Christina Applegate Makes a Brave Return to the Emmys (in Velvet!) Amid MS Diagnosis: 'Body Not by Ozempic'
The actress, who has been open about navigating the red carpet with her MS diagnosis, wore a red velvet dress by Christian Siriano
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Christina Applegate made a powerful return to the 2023 Emmy Awards.
The actress, who is nominated for lead actress in a comedy series for her role in Dead to Me, wore a cranberry velvet gown by Christian Siriano to the ceremony, along with the cane that she carries due to her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, which can affect balance. She paired the look with Dr. Martens Jadon II Boot Hardware Buttero Platforms.
"Thank you so much,” Applegate said as she took the stage, where she stood at the podium on the arm of host Anthony Anderson and grew teary at the audience's enthusiastic reception. “Oh my God, you're totally shaming me with disability by standing up. It's fine . . . Body not by Ozempic!" She added, "We don't have to applaud every time I do something."
Kevin Winter/Getty
Applegate accessorized with her cane, as usual, and her chosen piece for the Emmys stage was her collaboration with Neo Walk. The special edition walking stick, which the actress designed with the U.K. brand, features a removable “FU MS” tag and is clear acrylic with a DNA-like strand in the center. NEO Walk's founder Lyndsay Watterson told PEOPLE last year that the design “symbolizes the invisible differences people have with chronic illness.”
Designer Siriano shared on Instagram, "This incredible woman #christinaapplegate tonight in Siriano silk velvet for the #emmys. Let me tell you MS is a nasty disease and this beauty is so strong and just inspiring. Tonight she is nominated and so deserves this. Love you! Styled by @iamlindsayflores Photo @johnshearer." In another post, Siriano wrote, "Oh Christina you are divine and I will dress you any day of the week! What a woman. #christinaapplegate #emmys"
Applegate, 52, was diagnosed with MS in August 2021, while she was filming Dead to Me's third and final season.
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Applegate's last red carpet appearance was at the 2023 SAG Awards in February.
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The star was joined by her favorite plus-one, teen daughter Sadie Grace LeNoble, and the duo wore coordinating mother-daughter ensembles: Applegate in a floor-length velvet tuxedo dress with oversize lapels, and LeNoble in a classic black double-breasted suit. Both mom and daughter twinned in Dr. Martens shoes.
Applegate accessorized her elegant look with a cane that was accessorized with stickers that included the letters "F U MS."
LeNoble also joined Applegate at the Emmys, once again wearing a chic black suit and matching her mom's footwear with her own pair of Dr Martens.
John Shearer/Getty
In an interview with Vanity Fair last may, the Married with Children alum shared that she has no plans to return to the screen, noting that her physical capabilities have become more limiting.
"I'm probably not going to work on-camera again," Applegate said while gushing over the experience of working with Linda Cardellini on Netflix's Dead to Me, which debuted its third and final season in November 2022.
"Ping-pong is so much more fun when the other person is just as good as you are," she noted. "I'm so glad that I went out with someone who is by far the greatest actress I've ever worked with in my entire life, if not the greatest human I've ever known."
See PEOPLE's full coverage of the 75th annual Primetime Emmy Awards as they're broadcasting live on Fox from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
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