 47, and Dead to Me creator Liz Feldman.
Calling Sagal and Faustino “my people” and “my loves,” Applegate told the duo, “You are my everything. I love that I started with you two and ended with you two.”
Applegate also jokingly added while appreciating her team for the past two decades, “My mom used to say changing agents is like changing deck chairs on the Titanic. I've stuck with mine, so I guess we're going down all together.”
“I don't say that I have friends, I have family. These people take care of me. They take care of me every day of my life, and without them, I don't know what I would do,” she expressed.
Applegate later became visibly more emotional while thanking her daughter, Sadie Grace LeNoble, 11, whom she shares with husband Martyn LeNoble.
“And lastly, the most important person in this world is my daughter,” she said.
“You are so much more than even you know. You are so beautiful and kind and loving and smart and interesting, and I am blessed every day that I get to wake up and take you to your school. You are my everything. Thank you for standing beside me through all of this.”
According to People Magazine, Applegate 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.
She was diagnosed with MS while filming the third season of her Netflix dramedy Dead to Me in 2021.