Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an Emmy Award-winning American actress, known for playing Kelly Bundy on the long-running FOX Broadcasting Company sitcom Married… with Children.
She has since established a film and television career, with major roles in several pictures, such as Farce of the Penguins, Anchorman, and The Sweetest Thing. Not a stranger to the stage, Applegate has starred in numerous productions including the 2005 Broadway revival of the musical Sweet Charity. She currently plays the lead character, Samantha Newly, in the ABC sitcom Samantha Who?.
Applegate was born in Hollywood, California. Her father, Robert W. Applegate, was a record producer and record company executive, and her mother, Nancy Lee Priddy, was a singer and an actress. Her parents split up shortly after her birth. She has two half-siblings (Alisa and Kyle) from her father's remarriage.
In October 2001, Applegate married longtime boyfriend Johnathon Schaech, in a small mixed-religion Palm Springs ceremony attended by family and close friends. Schaech filed for divorce in November 2005, citing irreconcilable differences; Applegate and Schaech's final divorce papers were entered August 10 2007 in Los Angeles Superior Court. Her close friends include Lance Bass. On July 1, 2008, her close friend and ex-boyfriend Lee Grivas was found dead of an apparent drug overdose.
On August 3, 2008, People Magazine reported that Applegate had been diagnosed with breast cancer. This was confirmed by her representative, who said in a statement: "Christina Applegate was diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer. Benefiting from early detection through a doctor ordered MRI, the cancer is not life threatening... Christina is following the recommended treatment of her doctors and will have a full recovery. No further statement will be issued at this time".
On August 19, 2008. It was announced that Applegate is cancer free after a double mastectomy, even though cancer was found in only one breast. She has an inherited genetic fault, a BRCA1 mutation, which very often causes breast cancer in those with said fault. Her mother, Nancy Priddy, is a breast cancer survivor. Applegate said when she first was diagnosed "I was just shaking and — and then also immediately, I had to go into ... 'take-care-of-business-mode'" which included a change to a more healthy diet. Applegate appeared on a television special entitled Stand Up to Cancer designed to raise funds for breast cancer research. The one hour special was broadcast on CBS, NBC, and ABC television networks on September 5. Applegate, who was given the all clear following the operation, is now scheduled to undergo reconstructive surgery over the next eight months. A spokesperson for Applegate states she will be "on a normal shooting schedule", (for Samantha Who?) adding that the procedure "is not affecting production". She had already completed filming five episodes for the upcoming season of her hit comedy show before stopping for a summer break at the end of June. An ABC spokesperson confirms: "They’re on a scheduled hiatus and she’ll be back next month. It’s business as usual".
