Christina Applegate admits SAGs likely to be her ‘last awards show as an actor’ amid MS battle
Christina Applegate has admitted the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards are likely to be her last as an actress because her struggle with multiple sclerosis means she can’t cope with long days on set.
The 51-year-old star was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in August 2021 and she admitted she doesn’t think she’s capable of the long days on set required to play a lead role in a TV show or movie.
Christina said of her SAG nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for her role as Jen Harding in ‘Dead to Me’: “It’s my last awards show as an actor probably, so it’s kind of a big deal. Right now, I couldn’t imagine getting up at 5:00 a.m. and spending 12 to 14 hours on a set; I don’t have that in me at this moment.”
But that doesn’t mean the former ‘Married… With Children’ star – who has 12-year-old daughter Sadie with husband Martyn LeNoble – is leaving the spotlight completely as she’s considering a future in development and production.
And she added to the Los Angeles Times newspaper: “Doing a s*** ton of voice-overs to make some cash to make sure that my daughter’s fed and we’re homed.”
Christina Applegate recently admitted filming the final season of ‘Dead to Me’ was the “hardest thing” she’s ever done because of her health struggles.
She said: “Shooting [Dead to Me] was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.
“I was diagnosed during shooting and I didn’t know what was happening to me. I couldn’t walk. They had to use a wheelchair to get me to set. I was freaking out until someone was like, ‘You need an MRI.’
“Then I found out on a Monday after work that I had MS. A disease that I’m going to have for the rest of my life. And then I started thinking about the last four years and I had very small symptoms.
“We were on set, and I would go, ‘Oh, I think I’m tired.’ So it presented itself a few years ago until it just got as bad as it did.”