On November 14, Christina Applegate achieved her childhood dream of earning the star she always "effing wanted" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Earlier this month, Applegate opened up about her MS diagnosis, revealing that her Netflix series Dead to Me production shut down for five months. Upon its return, Applegate needed a wheelchair on the set and sometimes needed to be propped up to finish shooting scenes.
The Walk of Fame ceremony marked Applegate's first public appearance since her diagnosis. Applegate's Married...with Children TV mom Katey Sagal helped physically support her during her speech. Applegate attended the event barefoot for comfort and with designer walking stick in hand.
She began her speech:
"I can't stand for too long, so I'm going to thank the people I really need to thank."
Applegate also joked that Sagal was "just gonna be here," and laughed that it was "so Katey to steal [my] thunder."
She continued to thank her 11-year-old daughter Sadie, who she referred to as "the most important person in the world" and husband Martyn Noble.
She said:
"Thank you for standing beside me during all this."
Applegate then joked to the audience:
"Oh, by the way, I have a disease. Did you notice?"
"I'm not even wearing shoes."
"Anyhoo, you're supposed to laugh at this."
Applegate, who suggested that moving forward she's going to focus on her health instead of acting, turned to her fellow Married... with Children stars Sagal and David Faustino who played her brother Bud.
"I like that I started with you two..."
And to Dead to Me co-star Linda Cardellini and showrunner Liz Feldman she said:
"...and ended with you two. And I thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. You are my people."
You can watch part of her speech below.
Sagal also took the podium to share her thoughts on Applegate's journey:
"You know, sweetheart, some of us come into this life requiring broad shoulders because what's coming at us needs support to bear it. Broad enough to hold what shows up."
"I've seen you - the highs, the love and enormous success, coupled with extreme challenges."
"But you came in with those shoulders, and you bear the weight and you bend and you don't break."
"I continue to love you, laugh with you and to learn from you...You are not alone."
"We're all here. We love you."
Applegate later posted an image of her star (and her bare feet) to Twitter with the caption:
"Barefoot. For some with MS the feeling of shoes may hurt or make us feel off balance."
"So today I was me. Barefoot."
Fans on Twitter excitedly congratulated Applegate on her star and also thanked her for her bravery and for sharing her story.
Even fellow walk-of-famer Mark Hamill got in on the action.
Applegate told Variety of her new star:
"This is something that is going to be there forever."
"And it's something my daughter can go see when I'm gone."
The final season of Dead to Me airs Friday on Netflix.
