The sad reason Dead To Me’s Christina Applegate wanted her character to have a mastectomy
We think we've fallen in love with Christina Applegate and her angry, cynical and expletive-muttering widower Jen in Netflix's new tragicomedy Dead To Me.
The series centres on Jen's life in the aftermath of her husband's death after he's killed in a hit-and-run, and her determination to solve the murder.
While reluctantly attending grief counselling, she meets a woman named Judy (played by Linda Cardellini) who is also dealing with grief and loss, and they strike up an inseparable friendship.
But Judy is harbouring a shocking secret that she is trying to shield from Jen, while Jen is too distracted by her own startling discoveries she's uncovering about husband Ted. Along with her bereavement and dealing with parenthood alone, Jen is finding it increasingly harder to contain her anger and resentment.
Christina said that she wanted her character's rage and brokenness to be the source of "an underlying reason", and in episode four, it's revealed that Jen preemptively had a double mastectomy when she found out she had the the BRCA1 gene, which can trigger the disease, after her mother died of breast cancer.
"I have the gene," Jen explains to Judy. "I didn't want my kids to lose their mum like I did mine."
This character backstory is embedded in Christina's own life. In 2008, the actress underwent a double mastectomy when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had the BRCA1 gene, which she had inherited from her mother Nancy Priddy, who survived the disease.
Christine also revealed that she wanted to open a discussion about the trauma and long-lasting effects of the process, which is seldom seen in television dramas or spoken about publicly.
"It wasn't clear to me sometimes why Jen was so angry and broken," the star told USA Today.
"There had to be some underlying reason. Plus, it hasn't really been discussed on shows before; I don't think there's a lot of characters out there with double mastectomies. But I went through it, and it's a horribly painful process - emotionally, spiritually, physically – and I never really talked about it.
"I thought this was my chance to tell a little bit about me, but also all the women that have gone through that."
Christina added that she is still adapting to the changes in her body post-operation a decade on, but hopes that the series might help women with breast cancer or those who are considering a mastectomy to feel less alone or isolated.
"It’s such a personal choice. I don’t know what anyone's going to take away from that moment or scene, except for, 'Wow, I felt that way, too, and I’m going to be OK.' Because you will. It's OK to admit that you feel that way."
Dead To Me is available to stream on Netflix now
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