Christina Applegate's Hollywood Walk of Fame induction ceremony on Nov. 14 was momentous in more ways than one.
It marked her first time stepping out for a public event since she announced her multiple sclerosis diagnosis last August, a journey which she reflected on in her speech. While thanking her family, who Applegate said has "taken care of her everyday of her life," she later teared up when talking about her 11-year-old daughter Sadie Grace Lenoble's support.
"The most important person in this world is my daughter," said Applegate, who shares Sadie with husband Martyn LeNoble. "You are so much more than even you know. You are so beautiful and kind and loving and smart and interesting."
The Bad Moms actress continued, "I'm blessed every day that I get to wake up and take you to school. You are my everything. Thank you for standing by me through all of this."
Afterward, Applegate lightheartedly touched on her diagnosis.
"Oh, by the way, I have a disease," she joked, receiving laughs from those in attendance. "Did you not notice? I'm not even wearing shoes."
Appearing barefoot and carrying a cane, Applegate posed for photos in a black suit alongside Dead to Me co-star Linda Cardellini and Married…with Children co-star Katey Sagal.
In an interview with Variety published Nov. 9, Applegate shared how she was processing the public event.
"People are going to see me for the first time as a disabled person," she said, "and it's very difficult."
Applegate first shared the news of her diagnosis on Twitter, where she described the experience as a "strange journey." She told Variety that the diagnosis arrived when she was filming the third and final season of Netflix's Dead to Me.
"I had to call everybody and be like, ‘I have multiple sclerosis guys. Like, what the f--k!'" she said. "And then it was about kind of learning—all of us learning—what I was going to be capable of doing."
Upon hearing of her medical diagnosis, the showrunners proposed "calling the plug," but Applegate was determined to carry on.
"But I was like, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no: We have to finish this story. It's too important to our hearts; too important to our souls,'" she said. "So, if that meant me having to take a break in the middle of the day so I could go sleep—or me just leaving because I couldn't do anymore—then that's what we had to do."
Dead to Me season three hits Netflix on Nov. 17.