Everything Christina Applegate Has Said About Her MS Battle

Christina Applegate isn’t afraid to be frank about multiple sclerosis.

Since receiving her diagnosis in 2021, the Dead to Me star has been candid about her struggles with the disease—which is caused when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the central nervous system.

Though the neurodegenerative illness has left Christina with multiple brain lesions, chronic pain, a double kidney infection and mobility issues, the 53-year-old refuses to let it get her down, approaching the topic of her health with humor and honesty.

“I make these jokes because if I don’t, I’ll suffocate. I’ll be done,” she explained on a March 2024 episode of Armchair Expert. “I’m not ready for the healing yet. I will get there.”

For now, though, she’s getting through it with a bit of dark humor. 

“For people who have a disease like this, you never know,” Christina shared on the March 19 episode of NPR’s Wild Card. “I bought my plots already, OK? I bought them.”