‘Dead To Me’ Star Christina Applegate Gained 40 Pounds In Struggle With Multiple Sclerosis

Christina Applegate is coming to terms with a loss of mobility and significant weight gain after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis during the filming of Dead to Me.

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and central nervous system and can often cause muscle weakness, numbness and cognitive decline.

The actress, 50, began to notice symptoms over the last few years, beginning with numbness and tingling in her extremities and loss of balance.

“I wish I had paid attention,” she said in an interview with the New York Times. 

In 2021, Applegate got the official diagnosis. Since then, she said she’s gained 40 pounds and has trouble walking without a cane.

The MS symptoms have made filming the final season of the Netflix original Dead to Me increasingly difficult. 

Applegate had trouble filming establishing shots of her entering a room, and other actors had to open doors for her. The star often used a wheelchair on set or had to call out of work due to her illness. She shared that sometimes a sound technician would even have to hold up her legs during certain scenes.

The actress worried that the changes to her appearance and mobility would distract audience members when the show aired.

“If all they can concentrate on is, ‘Ooh, look at the cripple,’ that’s not up to me,” she said. “Hopefully people can get past it and just enjoy the ride and say goodbye to these two girls.”

In its third and final season, Jen, played by Applegate, and Judy, played by Linda Cardellini, face the repercussions of accidentally commiting a murder at the end of season two. The show’s creator, Liz Feldman told The Hollywood Reporter that she always wanted the show to be “a relatively short-running one.” 

“Sometimes I think I’m making a mistake, letting go of this incredible alchemy we have with Christina and Linda,” Feldman said. “But it just feels right to me that this is how we should close out the story.”

Applegate commented on the bond between her and her co-star. She said Cardellini was her advocate through difficult moments when filming the final season. 

“She was my champion, my warrior, my voice,” Applegate said. “It was like having a mama bear.”