Christina Ricci practically grew up in the spotlight, first breaking big as a young girl when she portrayed Wednesday in two “Addams Family” films. By the time her teen years hit, she admits she could be “a bit of a d—head.”
The “Yellowjackets” star was well known for giving great interviews to the press, often unfiltered and fearless in what she would say. She spoke candidly about serious issues like body image and mental health, which put her a bit ahead of her time.
But she could also be aggressive and combative. “I was a bit of a d—head,” she told Rolling Stone in a new interview. “I could have handled it in a way that was less teenage.”
She is, however, still proudly contrarian and “sullen,” as RS repeatedly described her during the ’90s and ’00s. They also said that she described herself using words like “unfriendly,” “unpleasant,” “prickly,” “party pooper” and “killjoy.” It seems a bit of Wednesday Addams was truth seeping into character.
She also says some of her behavior then was a result of the cultural zeitgeist. In this early era of the internet, young women in entertainment were far more sexualized than they are today. As for Ricci, her sardonic wit and sullen demeanor saw her dubbed the “Anti-It Girl.”
She was described on the cover of Rolling Stone itself back in 1999 (when she was 19 years old) as a “hazardly sexy teen who will say anything.” To accompany this Ricci was adorned in pink lingerie. “It’s not how I would have chosen to be dressed, but it’s very much of it’s time,” she told RS today. “Not great.”
A lot of that comes from those fearless, almost reckless interviews she would give at the time. The outlet detailed examples like Ricci saying anorexia made her look like E.T. Ricci said she struggled with anorexia for a year as a teen. Now, she tries to be far more careful and sensitive about what she says.
However, for Ricci, it’s far easier to be careful promoting a movie than a television show. “In movies, there’s a buildup, and the movie comes out, and then it’s done,” she said.
It’s the longer press cycle for TV that can get her into trouble. “I find myself starting to feel a little bit more devil-may-care about the things I say. And that’s not good for me,” she said. “I always go too far. I never realize how awful a thing I’m saying is until someone else is like, ‘What the f—?'”
She also opened up about her mental health struggles during those times, and how much more freeing it is to just be these days. Ricci said that she struggled with the adjustment into adulthood. “I was never clinically depressed,” she said. “I would just joke that I wished it was worse so that I could go to a hospital, have a f—ing break, and I didn’t have to make choices. ‘Please, take all my choices away from me.’
Now, she feels much more relaxed, in part because of how things have begun to improve for women in Hollywood. “The amount of years spent obsessed with trying to make sure nobody could criticize you for your appearance,” she mused. “I really have embraced this body-positivity thing.”
“It’s such a f—-ing relief to know that nobody’s allowed to call you fat,” she continued. “[When] people complain about things like that, I’m always like, ‘Haven’t you heard? We don’t have to worry about that anymore!'”
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