Christina Applegate Says 2023 SAG Awards Likely Her Last as an Actor After MS Diagnosis
Applegate was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in August 2021.
It looks like Christina Applegate will be hanging up her acting cap after the 2023 SAG Awards later this month. In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, Applegate, who has been battling multiple sclerosis since 2021, said she simply doesn't have it in her to deal with the grueling schedule a film or television production requires.
"It’s my last awards show as an actor probably, so it’s kind of a big deal," Applegate tells the outlet. "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."
That doesn't mean she's totally stepping out of the spotlight. As for what's next for the Dead to Me actress, Applegate is considering a future in production and development.
"Doing a s**t ton of voice-overs to make some cash to make sure that my daughter’s fed and we’re homed," she added of her upcoming plans.
Her most recent awards show appearance was at the Critics Choice Awards last month, which marked her first awards show since her diagnosis. Ahead of the show, Applegate shared some of her nerves on Twitter.
"So this Sunday will be the first awards show I have been to since 2019. And the first since MS. NERVOUS! But grateful to the @CriticsChoicefor including me," she wrote at the time.
Applegate was diagnosed with MS in August 2021. In the year since her diagnosis, the actress completed work on Dead to Me and got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame -- which was her first event since being diagnosed.
"Shooting [Dead to Me] was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life," she said in December during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. "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.'"
She added, "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."
The Married With Children alum shared the importance of paying attention to your body, as she revealed that the symptoms were there before she was diagnosed with the illness.
"We were on set, and I would go, 'Oh, I think I'm tired,'" she said. "So it presented itself a few years ago until it just got as bad as it did."
For more on Applegate and her health journey, check out the video below.
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