Jesse's girl !
Oz Cosmopolitan No 326
August 2000
Her boyfriend's hot, she's paranoid about her body and she survived an abusive ex. Meet the grown-up Christina Applegate. By Alana House
Photos taken from the mag
Behind the scenes
Who ? What ? Where ?
Christina Applegate posed for our cover at Hollywood's ivy-covered Spot Studio. Time 1pm. Why ? Christina has been transformed - on TV - from bimbo to super-single mum. Drama #1 Christina had the flu and wished she was home in bed. But, like a pro, she didn't play the drama queen or complain. Drama #2 The lighting equipment didn't show up. The photographer, Steve Shaw, had to make several threatening phone calls to the hire company before it finally appeared, two hours late. Phew. The crisis Fashion editor Ken Thompson asked Christina to wear a strapless Armani bandeau top. She declined, giving the excuse she was having "a fat day". Eeeek ! The remedy After another good look through the wardrobe, she fell in love with all the Australian stuff we took with us, especially the cute Collette Dinnigan beaded tops. So she chose to wear those. Cool. Baited-breath moment When Christina phoned her delicious boyfriend, actor Johnathon Schaech, and suggested he drop by. We loitered, casually, round the studio entrance for the next hour, but he didn't show. Damnit. What we ate For the crew: pesto pasta salad, marinated chicken, caesar salad and steamed asparagus. Delicious. What Christina ate Fresh fruit and tea. Ooh, too much ! On the CD player Fatboy Slim, until Christina's nose screwed up in distaste when he started singing "Fatboy Slim is fucking in heaven" over and over. Oops.
On the cover
The TV goddess with the girl-next-door attitude, Christina Applegate landed her own show, Jesse, at age 26. Not bad, huh ? But if you think the fame has gone to her head, then think again, Christina tells us how it really is...
Q & A with Christina Applegate
Was It hard to go from bimbo Kelly Bundy on Married... with Children, to playing a single mum on Jesse ?
I had no intention of returning to TV, but I loved the idea of playing a young, single mother. My mum raised me on her own and I wanted to show that just because there's no father around doesn't mean the child won't be safe and nurtured.
And what about the wardrobe change ?
The "Kelly" costumes were tiny, tight dresses that showed every bump. Jesse wears comfy stuff, which means I now don't have to work out so much !
Do you still have to keep fit ?
I'm nearly 30, and that means I have to work hard to look good. I exercise five times a week, sometimes with a trainer or Johnathon [Schaech, her boyfriend].
Phew ! What about time to go out ?
I don't have much time to go out. I spend long hours on the set, and have to be in bed by 10pm or I just can"t function.
Photography by Steve Shaw @ aRT miX the agency. DIY Christina's look with these Chanel products: Double Perfection make-up in Lumiere # 51; Glossimer for lips in Pulsar; Precision Lip Definer in Aveline; Eye Colour Collection in Petillants # 98; Precision Brow Definer in Blond # 01; Sculpting Mascara in Nuit Noire # 51; Liquid Eye Lines in Encre Noire # 31; Nail Colour in Pimpant.
Jesse's girl !
Christina Applegate is worried about her nipples. She's so nervous that she's taped Band-Aids over them just to make sure they don't show under the sheer, purple singlet we've asked her to put on for our shoot. When she agreed to pose for Cosmo, flashing wasn't part of the job description. Even when the photographer takes a Polaroid to try to reassure her, it just makes her paranoid about how big her breasts look (not a criticism you often hear from an actress). Finally, Christina decides to change into a pink sequined top. But weeks later, we're still reassuring her manager that nothing will show if we use the sheer shots. "Christina's a very modest person," she hyperventilates.
I wasn't expecting someone who played tarty Kelly Bundy on Married... With Children to be uptight about her breasts. But the no-nipple stance isn't the only surprising thing about Christina. She arrives at the photographic studio clad in head-to-toe black, with bookish glasses and her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. More librarian than TV star. If you saw her in the street, you wouldn't even think about asking her for an autograph. It turns out she has the flu - badly. When she walks, it's with that painful shuffle you get when you're aching all over. I can't imagine how she's going to pose for our cover shoot in a few hours. She should be tucked up in bed, with a bowl of chicken soup and hunky actor-boyfriend Johnathon Schaech by her side, soothing her fevered brow. But instead, she's sitting in a make-up chair, with her hair in rollers, sipping tea and being ultra low-key. Bor-ing. OK, OK, she's sick, but talk about bad luck. I've come 12,OOOkm to get a bit of "colour" on the woman behind the TV persona. She's so wan you'd swear she's had a personality bypass.
So I turn to her PA, Colin, for insights. Colin has been working with Christina for six years, but he still has that "Wow, can you believe how lucky I am ?" aura about him. She's obviously never beaten him about the head with her mobile phone, a la Naomi Campbell. He's a cheery guy in his late 20s, who wouldn't know what Cosmo was if he fell over it ("Is that a European magazine ?" he asks). When I tell him I'm surprised Christina has turned up to the shoot, he laughs. Apparently she always turns up, no matter what. Put it down to her child-actor upbringing - she started out as a baby on Days of Our Lives - but she just doesn't know how to say no.
After 90 minutes in hair, make-up and wardrobe, Christina emerges looking anything but sick. Flawless skin, flowing hair and a subtle smile transform her into star material. She's not exactly moving like a supermodel for the camera, but it's hard to say whether that's because she's not very good at it or because she feels like crap. She manages four outfit changes but, in the end, she's so tired she can barely hold her head up.
So we pull the plug early and send her home to bed. She gives everyone a big hug and a kiss goodbye (eeew, flu germs) and promises to meet for an interview before I head back to Sydney. Fingers crossed.
On the set
Christina's manager calls a few days later to suggest I visit Christina on the set of Jesse. The idea is that I'll disappear into Christina's dressing room at lunch time and we'll bond over my hand-held tape-recorder. The series is taped at the Warner Bros studio, about 15 minutes out of Hollywood. At the gates, security waves my cab through and I'm dropped inside. Strangely, no one asks me who I am or where I'm from - I could be a celeb stalker, for all they know or care.
Luckily for them, I'm just a nervous journalist. I shrug my shoulders and hunt around for Studio 7, where Jesse is taped. Studio 7 turns out to be a nondescript barn of a building in an endless row of identical, nondescript barns. I open the door and find myself right inside Jesse's living room.
Christina is in deep discussion with the director, so I grab a production assistant and introduce myself. He settles me in a chair and lets Christina know I'm there. She gives me a cheerful wave and gets back to business. The cast are working on an episode in which Diego (played by "spunk" Bruno Campos) grows a Tom Selleck-style moustache (to Jesse's horror).
I'm surprised by how fake the set looks. I'd always imagined things would be a bit more, well, special in Hollywood. They're not. The furniture all clashes hideously and everything is painted weird pastel shades. It's also winter in "Jesse land" - there's lots of fake snow everywhere.
The focus of Jesse has also changed for the new season. She's now a nursing student who works part time on campus. A lot of the old cast members have gone and I don't recognise any of the new ones. I don't even realise Bruno Campos is there at first. Then I spot a guy wearing a baseball cap with a "B" on it. Surely not B for Bruno ? Hmmm, it would appear so.
Christina seems the most prepared of the cast. She knows all her lines and tirelessly performs scenes again and again. The only hint of rebellion comes in a scene where she and co-star DarryI Theise have a fight. He's supposed to jam a hat on her head, but it won't fit. Frustrated, he throws it across the set. That's when Christina announces, loudly, a journalist is on set to interview her and get a bit of "background" for the story. His face crumples with horror and I think I'm about to be thrown out. But no, he simply rushes over and apologises. Phew !
The interview bit
Finally, it's time to break for lunch and Christina apologetically tells me we'll have only 30 minutes - they're running behind schedule. We adjourn to her dressing room, which, surprisingly, is tiny with no windows. Not the sort of place you'd want to hang out in. Christina curls up on the lounge and lights a cigarette. Beside her is a framed photograph of her boyfriend, actor Johnathon Schaech. It's one of many in the room, and I get the feeling she's in a much happier place in her life than a few years ago, when she openly admitted to escaping an abusive relationship with an ex-boyfriend (she's refused to name him, but her famous exes include Ashley Hamilton and Madonna's ex, Tony Ward.
I tell her how brave I thought she was to come forward as a domestic violence victim.
What made you tell the media about your experience of abuse ?
"I wanted to show that it could happen to anyone. I felt there was so much emphasis placed on the fact that it only happened to women who were incredibly needy. That's so wrong. It's more about someone being very convincing and stripping away any pride you might have. It can happen to someone who's got "everything". I think a lot of people like me have experienced it, but don't speak out."
So, life's much better now ?
"I have my tough days, and my days when I don't want to get out of bed. But that's normal. The positive things in my life are what do get me up out of bed. For a time, I think people in Hollywood thought they had to be dark and troubled to be interesting. I'm a very spiritual person - I try more to avoid the dark."
Your boyfriend, Johnathon, is working on Jennifer Love Hewitt's show, Time of Your Life. Is it hard to find time to spend together ?
"He works up to 14 hours a day, which makes it hard. Sometimes, we're like ships passing in the night. But we try to make special time together. It's important to make sure we don't put our careers ahead of our relationship. There's so much more to life."
What's your favourite way to spend an evening with each other ?
"We love being at home, watching a movie and ordering takeaway. I'm usually in bed by 10pm. Even on New Year's Eve, I managed to stay up till about 12.30pm - and that was it."
So you're not party animals ?
"We don't go to a lot of parties or premieres. Sometimes, it's fun to get dressed up and go somewhere, to see people you admire, I get a bit star struck at those things. Whenever I've seen Jack Nicholson, I've been floored. I once watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest every day for a week. I just love him."
You strike me as a reserved person, but you have a real gift for physical comedy. Is it hard to let go like that in front of the cameras ?
"It's always been easy for me to make fun of myself. You have to be able to let yourself look silly, and I'm comfortable with that."
You starred as blonde bimbo Kelly Bundy on Married... With Children. Was it weird playing such a sexual character before you'd experienced stuff in real life ?
"Yeah, I think it was. It was weird at times, especially when I didn't have any idea what it all meant. But I learned very quickly."
You've been acting since you were four months old. Can you ever imagine doing anything else ?
"I don't think I could do anything else. Well, I could have been a dancer, but my acting took off before that did, so I just went with it."
Do you still dance now ?
"I go to a class from time to time. It's really hard, though. As you get older, it hurts that little bit more. So I go to the gym instead."
Do you like living in LA ?
"I've always lived here and I like it. People who were born and raised here are different from people who've moved here. People who move here sometimes act in a way they think they're supposed to act. And they're the ones who give the place a bad name."
In three words, you are...
"Shy - no, really. Serious - often too serious. Bold - I know it's an oxymoron, but I know what I want, and I have a dirty mouth."
There's a knock at the door and Christina is called back to the set. So much for my 30 minutes. "Already ?" Christina growls, but she's on her feet anyway. She hasn't even had time to eat, so the caterer brings into the studio a small plate of sliced turkey for her to have. It's not exactly very substantial, but she reassures me she likes food, especially pizza. Poor skinny thing.
The aftermath
A week later, I have the flu. I'm sure Christina gave it to me (well, it sounds glamorous. The big question is - what's Christina really like ? I still have no idea. I think the "real" Christina is something she doesn't show to many people - especially the media. In LA, I heard a journalist describe her and Johnathon as "the most boring couple in Hollywood". But if you're out partying every night, they'd label you "out of control". She seems like a nice, normal girl. And that's about the best you can hope for after 29 years in show business.
These are a few of her favourite things...
On her stereo "I like everything from Red Hot Chili Peppers to Phoebe Snow to Bob Marley. And I love the new Santana CD. My taste is very broad."
On her mind "I've started on Waking Up in Time, by Peter Russell. It's sort of the bridging between quantum physics and spirituality. It's good, but it gets a bit heavy."
On her body "I wore these beaded Dolce & Gabbana pants to the American Music Awards this year. They were amazing."
On her heroes "Meryl Streep has always been my favourite actress. I also think that Sean Penn is a master of his craft."
On fame "I hate that I've had to give up my privacy and safety, but I chose to be a public person and those are the downfalls."
Johnathon on Christina
Christina and actor Johnathon Schaech have been dating for more than a year. That's a lifetime in Hollywood terms. So, who better to ask for the low-down on the Jesse star ?
How did you two first meet ?
"My friend [director] Gregg Araki brought her to see me in a play. Afterwards, he introduced us. Two weeks later, I called Gregg and said, 'I'd really like to call that girl.' And he says, 'Good. She's been waiting for you to call her for two weeks."'
Do you live together ?
"Yeah, but it's like Three's Company. It's Christina, me... and her little sister, Alisa. They're super close - I actually moved in with them."
Are you thinking about marriage ?
"We're not engaged, but we want to live our lives together. There's no rush, though. I gave her a promise ring to make sure she knows we'll always be together."
For much of your career, you've focused on film. What made you decide to co-star with Jennifer Love Hewitt on Time of Your Life ?
"My main reason was my relationship. I wanted to be in Los Angeles for Christina. I knew if I didn't do the show, I'd still be travelling all over the world doing movies."
How do you deal with the fact that she's snogging Bruno Campos on Jesse ?
"Christina and I know that the characters have to kiss. That's just part of the job. And I think he's wonderful... But he's still the guy who kisses my girlfriend."