Christina Applegate and Her Red Velvet Gown Earned a Standing Ovation at the Emmy Awards

Tonight's Emmy Awards marks the third time that Christina Applegate has earned a nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for her Netflix show, Dead to Me. The beloved actress has racked up an impressive eight nominations total (both as an actress and a producer) and nabbed one trophy for Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series back in 2003 for her role as Amy in Friends. And though the Emmy Awards are generally held in September, the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes pushed the ceremony to January. That didn't stop Applegate from stunning at the show, wearing a long-sleeved oxblood-colored velvet gown with a plunging deep-V neckline.

"I actually don't need him here, he's just cute," she said at the podium with host Anthony Anderson as she presented Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series — which went to Ayo Edibiri — and introduced Carol Burnett. Applegate finished her look with a cane and wore her hair down straight. When she arrived at the mic, the audience gave her a standing ovation, which she joked was discriminatory as she held her cane.

This year, Applegate is up against Rachel Brosnahan and her final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Quinta Brunson for her role in Abbott Elementary, Natasha Lyonne in her new show Poker Face, and Jenna Ortega from Wednesday.

Applegate filmed the final season of Dead to Me amid her multiple sclerosis diagnosis. Production on the show's third season took place in August 2021, according to People. After the nominations were announced in July of 2023, Applegate thanked Netflix, the show's cast and crew, and noted that the series had been "quite a ride."

“Thank you to the @TelevisionAcad @netflix @CBS and also the Hollywood critics and of course @GoldDerby for this incredible honor,” she posted on X (at the time, it was still Twitter) after her nomination. “I am humbled and grateful. It’s been quite a ride. Thanks for the lift.” 

After she was diagnosed with MS, Dead to Me paused production so that Applegate could undergo treatment. After the final episodes finished filming, Applegate spoke to Variety and said that filming was "as hard as you would possibly think it would be."

​​"It's about finding what I'm capable of doing," she said at the time of continuing to act. "I'm so new in this right now. It takes time to kind of figure out this disease, and figure out what's bringing on symptoms. I'm just a newbie to all of this. So I'm trying to figure it out — and I'm also in mourning for the person who I was. I have to find a place that's as loving as my set was, where they won't think I'm a diva by saying, 'Hey, I can only work five hours.' There's no way I could do the work that I just came off again. I mean, it was so hard."

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