US actress Christina Applegate has completed what may be her final walk down a red carpet at the SAG Awards in Los Angeles. The 51-year-old had previously announced that she would have to largely withdraw from the film business for health reasons. Applegate, who was nominated for her starring role in the Netflix series Dead to Me, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis while filming the show’s third season in 2021.
“It’s probably going to be my last awards show as an actress, so it’s a big thing for me,” Applegate told the Los Angeles Times ahead of the event. Due to her illness, she currently cannot imagine getting up at 5 a.m. and spending 12 to 14 hours on set. “I can’t afford that at the moment,” she told the newspaper.
Instead, she is now looking for jobs as a producer and especially as a voice actress “to make money so that my daughter has something to eat and we have a roof over our heads”. Applegate, who has been acting since she was a child, rose to fame as Kelly “Dumper” Bundy on the US sitcom Awfully Nice Family in the late 1980s. In 2008, the Emmy Award winner made headlines for her health when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Her 12-year-old daughter Sadie accompanied the actress to the awards ceremony. Applegate was clearly affected by the illness: she walked with the help of a walking stick, and according to her own statements, she has gained around 18 kilograms due to the lack of exercise and the medication.
Applegate, who was nominated for the third time for her role in “Dead to Me,” missed out on the award for best series actress in the comedy category. The awards are presented by the acting guild SAG-AFTRA for film and television actors.
The industry event was dominated by the sci-fi tragicomedy Everything Everywhere All at Once. Michelle Yeoh scooped the Best Female Lead award for her performance in the quirky fantasy film about a Chinese-American woman’s adventures in parallel universes. Brendan Fraser won best actor for his role in The Whale.
The annual ceremony is considered to be one of those shows that most reliably shows who has the best chance of winning an Oscar. Actresses and actors make up the largest proportion among the members of the film academy, which decides on the Oscars. Therefore, their selection has a great influence. Last year, the actresses and actors who won in the four film categories for leading and supporting actor also received the Oscar.
