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Christina
Applegate was born November 25, 1971, in Los Angeles. The daughter of a
soap star actress, Nancy Priddy, and a record-company executive, Robert
Applegate, Christina had her younger half-sister and half-brother as new
additions to the family, after the divorce of her parents and remarriage
of her father.
She made
her first onscreen appearance at the age of 5, alongside her mother on
Days of Our Lives, since her mother brought her along to work and
auditions.
Christina's life was consumed by acting, and she even quit school at 17 in
order to pursue it full-time. This wasn't a surprise; she had appeared in
more than a dozen roles by the time she was that age.
With
onscreen roles in series such as Father Murphy, Mama's Family, Quincy,
Charles in Charge, Still the Beaver, Silver Spoons, Heart of the City, and
Family Ties, as well as films like Jaws of Satan, Beatlemania, and the
made-for-TV film The Grace Kelly Story, there was no doubt that acting was
her given talent.
In 1987,
Christina found her calling and the role that put her on the map. For 10
years, she portrayed ditzy and promiscuous Kelly Bundy, in the
dysfunctional family sitcom, Married... With Children.
Although
Christina may have fooled millions as the trampy Bundy daughter until
1997, the green-eyed actress far from resembles her character. While
surviving the tribulations of family life on Married... With Children,
Christina was making the rounds on television, appearing in a slew of
television shows, including: 21 Jump Street, Top of the Heap (as Kelly
Bundy, host of Mad TV, and Pauly.
She also
made it to several made-for-TV movies and straight to video movies, such
as Dance 'Til Dawn, Streets and Across the Moon. In 1991, she made her
big-screen debut in Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, a lukewarm
comedy.
After roles
in obscure movies such as Wild Bill and Vibrations, Christina shared the
screen with Jack Nicholson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Glenn Close, and Pierce
Brosnan, in 1996's Mars Attacks!.
Once
Married... With Children saw its last day in 1997, Christina was ready to
jump back in the saddle with a role in the slapstick comedy Mafia!, and
was back on television, as the title character of the NBC sitcom, Jesse,
which debuted in 1998.
Although
Christina took home the People's Choice Award for Favorite Female
Performer in a New TV series, and the TV Guide Award for Star of a New
Series, both in 1999, the critically-acclaimed Jesse didn't last long on
the air. Despite a coveted time slot and some resuscitation, Jesse was
canceled after a 2-year run.
But
Christina will soon prove that she may just be made for the silver screen,
with a starring role in the comedy Just Visiting, and a role in the
upcoming A View From the Top, co-starring Gwnyeth Paltrow, Kelly Preston,
Mike Myers, and Rob Lowe.
She will
also soon be seen in The Sweetest Thing, co-starring Cameron Diaz.
As for her
personal life, Christina was dating Christian Slater, and has allegedly
been actor Johnathon Schaech's honey since 1998. Whoever she's dating, she
goes home to her cats, Natasha and Kanaloa, and her dog, Sybil.
An avid
jazz dancer as well, it's clear that Christina may just be television's
best-kept secret.
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