Christina Ricci opened up about how her traumatic upbringing has continued to haunt her to this day.
The actress shared how her childhood fame helped her escape from her « chaotic home, » and especially from her father.
« My father was a failed cult leader, and so he had all that same sort of, like, really crazy narcissism that goes along with someone wanting to run a cult, » Ricci, 44, claimed in the documentary « Child Star. »
CHRISTINA RICCI SAYS SHE DOESN’T REGRET HER CHILD STAR YEARS
« He was very physically violent. There was never any peace in my house. »
Ricci admitted that she had found « peace » while working on television and movie sets at a young age.
« He was very physically violent. There was never any peace in my house. »
« I knew nothing totally insane was about to happen, » she explained. « Nobody was going to get really mad and pretend they were going to drive the car into a wall. For me, there was this refuge of emotional safety. »
During the « Child Star » documentary, created in part by Demi Lovato, Ricci confessed that she was « really unhappy in her home life. »
« And at school, I was really bored . . . I was getting into really crazy trouble, at 7. »
The « Casper » actress continued, « As soon as I started going on auditions every day with my mother, all that stopped, all the trouble, everything. »
« But what I really loved was getting to go with my mom on the bus to New York . . . my mother was kept in a place in my home where she was not present. »
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Ricci went on to say as soon as she and her mother escaped their « chaotic » home, her mother’s « personality » started to shine through. The actress added that the two became « very close. »
She additionally shared that she « loved » childhood stardom, since she « finally » had something she « knew she was good at. »
Ricci added that she had received « positive reinforcement » for succeeding in her young acting career.
While Ricci explained how her childhood stardom had impacted her life, during a sit-down conversation with Lovato, multiple video clips of the young actress played in the background.
Ricci rose to fame after her portrayal of Wednesday Addams in 1991’s « The Addams Family. »
Her parents divorced when she was 13, and she hasn’t spoken to her father since she was a teenager.
In 2022, Ricci spoke at a luncheon for The Family Place, the largest domestic abuse support provider in Texas, and claimed, « I was a child in an abusive and violent household and then repeated that mistake as an adult, » according to CBS.
In 2021, the Hollywood actress accused her ex-husband, James Heerdegen, of physical abuse.
She filed for a restraining order that year, citing « severe physical and emotional abuse, » which Heerdegen has denied. Ricci filed for divorce in 2020.
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Despite calling child acting a positive « escape » for herself, Ricci previously told the New York Post in 2018 that she wouldn’t put her own son into the industry.
« I feel it’s child abuse to make your child famous, » she said of then-four-year-old son Freddie. « Once he’s an adult, and he studies, and he understands that it’s an art form, then he can pursue an acting career if he’d like. »
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She added, « Being famous is not good for children, it’s just not. We have a million examples of why it’s not good for children. I’m just not going to risk it. Why would you put the most precious thing in your life up for that? »