The Buffalo '66 star Christina Ricci, like many other actors and actresses who began performing on screen quite early, was exposed to fame at a very young age. Ricci made her acting debut in 1990 at the age of nine with Richard Benjamin's comedy-drama film Mermaids, in which she acted alongside Cher, Winona Ryder, and the late Bob Hoskins.
Christina Ricci was recently on Conan O'Brien's podcast, Conan Needs a Friend, where she opened up about several things in a light-hearted conversation about starting her career in Hollywood at a young age and striving to care for her kids and help them find their purpose in life. The 45-year-old actress also talked about working on the popular Showtime thriller TV series, Yellowjackets, created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, and revealed how she used to compare her notes on set with her younger counterpart on the show.
The Prozac Nation actress enthusiastically discussed receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 6, 2025. She is the 2,803rd honoree to receive a star on the famous sidewalk, which is primarily located on both sides of Hollywood Boulevard.
Most importantly, Ricci touched upon the topic of gaining fame at an early age and how she had to deal and make peace with it while growing up. She recalled feeling unsafe handling fame and the kind of attention it drew. Ricci, while talking to Conan about being famous and the paparazzi culture on his podcast, said:
"I did feel threatened a lot."
However, she continued talking about fame and the other side of it, which provided her certain accessibility in many places, and she claimed she enjoyed that part. You can check out the entire Christina Ricci episode of Conan Needs a Friend on Spotify and Apple Music.
Christina Ricci on how early stardom helped her escape her family, mainly from her father
Ricci rose to prominence and gained major recognition after her breakthrough role in the 1991 supernatural black comedy film The Addams Family, in which she played the character of Wednesday Addams. She is widely known for her offbeat characters who are often a little eccentric.
According to reports, Ricci did not have a great time growing up, as she belonged to a dysfunctional family with a narcissistic father. Acting in films was not only something she was proficient at, but it was also a ticket to get away from her family and her father.
In the Hulu original documentary Child Star, directed by Demi Lovato, Ricci is one of the cast members who talked about her childhood and opened up about her "very chaotic home" and her abusive father, who, according to her, was "a failed cult leader," a narcissist, and someone who was physically violent.
In the documentary, the Black Snake Moan actress talked about how she always found peace on movie sets, as her home environment was never peaceful. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Ricci discussed how chaotic her home environment was and revealed that, being an adorable child, she figured out quite early that to change things for herself, she needed to use that adorable factor to her advantage.
Ricci was 13 years old when her parents got separated, and ever since then, she has not had any contact with her father, who was a primal scream therapist and, according to Ricci, was a difficult person. However, she had always claimed that it was acting that helped her survive while escaping all the negativity and unnecessary chaos her family and father brought upon her. In a conversation with Entertainment Tonight, Ricci revealed:
"When I first started, and still as an adult, this career has always been an escape for me."
Trending
She further added:
"All the little things that sort of are negative about the industry and the career, they’ve always been things that I’ve just been like, ‘Well, real life is worse.'"
Love movies? Try our Box Office Game and Movie Grid Game to test your film knowledge and have some fun!
Reply
