BRAVE STAR
Anchorman’s Christina Applegate reveals shock health diagnosis saying she has dozens of lesions on her brain
At the Emmys Christina fought back tears after the response from the celebrity audience
ACTRESS Christina Applegate has shared a devastating health update amid her ongoing battle with multiple sclerosis.
The 52-year-old star, who famously played newsreader Veronica Conrningstone opposite Will Ferrell in the 2004 comedy Anchorman, was first diagnosed with the debilitating autoimmune condition in 2021.
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Now, in a candid interview with Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Christina has opened up about the extent of her suffering.
She explained: "I have 30 lesions on my brain, sores. My biggest one is behind my right eye, so my right eye hurts a lot."
While her vision isn't impaired, it is impacting on her movement and giving her some unpleasant feelings.
She told how her "hand starts to go weird and then I’ll get a seizure-y feeling in my brain, but not all the time."
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The scary thing about MS, there is no endgame
Christina Applegate
Medical advancements are helping to prolong the life of MS sufferers, but Christina said there are no guarantees.
She said: "It doesn’t mean I’ll be around in 10 years. I don’t know. That’s the scary thing about MS, there is no endgame.
"I hate it so much. I’m so mad about it, you can’t overcome it. You can’t exercise. The second my feet hit my carpet in the morning and they’re hurting as bad as mine do every day, you go f**k it and go back to bed.
"I’m being the worst MSer. We should be stretching, we should be trying to walk for five minutes. So I beat myself up about that."
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MS is an autoimmune condition. This means that the body's immune system (designed to fight any infection or foreign body in your system) mistakes an area of the body for a threat and attacks it.
In the case of MS, the most common areas for the immune system to fight are the myelin sheaths (layers that cover and protect your nerves while also helping them transmit signals around the body) in the brain and/or spinal cord.
Christina Applegate fights back tears and jokes ‘you’re totally shaming me’ with Emmys standing ovation over MS battle
This can slow down the nerve signals, jumble them up or stop them completely, leading to a loss of control over certain functions in the body.
Awards show tears
In January she received a standing ovation during her surprise appearance at the Emmys.
Christina presented the Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series award.
She was escorted onstage by host Anthony Anderson as she leaned on a walking stick.
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Christina appeared to make light of the situation.
"Thank you so much. Oh my God, you're totally shaming me with disability by standing up. It's fine," she joked while looking at the crowd.
"Body not by Ozempic. Okay, let's go. Some of you may know me as Kelly Bundy from Married, With Children or Samantha from Samantha Who? or Jen Harding from Dead To Me.
"Very few of you probably know me from that debut - I'm going to cry, more than I've been crying. Baby Burt Grizzell on Days of Our Lives. It was my breakout role.
"And for all these years, it's... look at that, been an honour to play funny, flawed, complex characters like the women nominated for supporting actress in a comedy series."
Christina looked visibly emotional as she looked out over the crowd, who all stood up to cheer her on.
Before battling MS, Christina beat breast cancer in 2008 after having a double mastectomy, and her ovaries and fallopian tubes were also removed.
Before starring in Netflix's Dead To Me, Christina was known for her role on Married…with Children, Jesse, Friends, Samantha Who?
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She was nominated for a Tony Award in 2005 for Sweet Charity.
Christina is also known for roles on the silver screen in The Sweetest Thing, Hall Pass, and Bad Moms.
Common symptoms of MS
- Fatigue
- Vision problems
- Numbness and tingling
- Muscle spasms, stiffness and weakness
- Mobility problems
- Pain
- Problems with thinking, learning and planning
- Depression and anxiety
- Sexual problems
- Bladder problems
- Bowel problems
- Speech and swallowing difficulties
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