Christina Applegate has been a television and film mainstay for more than five decades. Her acting career began when she was just three months old, appearing alongside her mother, actress Nancy Priddy, as baby Burt Grizzell on the daytime soap Days of Our Lives in 1972. Most actors spend years trying to get their first screen credit; Applegate managed it before she could even crawl.
Fifteen years later, Applegate landed the role that made her a household name as the lovable, fashion-obsessed, and hilariously dim Kelly Bundy on the hit sitcom Married… with Children. Premiering in 1987, the series ran for 11 seasons and cemented her status as one of television’s brightest comedy stars, even if Kelly herself wasn’t exactly known for her brilliance.
Applegate hit another career high in the 2000s with a string of successful films, including The Sweetest Thing (2002), View from the Top (2003), and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004). She also earned acclaim for her Emmy Award-winning guest role as Amy Green, Jennifer Aniston’s sister, on Friends. In 2007, she took center stage as the title character in the ABC comedy Samantha Who?, which ran for two seasons.
She later reprised her role in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013), made a cameo as herself in the Funny or Die short Deadline: The Nikki Finke Story (2013), and voiced Brittany in the Alvin and the Chipmunks film franchise. Additional highlights included Bad Moms (2016) and her critically acclaimed performance opposite Linda Cardellini in Netflix’s Dead to Me, which earned her multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
Take a look back at Christina Applegate’s career in film and television.
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HEART OF THE CITY – 1986
Image Credit: Everett Collection Robert Desiderio, Christina Applegate, and Jonathan Ward
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FAMILY TIES – 1987
Image Credit: NBCU Photo Bank L-R: Tina Yothers as Jennifer Keaton, Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton, Rain Phoenix as Ashley Berkhart, Christina Applegate as Kitten
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MARRIED WITH CHILDREN – 1987-1997
Image Credit: Everett Clockwise from bottom right: Buck the Dog, Ed O’Neill, Katey Sagal, David Faustino, Christina Applegate
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DANCE ‘TIL DAWN – 1988
Image Credit: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images L-R: Matthew Perry as Roger, Christina Applegate as Patrice Johnson
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STREETS – 1990
Image Credit: Everett Collection Christina Applegate
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DON’T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER’S DEAD – 1991
Image Credit: Everett Collection RL-R: obert Hy Gorman, Christopher Pettiet, Christina Applegate, Keith Coogan, and Danielle Harris
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ACROSS THE MOON – 1995
Image Credit: Everett Collection Christina Applegate and Elizabeth Pena
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WILD BILL – 1995
Image Credit: Everett Collection Christina Applegate and David Arquette
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MARS ATTACKS! – 1996
Image Credit: Warner Bros. O-Lan Jones, Joe Don Baker, and Christina Applegate
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THE BIG HIT – 1998
Image Credit: Everett Collection Mark Wahlberg and Christina Applegate,
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JANE AUSTEN’S MAFIA – 1998
Image Credit: Everett Collection Christina Applegate and Jay Mohr
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JESSE – 1998 – 2000
Image Credit: Everett Collection John Lehr, Jennifer Milmore, George Dzundza, Christina Applegate, Eric Lloyd, and Bruno Campos
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JUST VISITING – 2001
Image Credit: Everett Collection Christina Applegate, Christian Clavier and Jean Reno, 2001
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PRINCE CHARMING – 2001
Image Credit: Everett Collection Sean Maguire, Martin Short and Christina Applegate
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THE SWEETEST THING – 2002
Image Credit: Everett Collection Cameron Diaz, Selma Blair and Christina Applegate
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VIEW FROM THE TOP – 2003
Image Credit: Everett Collection Gwyneth Paltrow and Christina Applegate
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FRIENDS – 2002-2003
Image Credit: Everett Collection Jennifer Aniston and Christina Applegate, ‘The One With Rachel’s Other Sister’, (Season 9, epis. #908, aired 11-21-2002)
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GRAND THEFT PARSONS – 2003
Image Credit: Everett Collection Christina Applegate
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EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH – 2004
Image Credit: Everett Collection Matt Dillon and Christina Applegate
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ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY – 2004
Image Credit: Everett Collection Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell and Will Ferrell
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SURVIVING CHRISTMAS – 2004
Image Credit: Everett Collection Ben Affleck and Christina Applegate
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THE ROCKER – 2008
Image Credit: Everett Collection Christina Applegate and Rainn Wilson
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SAMANTHA WHO? (aka SAM I AM) – 2007-2009
Image Credit: Everett Collection Melissa McCarthy, Christina Applegate, Jennifer Esposito, Tim Russ, Jean Smart and Kevin Dunn
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GOING THE DISTANCE – 2010
Image Credit: Everett Collection Christina Applegate and Drew Barrymore
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HALL PASS – 2011
Image Credit: Everett Collection Owen Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Jason Sudeikis and Christina Applegate
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UP ALL NIGHT, (2011-2012)
Image Credit: Everett Collection hristina Applegate, Maya Rudolph, Megan Mullally, ‘Hey Jealousy’, (Season 1, ep. 123, aired April 5, 2012)
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ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES – 2013
Image Credit: Everett Collection Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate
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DEADLINE: THE NIKKI FINKE STORY – 2013
Image Credit: Everett Collection Christina Applegate
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VACATION – 2015
Image Credit: Everett Collection Christina Applegate, Ed Helms, Skyler Gisondo, Steele Stebbins, Chevy Chase, and Beverly D’Angelo
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THE GRINDER – 2015
Image Credit: Everett Collection Christina Applegate, Steve Little, Rob Lowe, Fred Savage, ‘A Bittersweet Grind (Une Mouture Amer)’, (Season 1, ep. 105, aired Nov. 3, 2015)
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ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP – 2015
Image Credit: Everett Collection The Chipettes: Jeanette (voice: Anna Faris), Brittany (voice: Christina Applegate), Eleanor (voice: Kaley Cuoco)
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YOUTH IN OREGON – 2016
Image Credit: Everett Collection Christina Applegate
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BAD MOMS – 2016
Image Credit: Everett Collection Mila Kunis and Christina Applegate
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CRASH PAD -2017
Image Credit: Everett Collection Christina Applegate
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DEAD TO ME – 2019-2022
Image Credit: Everett Collection Linda Cardellini and Christina Applegate
