5+ Facts About Christina Applegate Who Courageously Battles Multiple Sclerosis

Christina Applegate is an actress most of us are familiar with from some of her most iconic TV and movie roles. However, it’s not only her acting that people have been talking about in the last few years. She’s been through a lot of medical issues and for the past couple years she’s been battling with multiple sclerosis. It’s important to know who Christina is and how her life has been.

Christina Applegate never envisioned a career in comedy.

Even though we primarily know Applegate as a comedic actress, she actually never thought comedy was going to be her jam. As she described herself as a teenager, she said she was “a dark kid” until she landed the role of Kelly Bundy in Married... with Children. The series helped her unleash her comedic talents and allowed her to lighten up a bit.

She has 6 tattoos.

All of Applegate’s tattoos hold a special meaning to her. One of them is her mother’s name, another one is a vein that represents her closest friend, and she also has a secret one that she doesn’t want to talk about. But all of them have one main role, to keep her grounded.

Applegate is a breast cancer survivor.

In April 2008, at age 36, Applegate was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully, doctors discovered it in the early stage because, as a daughter of a breast cancer survivor, she was getting regular mammograms. When she found out about her diagnosis, she reached out to friends and family, including Melissa Etheridge, who is also a breast cancer survivor.

After her lumpectomy, 6 weeks of radiation, and a positive BRCA gene test, Applegate decided to undergo a double mastectomy, so she wouldn’t have to go through surgeries again and do checkups for the rest of her life.

She became a first-time mom after her double mastectomy.

Becoming a mom helped Applegate heal in so many ways. Thanks to her daughter, she was able to open up her soul, and she made her life so much better. Everything in her life was revolving around the cancer diagnosis for so long that this change of scenery helped her find joy again.

She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. Scientists still don’t know the exact cause of it; roughly 2.5 million people suffer from it in the world. MS is rarely fatal, but it leads to a disability that progresses over the years. The average life expectancy for people with MS is 5 to 10 years lower than average.

Christina Applegate went public with her diagnosis through a tweet, writing, “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. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going.”

The entire production of the TV show she was working on at that time was stopped for 5 months when the diagnosis came to light so Applegate could begin treatment. She shared, “There was the sense of, ’Well, let’s get her some medicine so she can get better.’ And there is no better. But it was good for me. I needed to process the loss of my life, my loss of that part of me. So I needed that time.”

The Dead to Me actress had recently revealed that the SAG Awards would most likely be her last, because she is still continuing to cope with the effects of her illness.

“It’s my last award show as an actor probably, so it’s kind of a big deal,” Applegate explained. “Right now, I couldn’t imagine getting up at 5 a.m. and spending 12 to 14 hours on a set; I don’t have that in me at this moment.”