Christina Ricci played the role of 'Kate Flax' in the 1990 comedy romance film Mermaids when she was just 10 years old. During an interview with Demi Lovato in the new documentary Child Star, the Wednesday actress remembered filming her first movie with Cher.
"Cher took me under her wing, and she recognized that sometimes you could be on a set, and you don't know exactly what is going on behind the scenes - power struggles, or different issues."
Christina added that if you didn't have experience on a movie set, you may think that any discrepancy during the film could be your fault,
"And if you don't know any better, and have no experience, you can think it was your fault. And she never wanted me to feel insecure."
"She was great. I spent all my time with her" - Christina Ricci on filming with Cher
While speaking to the AV Club about being a child actress, Christina Ricci noted that "flying to Boston to audition with Cher and then back to New Jersey that night" wasn't a conventional childhood.
Christina Ricci mentioned that she didn't know much about Cher before filming with her, and whatever information she had came from what her mother told her. The actress added that "my real knowledge of Cher comes from firsthand experience," describing Cher as "such an incredible human being."
Ricci's mother knew little about the film industry, so Cher allowed her to sneak away from academics to eat candy on set.
"She was great. I spent all my time with her. I used to hide from tutor school in her trailing eating."
When Demi Lovato asked if Cher was a mentor to Ricci, Cher agreed and said that she was "really lucky" to work with strong women when her career initially took off. Ricci noted that she learned from Cher how to create strong boundaries and rules on how to be treated.
While responding to Christina Ricci's career, Demi mentioned that she would have appreciated having a strong woman as a mentor since it was a "man's world" for her, and nobody around her really knew what could happen to a child on set.
Lovato has been vocal about the aftereffects of achieving fame at an early age and also stars in the docuseries Child Stars.
The documentary, which was released on Hulu on September 17, showcases Lovato interviewing fellow celebrities who grew up under Hollywood's eye and discussing the highs and lows of achieving fame at a young age. It also features other former child stars: Drew Barrymore, Alyson Stoner, Raven-Symone, Kenan Thompson, and JoJo Siwa.
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