LOS ANGELES — A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled Thursday honoring Christina Ricci for a movie career that began when she was 9 years old and includes roles in “The Addams Family” and “Monster.”
Ricci told the crowd gathered for the ceremony that she has always felt at “home” on film sets.
“I’ve been a working actress for over 36 years and a part of this community,” she said. “And as much as I’ve always felt at home on a set ... and love the feeling of stepping up to my mark, or really anyone’s mark, as much as all of that is true, and as much as I always felt at home on a set, I don’t think I would’ve ever believed as a young actress that I would receive an honor like this.”
She thanked everyone who believed in her over the years and offered her support. And she joked that she plans to “haunt my star when I die, so I’ll always be here.”
Patty Jenkins, who directed Ricci in “Monster,” and actor, producer, writer Dan Bucatinsky, who appeared with Ricci in the 1998 romantic dark comedy, “The Opposite of Sex,” were among those joining her at the ceremony at 6258 Hollywood Blvd. in front of the W Hollywood hotel.
The star is the 2,803rd since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the initial 1,558 stars.
Born Feb. 12, 1980, in Santa Monica and raised in Montclair, New Jersey, Ricci was discovered by a local theater critic when she starred in a school production of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” at age 8, replacing the original choice for the role, telling New York magazine in a 2008 interview that she “taunted her rival so much that he socked her. When she tattled, he lost the part.”
Ricci earned her Screen Actors Guild card a short time later for appearing in two commercial spoofs on “Saturday Night Live.”
Ricci made her film debut in the 1990 family comedy-drama, “Mermaids,” playing the 9-year-old daughter of 31-year-old single mother Rachel Flax (Cher).
Ricci had her breakout role of Wednesday Addams in the 1991 supernatural black comedy, “The Addams Family,” and reprised the role in its 1993 sequel, “Addams Family Values.”
Ricci had her first lead role in the 1995 supernatural fantasy comedy “Casper,” as the 13-year-old daughter of ghost therapist James Harvey, whom Casper the Friendly Ghost becomes smitten with after seeing her on a television news report.
Ricci’s other film credits as a teen included “Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain,” “Now and Then” and the 1997 Disney remake of “That Darn Cat.”
Ricci began her transition to adult roles in “The Ice Storm,” playing a troubled and sexually curious teenager in the 1997 Ang Lee-directed drama.
Ricci received a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a motion picture comedy or musical for her portrayal of 16-year-old pregnant runaway in “The Opposite of Sex.”
In “Monster,” Ricci portrayed the girlfriend of serial killer Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron), a role that won Theron the best actress Oscar in 2004.
Ricci’s other film credits include “The Matrix Resurrections,” “Around the Block,” “Prozac Nation,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Pecker,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “Buffalo 66.”
Ricci’s television work has brought her Emmy nominations for outstanding guest actress in a drama series in 2006 for “Grey’s Anatomy” and outstanding supporting actress in a drama series in 2022 for “Yellowjackets.”
In a full circle moment to her career, Ricci portrays the botany teacher of Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) in the Netflix supernatural mystery comedy “Wednesday.”
