Christina Ricci once revealed her favourite bands as a teenager
In 1990, Christina Ricci first appeared on our screens as the young daughter of Cher’s character in Mermaids. From there, it didn’t take long for the actor to land her breakthrough role as the moody Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family, becoming a gothic icon in the process. Her portrayal of the death-obsessed youngster earned her widespread praise, leading Ricci to become one of the most recognisable teen actors of the decade.
In the space of a few years, she reprised her role in The Addams Family Values, landed a leading role in Casper and portrayed a young Rosie O’Donnell in Now and Then. However, by the end of the decade, Ricci had transitioned to adult roles, notably starring alongside Vincent Gallo in his self-directed drama Buffalo ’66.
Since then, Ricci has enjoyed a successful career, recently starring in the popular television show Yellowjackets before returning to familiar surroundings in the popular Netflix series Wednesday. However, Ricci has never quite reached the levels of fame she earned as a teenager, which is perhaps a good thing, as she struggled with several mental health issues during this period. She told Rolling Stone: “I had trouble processing my childhood and adjusting to being an adult. […] I would just joke that I wished it was worse so that I could go to a hospital, have a fucking break, and I didn’t have to make choices.”
When Ricci was 13, she spoke to Interview magazine, where she discussed her struggles with growing up. “When I was a kid, I thought everything was perfect,” she explained. “I trusted everybody. I thought everybody was just doing something good for me. But you can’t be ignorant like that, especially being in the movie business, because there are so many manipulative people”.
However, she then revealed that her favourite thing to do was simply “hang out with my friends and listen to music”, It seems as though music was an important part of Ricci’s adolescence, giving her a safe space away from the pressures of the industry. In the interview, she cited some pretty sophisticated favourite artists for a 13-year-old, like Jimi Hendrix and Parliament. She also picked out bands like Fishbone, Fugazi, Superchunk, and King Missile as her go-to artists.
Yet, for Ricci – one band stood out among the rest – the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Speaking to Empire, she once revealed an awkward encounter with the group’s drummer, Chad Smith. “I was really obsessed with the Red Hot Chili Peppers,” she explained. “I was a member of their fan club. I wrote fan mail. Then about a year later, aged 13, I found myself on a plane, in first class because I was flying to do a job. I walked on the plane wearing my Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ t-shirt”.
“I had my backpack with stickers on it. I probably had things written about them in silver on my shoes. Also on that flight happened to be Chad Smith. He took one look at me and immediately ran away. I was horrified and embarrassed, and didn’t want to meet any of them,” Ricci added. “After a five-hour flight from New York to LA and maybe Chad had had a few drinks – we were at the luggage thing and he came over and said, ‘So Christina, you want me to tell Anthony [Kiedis] anything for you?’ It was really embarrassing.”
