Christina Ricci recently opened up about her struggles balancing motherhood and her acting career, providing insight into how unsupportive the Hollywood industry is of mothers.
Most recognize Ricci for her iconic performance as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, as well as her performance in Casper. However, Ricci has long since transitioned from a child star to an adult performer, notably appearing in recent works like Yellowjackets and Netflix’s Wednesday. Additionally, she has welcomed two children, a son and a daughter. Over the course of her career, she has occasionally used her platform to get candid about her experiences with marriage and parenthood.
Recently, she spoke out against the individuals who wrote letters of support for Danny Masterson, referencing her own experiences with domestic abuse from her first husband, James Heerdegen, to advocate for other survivors. Now, Ricci is speaking out about what it’s like being a mother in Hollywood.
Christina Ricci opens up about motherhood
While appearing on Shannen Doherty’s podcast, Let’s Be Clear, Ricci addressed her experiences as a mother in Hollywood. Arguably, the most concerning part of her interview was that she hesitated to tell her story for fear of how the industry might react. She stated:
“I also … have an awareness of not making it about that it’s difficult for me because I have children. Because I don’t want anyone to be like, ‘Well, we won’t use her [for a project] because it’s so difficult for her because she’s a mom.’ … But at the same time, it is really difficult.”
Ricci’s fears aren’t unfounded, considering discrimination against mothers is a common occurrence in numerous industries, not just Hollywood. Some mothers in the entertainment industry have already detailed experiences that may have been discrimination. For example, Celeste Notley-Smith was replaced as a voice actor by Glitch Productions after becoming a mother, with the company providing no reason for the replacement other than that it just assumed she would be too busy for the job. However, an actress as talented and decorated as Ricci should not have to fear being shut out of Hollywood for telling her story.
Ricci went on to detail how she had no bond with her baby daughter last year due to traveling back and forth to Vancouver to shoot Yellowjackets. She explained, “She didn’t know me. We had no bond. So that was very upsetting.” For those curious why she didn’t simply bring her children with her, Ricci described the lack of accommodations studios provide regulars on a TV show. Essentially, she must cover all her own expenses to move or commute to the filming location, including the cost of flights back and forth, hotel rooms, food, and more.
Hence, Ricci stated, “I can’t pay for four people, four flights, you know, and the rooms that you would need and all … it’s just too expensive to travel with everybody all the time.” There is a common misconception that anyone who is a high-profile actor in Hollywood has limitless wealth. However, many actresses are beginning to point out that this is not the case. Not only do women face major pay gaps in Hollywood, but by the time they finish paying off travel expenses and fees to their management team, there’s not much left.
In addition to not being accommodated, Ricci had to go back to work just two months after each of her children was born. While she confirmed she does try to bring her children along whenever she can, there are times when traveling with them simply isn’t an option due to expenses. Fortunately, Ricci revealed that her current partner, Mark Hampton, is extremely helpful with their children, ensuring that her daughter’s routine and sleep schedule were maintained while Ricci was working. However, not all women have this kind of support in their lives. Even Ricci admitted that her ex-husband, Heerdegen, made things more difficult since he “wouldn’t help … at all with anything.”
It is quite sobering to learn how unaccommodating Hollywood is for mothers while also effectively silencing them with threats of loss of work. It’s especially strange that a wealthy industry that routinely pays male actors up to $50 million for a single role seemingly can’t help with expenses or lodging for a working mother of a newborn child. Unfortunately, Hollywood’s non-support of mothers is reflective of the general behavior and attitude toward female workers in the United States.
(featured image: Leon Bennett / Getty)
