Biography of Christina Applegate Character: Kelly Bundy Go on to David Faustino Back to the Bundyology Homepage Back to «Cast»

Last update January 18, 2015.
See Christina in "Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead", in "Jaws of Satan", in "Family Ties", in "21 Jump Street", in "Mafia!" (43 KB), in "Mars Attacks!" (47 KB) and in a 1983 Cat Chow commercial. You can find many articles about and interviews with her at the Stories Section.


General Infos

Stats & Lifestyle
Date and Place of Birth: November 25, 1971, Los Angeles CA
Zodiac: Sagittarius (sun) / Pisces or Aquarius (moon) / unknown ascendant
Education: She went to the private "Excelsior High School" in the LA area, where she had classmates like Milla Jovovich (who plays an exchange student in episode 406). She left after 11th grade.
Hair: Natural Blonde
Eyes: She requires glasses (or contacts).
Height: 5'5" = 165 cm
Bra Size: 34-C
Food: Semi-vegetarian, eating fish
Religion: She's a member of the "Agape Church of Religious Science" - a new-age type community - since 1994.
Tattoos: Christina has a couple of them, e.g. around both of her ankles, "Nini" (her mom's nickname) and "Agape" (Greek for "unconditional love", her church community).

Partners: Angel Broadhurst (1992) [he travelled Europe with her at that time; he also played "Salt Water" in episode 514], Tony Ward (1994), Damian Cross, Louie Sabatasso.
Partners: Christina was married to actor Johnathon Schaech (pronunciation "sheck") from Edgewood, Maryland, born in 1969; he filed for divorce in an LA Superior Court on November 5, 2005; the wedding took place in Palm Springs on October 21, 2001. They had been dating since January 1998. After him, Christina dated Lee Grivas whom she met during her Sweet Charity commitment. On July 1, 2008, aged 26, he was found dead in his appartment in Hollywood. He probably died of a drug overdose. On February 23, 2013, she married Dutch bassist Martyn LeNoble, founding member of Porno for Pyros. Both visited his family in Eibergen near Enschede, 3km away from the German border. On January 27, 2011, Christina gave birth to their first child, daughter Sadie Grace.

Family
Her mother Nancy Priddy is an actress and singer. She grew up in Indiana. Christina has a close relationship to her. One of Mrs. Priddy's boyfriends was Stephen Stills from Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. In 1979 and 1996, she survived cancer by operations and therapy. She played in Jaws of Satan (1981) [Elizabeth Perry, Kim's mother], The Aliens Are Coming (1980) (TV-Movie), Rodeo Girl (1980) [Gail] and Married... with Children (episode 409) [Mrs. Whiteman]. She was also Joan Corey in the Quincy episode "A Question of Death" (1977), Clarisse in the Matlock episode "The Network" (1987), the stewardess #1 in the Bewitched episode "The Salem Saga" (1970) and played a recurring character in the soap opera "Days of Our Lives" in 1972. Christina's father Robert Applegate was a record company executive. He divorced from his wife shortly after Christina's birth in early 1972 and got married again. With his new wife he also lives in California and has a daughter and a son, so Christina has a half-sister and a half-brother (Alisa & Kyle). She has intense contact to her father and siblings.

Address
She grew up and lives in Laurel Canyon, Hollywood, Los Angeles.

   

Manager: Tami Lynn; address as autograph request address. Like Christina, Tami is also a co-producer of Christina's 1998-2000 TV series "Jesse".
Autograph Requests (maybe a dead address): Tami Lynn Management, 20411 Chapter Drive, Woodland Hills, CA 91364; keep in mind that you can never be sure about the authenticity of autographs you get by mail.


Career

Pre-MwC Career
She was born into a show business family. Her mother started taking her to sets a couple of weeks after her birth. At an age of three months, she appeared as a male baby in her mother's arms on the soap opera "Days of Our Lives" in 1972. At that time she also appeared in a Playtex Nurser commercial with her mother. 3 years old, she became Kmart's "Miss Good Proof" in radio commercials for four years. Her mother bought a house to invest her salaries. Her first movie appearance was in the 1981 movie "Jaws of Satan" (aka King Cobra) which was filmed in summer 1979. In this movie, her film mother and her real mother were identical again. She got some regular and some guest parts in various TV series until she was chosen for the cast of Married... with Children in 1987. At that time she was 130 lbs (59 kg).

The MwC Years
The "Kelly Bundy" part made her famous in many countries. An accomplished dancer, Christina has studied numerous varieties of jazz dance and, when not working, dances and works out (especially on stationary bikes) between 15 and 20 hours per week, practizing her talent and staying in shape. In Married... With Children she shows this talent only in "Can't Dance, Don't Ask Me" (313). As a late teenager she suffered from her Kelly image. At that time she enjoyed LA's nightlife for hip young stars and saw River Phoenix die in front of the Viper room (owned by Johnny Depp) on October 31, 1993. But she was always able to control her life and her career, even after the cancellation of "Married... with Children". In 1995 Christina did dye her hair red and cut it very short. The producers were not happy and most of season 10 she was wearing a wig. However, beginning with ep. 1025 until the end of season 11, what you see is her real hair. Kelly's shocking clothes in the early seasons were allegedly from "Retail Slut" at 7308 (formerly 7264) Melrose Avenue, Hollywood.

Pussycat Dolls
During her MwC years in 1993, Christina Applegate and her friend Robin Antin started a burlesque dance group. Their first public apprearance was in 1995. They were residents at Johnny Depp's Viper Room in Los Angeles from 1995 until 2001. Their usual lead was Carmen Electra. Christina Aguilera also took part in many shows. Getting more popular, the Pussycat Dolls were recast into a pop band with Nicole Scherzinger as their new lead.

Jesse
Christina Applegate is the only principal actress from Married... with Children who could continue her successful career since the cancellation of the show. She used to play the lead role in the comedy series Jesse. Two seasons aired on NBC from fall 1998 to spring 2000. The series' average audience was bigger than Married... with Children's. At the 1999 People's Choice Awards, the series was picked as Favorite New Television Comedy Series and Christina was honored as Favorite Female Performer in a New Television Series.

Appreciation & Broadway
In 2003, Christina won an Emmy for her guest role in the TV series Friends as Rachel's sister Amy. In 2005, Christina was playing very successfully the principal part in the second Broadway remake of Sweet Charity, a 1966 Bob Fosse musical about a simple-minded prostitute with a heart of gold. For her role as Charity Hope Valentine she was nominated for a Tony award. Before the musical came to Broadway (i.e. to a major New York City theatre), the show was performed in Minneapolis (February 8-20), Chicago (Cadillac Palace Theatre February 24 - March 13) and Boston (Colonial Theatre March 18-24). During the March 11th performance in Chicago Christina broke her fifth metatarsal foot bone stepping off a lamppost. Therefore she had to be replaced by Charlotte d'Amboise for a couple of shows in Chicago and Boston before the producers decided to cancel the entire Broadway engagement. But after a few days the show reopened and Christina re-joined it on April 18th. It opened on May 4th at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. The Broadway opening party at Guastavino's on May 4th included guests like Gwyneth Paltrow, the Trumps and Alec Baldwin. The final performance took place on December 31st after 279 Broadway shows and 25 previews. Check out my article about visiting the show.

Samantha Who?
From 2007 to 2009, Christina got her second comedy show after Jesse: In Samantha Who? she played Samantha Newly, a real estate executive suffering from amnesia. The ABC show was cancelled after two seasons in summer 2009. It is on the air throughout the world. Season one is out on DVD. Christina was nominated for an "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series" Emmy in 2008 and 2009 for her portrayal of Samantha.

Today
After two seasons as the lead in a TV comedy called Up All Night 2011-2012, she seems to focus on her 2011-born daughter and her marriage with bassist Martyn LeNoble, appearing in one film and one TV episode per year.

Awards
25th People's Choice Award (1999) - "Favorite Female Performer in a New Television Series" (Jesse)
56th Golden Globe Awards (1999) - Nominated for "Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series - Comedy/Musical" (Jesse)
1st Annual TV Guide Awards (1999) - "Favorite Star of a New Series" (Jesse)
Movieline 2002 Young Hollywood Awards (2002) - Special award for her breast cancer and PETA work
55th Emmy Awards (2003) - "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series" (as "Amy" on "Friends")
59th Tony Awards (2005) - Nominated for "Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical" (Sweet Charity)
65th Golden Globe Awards (2008) - Nominated for "Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series - Comedy or Musical" (Samantha Who?)
People Magazine Most Beautiful (2009) - Appeared on the April 29th cover



Selected Press Articles:
People Magazine May 1999: 50 most beautiful list.
Playboy June 1999: "20 questions".
Cosmopolitan August 2000: "How I Escaped the Ex from Hell", including cover picture.
Cosmopolitan December 2003: "Christina Applegate - Even More Reasons to Love Her", including cover picture.

Today
In 2008, Christina overcame breast cancer - like her mother a couple of years before. She recovered from it after two mastectomies and started a foundation called Right Action for Women, helping women to pay for breast screenings.


You can find many sites dedicated to Christina on my Bundy link page.

Deutsche Titel der folgenden Liste (German titles of the following list).


Motion Pictures

Jaws of Satan (aka King Cobra) (1981)	[Kim Perry] with her mother
Beatlemania (1981)	unknown
Streets (1990)	[Dawn, a drug using prostitute]
Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991) aka Real World	Lead [Sue Ellen (Swell) Crandell]
Across The Moon (1994) (aka Tehachipi)	[Kathy]
Wild Bill (1995)	[Lurline] with Jeff Bridges, Ellen Barkin
Vibrations (1995) (aka Cyberstorm)	[Anamika] video only
Mars Attacks! (1996)	[Sharona (Billy Glenn Norris' girl) with Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close]
Nowhere (1997)	[Dingbat]
The Big Hit (1998)	[Pam(ela) Schulman]
Claudine's Return (aka Kiss of Fire) (1998)	Lead [Claudine van Doozen]
Mafia! (aka Jane Austen's Mafia) (1998)	[Diane Steen]
Out in Fifty (1999)	[Leila] with lead Bojesse Christopher who played Kel's date Rick in episode 418
The Giving Tree (1999) (aka Brutal Truth aka Shaded Places)	Emilie
Just Visiting (2001)	[Julia Malfete / Princess Rosalind]
The Sweetest Thing (2001)	[Courtney Rockliffe] with Cameron Diaz
A View from the Top (2002)	[Christine Montgomery], with Gwyneth Paltrow and Regis Philbin
Grand Theft Parsons (2003)	[Barbara Mansfield] with Johnny Knoxville
Wonderland (2003)	[Susan Launius]
Surviving Christmas (2004)	[Alicia Valco] with Ben Affleck
Employee of the Month (2004)	[Sarah]
Anchor Man: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)	[Veronica Corningstone]
Tilt-A-Whirl (2005)	[Customer #1]
Farce of the Penguins (2007)	[Melissa (voice)]
The Rocker (2008)	[Kim Powell]
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009)	[Brittany (voice)]
Going the Distance (2010)	[Corrine] with Drew Barrymore
Hall Pass (2011)	[Grace] with Owen Wilson

Television

The Grace Kelly Story (1983)	[Grace as a child]
Dance 'Til Dawn (1988)	[Patrice Johnson]
Prince Charming (2002)	[Kate Russell]
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas (2005)	[Dr. Suzanne Bedford]

Christina also hosted Saturday Night Live on May 8, 1993, on NBC and Mad TV on September 21, 1996, on Fox. She played in sketches in both shows. In 1998, she made an anti-drug TV spot for NBC, saying: "You can do drugs or you can do school. But you can't do both. Choose school." She also co-hosted the First Annual TV Guide Awards on February 1, 1999.

Other TV shows:
Win, Lose or Draw (game show)
Totally Hidden Video (1989) as a presenter
The MTV Awards (1989)
The Arsenio Hall Show (June, 1989)
41st Annual Emmy Awards (1989)
Rate the '80s Awards (1989)
The Pat Sajak Show (September, 1989)
MTV's 1989 Video Music Awards (1990)
4th Annual American Comedy Awards (1990)
Time Warner Earth Day Special (1990)
The Byron Allen Show (April, 1990)
43rd Annual Emmy Awards (1991)
Inside Movies (1991)
Entertainment Tonight (1991)
49th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1992)
Late Night with David Letterman (September 6, 1992)
Hollywood Insider (1992)
The Whoopi Goldberg Show (September 25, 1992) where she was the only guest
Later with Greg Kinnear (September 27, 1994) where she was the only guest again
Hollywood Insider (1995)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (April 29, 1996) in a sketch
Keenen Ivory Wayans (March 4, 1998)
Late Night with Conan O'Brien (April 7/8, 1998)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (April 21, 1998)
Behind the Scenes (April 25, 1998)
The Howie Mandel Show (July 24, 1998)
50th Emmy Awards (September 13, 1998)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (September 21, 1998)
The Today Show (October 27, 1998)
Late Night with Conan O'Brien (October 27/28, 1998)
The Rosie O'Donnell Show (October 28, 1998)
56th Golden Globe Awards Announcement Ceremony
25th People's Choice Award (1999)
56th Golden Globe Awards (1999)
1st Annual TV Guide Awards (1999)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (March 23, 1999)
Late Night with Conan O'Brien (October 1/2, 1999)
E! On Air (November 28, 1999)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (December 1, 1999)
The View (February 1, 2000)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (February 18, 2000)
Live! with Regis & Kathie Lee (March 30, 2000)
Later with Cynthia Garret (2000)
Revealed with Jules Asner (2001)
29th American Music Awards (January 9, 2002)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (April 5, 2002)
The Today Show (April 9, 2002)
Live with Regis and Kelly (April 10, 2002)
Late Night with Conan O'Brien (April 11/12, 2002)
The Rosie O'Donnell Show (April 12, 2002)
Behind The Scenes - The Sweetest Thing (E!) (April 13, 2002)
Last Call with Carson Daly (April 18, 2002)
E! Revealed with Jules Asner (May 1, 2002)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (October 3, 2002)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (March 14, 2003)
The Sharon Osbourne Show (October 1, 2003)
The Ellen DeGeneres Show (October 28, 2003)
Late Show with David Letterman (July 2, 2004)
Late Night with Conan O'Brien (July 7, 2004)
The Daily Show (July 8, 2004)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (July 23, 2004)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (October 21, 2004)
Late Show with David Letterman (May 6, 2005)
The View (May 30, 2005)
2005 Tony Awards (June 5, 2005), presenting the award for best choreography
Late Night with Conan O'Brien (June 10, 2005)
Last Call with Carson Daly (July 21, 2005)
Late Night with Conan O'Brien (September 6, 2005)
Ellen (February 22, 2006)
Ellen (November 19, 2007)
Late Show with David Letterman (August 21, 2009)
Ellen (September 24, 2009)
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (December 21, 2009)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (February 28, 2011)

You can also see her in the music videos of the song Rattlesnake Kisses by the Electric Angels and of the song A Public Affair by Jessica Simpson. Of course she's also featured in the MwC specials.



Television Series

Days Of Our Lives (1972)	[Burt Grizzell, a male baby] carried by her mother 3 months old
Father Murphy: A Horse from Heaven (1982)	Guest Appearance [Ada, an orphan]
Mama's Family (1983)	Guest Appearance [unknown]
Charles in Charge: The Slumber Party (1984)	Guest Appearance [Stacy, a slumber party guest]
Charles in Charge: Snowed in (1985)	Guest Appearance [Stacy, "The Circle of Friendship" member]
Washingtoon (1985)	Regular Series Cast [Daughter of a congressman]
Silver Spoons: Family Affair (1986)	Guest Appearance [Ricky's date]
Amazing Stories: Welcome to My Nightmare (1986)	Guest Appearance [Holly]
All is Forgiven: Mother's Day (1986)	Guest Appearance [Simone]
Still the Beaver: Farewell to Freddie (1986)	Guest Appearance [unknown]
Heart of the City (1986-87)	Regular Series Cast [Robin Kennedy]
Family Ties: Band on the Run (1987)	Guest Appearance [Kitten, the keyboard player in Jennifer's band]
Married... with Children (1987-97)	Regular Series Cast [Kelly Bundy]
21 Jump Street: I'm Okay You Need Work (1988)	Guest Appearance [Tina, a former drug addict]
The Pat Sajak Show (1989)	Guest Appearance
Top of the Heap: Behind the Eight Ball (1991)	Guest Appearance [Kelly Bundy] with Pamela Anderson
Top of the Heap: The Last Temptation of Charlie (1991)	Guest Appearance [Kelly Bundy]
Pauly: Through the Ringers (1997)	Guest Appearance [Mariah / Diesel Donut] (directed by Amanda Bearse)
Jesse (1998-2000) (working title All My Life)	Lead [Jesse Warner]
Friends: The One With Rachel's Other Sister (2002)	Guest Appearance [Amy]
Punk'd (March 17, 2003)	Guest Appearance [herself]
Friends: The One With Rachel's Sister Babysits (2003)	Guest Appearance [Amy]
King of the Hill: My Hair Lady (2004)	Guest Voice [herself?]
Father of the Pride: One Man's Meat Is Another Man's Girlfriend (2004)	Guest Voice [Candy]
Getaway: Found (2004)	Guest Appearance [herself]
Samantha Who? (2007-2009)	Lead [Samantha "Sam" Newly]
Up All Night (2011-)	Lead [Reagan Brinkley]

Sometimes (e.g. in the Internet Movie Database) you can read that she was in the "Family Ties" episode "Jennifer Singing Career", but there is no episode with this title. She's also not in the Quincy episode "Suffer the Little Children" (1983). The soap opera "Days of Our Lives", where Christina had her first appearance as a baby, is still on the air 5 times a week - after over 9200 episodes since 1965!


Stage

The Third Day (co-starring Gena Rowlands and directed by John Cassavetes)
The Axeman's Jazz
Nobody Leaves Empty Handed
The Runthrough
The Grass Harp
Sweet Charity (main character Charity Hope Valentine, Broadway 2005, Tony nomination)

On September 18, Christina was also the host of the 2005 Broadway on Broadway show on Times Square. She and the rest of the Sweet Charity cast took also part in the 2005 Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.


Producer

Jesse (TV series, 1998, co-producer)



Thanks a lot to Gert Walliser, Mark Blumler, Kerstin "Tini" Laging, Jeffery J. Leader, "Wordsmith", "Ade Bundy", "Marriedaniac" and Craig Johnson.


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