The Addams Family, Sleepy Hollow, and Black Snake Moan
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$18 Million
"I think I'm better at playing difficult than I am at being normal. And to me, that's something I'm working on now. I'm not really that difficult or complex of a person, so it's interesting to me that it's just so much harder for me to play an everygirl." Christina Ricci is a famous actress who broke into the industry at the age of nine. Since then, Ricci has become one of the most famous character performers of her time. Without any acting training, Ricci has been able to carve out a career that includes a Golden Globe nomination.
Known most often for her work in darker and edgier projects, like Black Snake Moan or Sleepy Hollow, Ricci has cultivated a true 'bad girl' image. With that being said, Ricci has appeared in 77 films throughout her career with many roles of varying style and intensity. As a grown-up child star, Ricci has lived a fascinating life where she has beaten the odds at every turn.
A Star From Birth
Christina Ricci was born on February 12, 1980, in Santa Monica, CA. Her father was Ralph Ricci and her mother was Sarah Ricci. Sarah worked as a model for Ford Agency during the '60s before transitioning into her career as a real estate agent. Her dad, Ralph, worked in several different career paths including law, drug counseling, teaching, and even therapy. Ricci has Italian and Scottish ancestry. Ricci says, "The Italian blood has been bred out of me. There's an Italian four or five generations back who married an Irish woman, and they all had sons."
After being born in California, her family would move to Montclair, New Jersey. Ricci would begin attending the Edgemont Elementary School before graduating from Montclair High School. During this period of her life, Ricci was already becoming a working actress. She would also attend Professional Children's School while in New York City so that she could maintain her education while on set.
Ricci has three siblings including Rafael, Dante, and Pia. Ricci's parents would get divorced when she was only 13, and Ricci still has not spoken to her father in the intervening years. Ricci is outspoken about the broken relationship that she had with her father before he left the family.
High-Profile Character Actress
For Ricci, entertainment was always a part of her life. She would be discovered during a school performance of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Ricci would appear on a pair of segments on Saturday Night Live shortly thereafter. Her work on SNL would grant Ricci her SAG-Aftra card, and thus access to major projects being developed around the country.
Ricci wouldn't take long to make her feature film debut. At the age of 10, Ricci appeared in Mermaids, alongside Cher. This film would lead directly to Ricci's breakout role in The Addams Family (1991) as the precocious but dark Wednesday Addams. Ricci was an instant success, and her character has since become a cultural cornerstone of the era. Ricci would reprise her character in the 1993 follow-up film, Addams Family Values. Critics singled out Ricci's work in both projects. Ricci would continue the haunting vibes by appearing in the 1995 film Casper which also would garner box office success despite mediocre reviews.
Ricci would get the chance to cut her teeth in more serious work starting with the 1995 film, Now and Then. Considered the female Stand by Me, the project has since earned a cult following. Now and Then focused on a group of women who recall an adventurous summer that they had shared during the 70s. Alongside Ricci, the film starred Demi Moore, Rita Wilson, Rosie O'Donnell, Melanie Griffith, and Hank Azaria.
As Christina Ricci continued to come of age in Hollywood, her roles became increasingly dark. She would take over for Natalie Portman in the hit Ang Lee film, The Ice Storm. Ricci was granted stand-out praise for her performance in the intense art film. From there, Ricci would establish herself as one of the premier offbeat actresses of her time. She would land a role in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) alongside Johnny Depp. Ricci would reunite with Depp in Sleepy Hollow (1999) for another successful collaboration.
Ricci would gain the first major television role of her career with a seven-episode run on Ally McBeal (2002). Her success on television would come back around in 2011 with a starring role on the air stewardess drama, Pan Am. Before then, however, Ricci would land critically lauded leading roles in Monster (2003) and Black Snake Moan (2006). For Monster, Ricci held her own alongside Charlize Theron in a film about the real-life serial killer, Aileen Wuomos. Black Snake Moan was another darkly provocative film about a young woman dealing with some seriously unhealthy traits. The film received mixed reviews for its provocative content but Ricci was, again, considered a standout performer.
In recent years, Ricci has had a number of successful television appearances. She starred as Lizzie Borden in The Lizzie Borden Chronicles (2015) to rave reviews. Ricci had always wanted to play a killer, and Lizzie Borden Chronicles would give her the chance to play one of the most iconic female murderers of all time. Ricci would also star in Z: The Beginning of Everything (2015) which was based on the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald. Most recently, Ricci has been attached to Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story (2019) and 10 Things We Should Do Before We Break Up.
In her personal life, Ricci is notoriously closed off from the press. She had previously dated Owen Benjamin for a year before breaking off their engagement. In 2013, Ricci made her engagement to James Heerdegen, a dolly grip, public. Heerdegen and Ricci had met on the set of Pan Am in 2012. They would get married in 2013 and welcome their son, Freddie, in 2014. Ricci is also a staunch activist, and she has become a spokesperson for the advocacy group, RAINN.
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