Christina Applegate has made her first public appearance since a months-long hospital stay, sharing a new video with followers on Instagram Monday.
The 54-year-old Married… With Children actress revealed a fresh blonde look after hairstylist David Stanwell colored and straightened her hair.
In the brief clip, Applegate wore a black zip-up hoodie left open over a tank top and jeans.
She completed the casual outfit with two gold necklaces and smiled directly at the camera.
“Fresh hair color, new weird spot on my cheek haha,” Applegate wrote, drawing attention to a mark on her face. “Thank you @davestanwell for brightening up my cloudy day. Love you and love to you all out there.”
The update comes more than a month after Applegate left the hospital while continuing to navigate her battle with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Christina Applegate, 54, has appeared publicly for the first time since a months-long hospital stay in a new Instagram video shared Monday.
Several of Applegate’s celebrity friends responded with messages of support. Chelsea Handler posted three heart emojis, while actress Octavia Spencer filled the comments with fire emojis.
Kyle Richards, star of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, added, “Beautiful!”
Nicky Hilton Rothschild shared a heart-eyes emoji in response.
“Beautiful as ever,” wrote Real Housewives of Orange County star Tamra Judge.
Fans also filled the post with warm reactions, including one commenter who wrote, “Looking amazing as always.”
“You’re looking as beautiful as ever,” another fan added.
A third person wrote, “You look radiant Christina!”
Applegate reportedly returned home in August after spending time in a Los Angeles hospital from late March onward, according to TMZ.
The Married… With Children star showcased her blonde hair after David Stanwell colored it and styled it straight.
Applegate appeared in the short video wearing an open black hoodie, a tank top and jeans. She accessorized with two gold necklaces and smiled at the camera.
“Fresh hair color, new weird spot on my cheek haha,” Applegate wrote in the caption, referring to a mark on her cheek.
The actress received an outpouring of affection from friends, including three heart emojis from Chelsea Handler. Kyle Richards of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills also commented, “Beautiful!”
Sources told the publication that Applegate, who was diagnosed with MS in 2021, has been doing well as she adjusts to life back at home.
There have been few details about why exactly she has been in the hospital for months on end.
It’s unclear if the hospitalization was due to Applegate’s ongoing struggles with MS or related to other conditions.
Applegate’s first words to reassure her followers after her March hospitalization came in April, when she said on Instagram that she was getting ‘stronger and better every day.’
She posted a snap of her memoir You With The Sad Eyes, sharing she would be ‘taking a moment to focus on her health.’
Her post was captioned: ‘Thank you for the outpouring of love and well wishes. Health issues are a constant for me, but I’m a strong chick and I’m getting stronger and better every day. I’m taking a moment to focus on my health, but I’ll be back with more to say soon enough.’
Sources previously told TMZ that the actress was admitted into a hospital late in March, but a reason hadn’t been revealed.
Applegate’s representative told Our News Outlet: ‘I have no comment on whether she is in the hospital or what her medical treatments are.’
‘She’s had a long history of complicated medical conditions that she has been refreshingly open about, as evidenced in her memoir and on her podcast.’
Earlier in February, Applegate shared that she is mainly confined to her bed due to her MS battle.
Earlier in February, Applegate shared that she is mainly confined to her bed due to her MS battle; Pictured in 2022
Applegate shared the news of her MS diagnosis on social media in August 2021; Pictured in 2023
Applegate posted a photo of her canes back in 2022, and said needing help with walking is her ‘new normal’
During an interview with People at the time, the star explained how the pain has largely kept her in bed.
However, she will make the effort to leave her bedroom for her teenage daughter Sadie, such as taking her to school.
‘I want to take her; it’s my favorite thing to do. It’s the only time we have together by ourselves,’ the actress told the outlet.
‘I tell myself, “Just get her there safely and get home so you can get back into bed.” And that’s what I do.’
Applegate further expressed, ‘My life isn’t wrapped up with a bow. People’s lives, sorry for lack of a better term, f***ing suck sometimes. So I’m being as honest and raw as I possibly can.’
Multiple sclerosis occurs when ‘the immune system attacks the protective sheath that covers nerve fibers, known as myelin,’ per Mayo Clinic.
The disease ‘can cause numbness, weakness, trouble walking, vision changes and other symptoms.’
The Dead To Me actress also reflected on her MS battle in an excerpt of her 2026 memoir You With The Sad Eyes that was published in The Guardian in March.
‘One of the worst side-effects of the illness is the exhaustion,’ Applegate candidly wrote.
‘It feels as though I’ve been on a three‑day sleepless bender – and that’s how I feel after a good night’s sleep. Hence all the time I spend on and in bed, snuggled up against my heating pad.’
She continued, ‘On the back of that diagnosis and the symptoms I face, I no longer care what I say or how I come across or how it makes anyone feel.
Applegate rose to prominence as a child actress at the age of 15, while starring as Kelly Bundy in the Fox sitcom Married with Children, which ran from 1987–1997; Pictured with Katey Sagal, Ed O’Neill, and David Faustino
‘I don’t have patience for bulls*** any more, for things that are meaningless or merely “extra.”‘
Applegate shared the news of her MS diagnosis on social media in August 2021.
And in 2022 she posted a photo of her canes, and said needing help with walking is her ‘new normal.’
During an episode of her MeSsy podcast last year, the actress revealed that she had been hospitalized multiple times amid her MS battle.
‘For three years since I was diagnosed, I’ve been in the hospital upwards of 30 times,’ she told her co-host Jamie-Lynn Sigler – who is also battling the same disease.
‘That is unimaginable, okay? They’ve done every test known to man on me, put so much radiation into my body from CT scans to everything else.’
When it came to penning her memoir – which was released on March 3 – Applegate previously shared that she made the decision to pen the book when she was ‘forced to slow down.’
