A veteran actress and ambitious future ghost, Christina Ricci already has plans to haunt her star on the Walk of Fame. “It’s a really good corner,” Ricci told IndieWire, standing at the intersection between Hollywood and Argyle.
More than 2,800 celebrities from throughout TV, film, sports, and music have their names emblazoned on the city’s most iconic sidewalk. On March 6, the Chamber of Commerce unveiled Ricci’s honorific in a particularly special location. Her star is catty-corner to Amoeba Music, across the street from the world-famous Pantages Theater, and easily accessed by way of the Hollywood and Vine metro stop.
“What I’m more excited about is the fact that we’re right across the street from the Frolic Room, which is in that amazing Cassavetes movie with Gena Rowlands,” said Ricci. “She goes there when she has a freakout one night. It’s been there forever, and I used to go there in my twenties. I really like that it’s there. I like this whole area. I’ve spent a lot of time in my life here.”
Ricci broke out as a kid actor in classic ’90s movies, including “The Addams Family” and “Mermaids,” but the specific Cassavetes title she’s referencing — “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974) — evokes the rebellious spirit that fueled the rest of her critically acclaimed career. Known for indie flicks (think “Buffalo ’66”) as much as popular TV series (“Yellowjackets” hive, rise up!), Ricci has spent the past 36 years crawling through the coolest corners of the entertain industry on her spider lashes.
“I hope that we are able to get back to things being run by people who love film and TV — instead of by people who run corporations really well,” Ricci said to IndieWire, when asked about the future of filmmaking. “I would say that’s the only thing I notice as an artist that is very challenging.”
During her emotional acceptance speech, Ricci recalled taking childhood trips with her mother from New Jersey to the Port Authority in New York for auditions. The Walk of Fame honoree spoke about the difficulty she experienced moving through the world at that age, not always feeling like her unique gifts were valued before she found her niche in the industry.
“From the moment I started acting, I knew it was meant to be,” Ricci said onstage. “I’m only here and will forever now be here at Hollywood and Argyle — I’m going to haunt my star when I die, so I’ll just always be here — I’m only here because of the incredible people in my life who have traveled this road with me.”
Among the ceremony’s speakers, actor Dan Bucatinsky reflected on his friendship with Ricci, which the pair struck up when she was only 19. The rising starlet moved in with Bucatinsky and his partner Don Roos in 1998 after appearing in Roos’ film, “The Opposite of Sex.” Wearing a Gucci suit purchased for him by Ricci all those years ago, Bucatinsky also pulled out a pair of platform boots he stole from her old room and hoisted them up before the crowd like a trophy.
“Christina herself, like this suit, is timeless. She doesn’t age,” the actor said. “To me, you’ll always be like my little sister — who knows more, who knows better, how to get by in life by seeing the truth, speaking the truth, knowing when to laugh about it, and when to flip it off.”
Later in the ceremony, Ricci did in fact give Bucatinsky the middle finger, lovingly. She described the silly details he shared from her young adulthood (chief among them, that she used to chew the fat but not the meat off of prime steaks at restaurants) as reflective of her history as “a repellant teenage mess.” But more than that, Bucatinsky’s remarks captured Ricci’s strength as not only a familiar acting face — but also as a self-possessed figure of pop culture known for her sharp style and “sardonic wit.”
“I was lucky enough to get to make ‘Monster’ with Christina and it was such a profoundly beautiful experience,” said filmmaker Patty Jenkins, who also spoke during the ceremony. The 2003 crime thriller saw Charlize Theron win the Best Actress Oscar for playing a serial killer — but decades later, the director is still blown away by Ricci’s extraordinary supporting performance. Describing screen tests for the project, Jenkins recalled other actors getting swallowed by Theron’s ferocity. And yet, Ricci impressed Jenkins as “the most secretly powerful person” she had ever met.
“Every time I rewatch the film I’m like, ‘My god! Christina is like a hero,’” Jenkins said. “We talked about it at the time and you were like, ‘It’s not the glory role for me but I believe in the project.’ And you took one for the team.”
Also in the audience at Hollywood and Argyle, Ricci was supported by her husband, two children, and a swarm of “Yellowjackets” cast. The Emmy-winning dramedy from Showtime — about a plane crash and a cannibalistic girls’ soccer team — earned Ricci her first nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 2022. Joined by husband Jason Ritter, Melanie Lynskey made an appearance alongside Tawny Cypress.
“Tawny came in from Colorado! I can’t believe it. I don’t know if I would fly to Colorado for you for a day,” joked Ricci in her speech. “I’m really just so touched.”
A major resurgence for Ricci, “Yellowjackets” has also helped launch the careers of several younger actors taking on the sorts of roles Ricci would have played at their age. Basking in the pink-coral and brass glow of their colleague’s name on a star, Liv Hewson, Nia Sondaya, Ashley Sutton, and Sophie Thatcher celebrated Ricci on the day. They continue to honor her legacy as a creepy-campy talent with their own ground-breaking journeys through Hollywood.
“She’s a fucking icon!” said Thatcher, sprinting for a waiting car outside the ceremony’s reception. The 24-year-old can be seen right now on the small screen with Ricci in the thick of “Yellowjackets” Season 3. She’s also coming off numerous hit horror movies, including “Companion” and “Heretic.” Known as something of a walking Letterboxd — with that same chameleon look Ricci has — Thatcher oozes with affection for the Ricci-starring films that have shaped her love of the craft.
“She was always one of my idols,” Thatcher told IndieWire. “I’m so glad they talked about ‘Monster.’ I’m so glad they talked about ‘Prozac Nation.’” A true cinephile, Ricci’s heir apparent seems like the precise type of person many major talents wants back in charge of the entertainment industry. Thatcher too was excited to hear about the possibility of the “Casper” actress haunting alongside Cassavetes.
“I love seeing our younger performers,” Ricci told IndieWire, when asked about the “Yellowjackets” cast. “I love what they’re doing. They’re such strong individuals and they’re so self-possessed, so talented, and to see the very specific personas that they’re taking on and representing really fills me with so much joy. Because in the ’90s, that’s the kind of teenager I was. I was punk rock and I liked things that were not trendy, and I just had a very strong identity. I have always respected the stars who have that.”
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