The whole world experienced a gothic fever last year with Jenna Ortega’s famous series, Wednesday. This was not the first time someone played the morbid daughter of the Addams family. Though the character has been played and portrayed by quite a few actors over the years no one can replace the OG Christina Ricci’s portrayal of the famous character. Christina Ricci movies and TV shows depict her wide range of versatility. She has been a part of the entertainment biz since a young age and ventured into some challenging roles since then.
Ricci is known for portraying edgy and morbid characters who are often considered unconventional. She has been part of many cult classics from the 90s and was considered one of the most successful child actors of her time. We are taking a look back at some of the most renowned Christina Ricci movies and TV shows to better understand what made her stand out from the crowd throughout her career.
Yellowjackets (2021-Present)
Though Ricci was never off the acting scene, her role in Yellowjackets helped her get noticed among the younger generation as well. The coming-of-age psychological thriller fits perfectly with how we have known the actress throughout the years. Yellowjackets plot revolves around a high school soccer team who have survived a plane crash but are not as fortunate as it may seem as they end up in the extreme northern wilderness.
Each character has a young and an older version of them as the story takes place in the past and present simultaneously. Christina Ricci plays the older version of Mitsy, the adult counterpart of the team’s manager. With 2 seasons aired, fans are looking forward to the Yellowjackets season 3. Ricci’s Mitsy gets to have a lot of action and has grabbed the audience’s attention by the end of season 2. What better proof of her acting prowess than the Emmy nomination she received for her role?
| IMDb Rating: 7.8/10 | Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 97% |
Yellowjackets (2021) Official Trailer | SHOWTIME
The Addams Family (1991)
Christina Ricci movie gave her the big breakthrough at the age of 10. Her portrayal of Wednesday Addams is to date one of her most loved works and one that laid a strong foundation for the gothic Addam family that has been recreated throughout the years. The character despite being morbid and creepy received a lot of love from the audience and was marked as the major trendsetter.
She reprised her role again in the sequence Addams Family Values. The recent Tim Burton’s directorial Wednesday is based on Ricci’s portrayal of the character in the past. It is incredible how Ricci managed to portray such a challenging character at such a tender age that we can’t help but believe she is a prodigy.
| IMDb Rating: 6.9/10 | Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 67% |
Monster (2003)
Monster is the biography of a serial killer, Aileen Wuornos, but you will fall in love with her love story. Aileen’s life was everything that can go wrong in a person’s life from birth to death. The story might be triggering for some viewers as it touches on a lot of sensitive subjects like rape, suicide, and substance abuse.
Charlize Theron played the character of Aileen who received much appreciation for the transformation she went through to get deep into the skin of the character. Among all the Christina Ricci movies and TV shows this one marked one of her most intense performances. She played the character of Selby, the love interest of Aileen. Aileen works as a street prostitute and tries to support both of them so they can live together. But the already dark story takes an even dark turn when Aileen starts murdering all of her clients.
| IMDb Rating: 7.3/10 | Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 82% |
Wednesday (2022-Present)
Sure Ricci’s Wednesday was iconic and the proof is her presence in the latest Wednesday series. The series is one of Tim Burton’s best works and the audience appreciated Ricci’s presence in the series. This time Jenna Ortega played the creepy titular daughter of the Addams family and Ricci played Marilyn Thronhill, a teacher at Wednesday’s school.
Though Ricci being a part of the series was to provide the viewers with a dose of nostalgia she nailed her character this time as well and once again won over her audience. The series introduced the cut classic characters to the modern-day audience while not losing the true essence. The series is ready to make a comeback with Wednesday Season 2 as confirmed by the sources.
| IMDb Rating: 8.1/10 | Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 72% |
The Lizzie Borden Chronicles (2015)
Lizzie Borden Took an Axe was one of the best Christina Ricci movies which featured her in the titular character. After a year, she reprised the character in a series titled The Lizzie Borden Chronicles and cemented the character as one of her most loved works.
The biographical movie is based on the infamous case of Lizzie Borden who was acquitted of murdering her stepmother and Father with an axe. Ricci was praised for her convincing portrayal of the character which does not come as a surprise as she is best known for portraying characters filled with mayhem. Christina Ricci movies and TV shows have quite a number of characters that are based on real-life incidents.
| IMDb Rating: 6.9/10 | Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 50% |
Z: The Beginning of Everything (2015-2017)
Christina Ricci seemed to be nailing her era of biopics as she got to portray two of the most famous ladies from the past while simultaneously proving her versatility as both the characters were polar opposites. In Z: The Beginning of Everything she starred as Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, wife of renowned novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The movie explores the love affair of Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda. Unlike most of the Christina Ricci movies and TV shows, Z: The Beginning of Everything sees the actress as a bright and cheerful character. The movie addressed a lot of sensitive topics like mental health and adultery while staying true to the story of the renowned couple who went through hell and heaven together.
| IMDb Rating: 7/10 | Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 69% |
Buffalo 66 (1998)
Apart from the performance of the movie Buffalo 66 was involved in various controversies as the actors did not share a nice experience working with director Vincent Gallo. Although the movie is often considered a cult classic and is one of the best Christina Ricci movies. The movie is set in the titular city of New York.
The movie starts like a cliche story where a guy asks a girl to be his pretend girlfriend. But the guy here is not a millionaire but a prisoner. Billy Brown played by Vincent Gallo kidnaps a tap dancer Layla, played by Christina Ricci, to present in front of his parents as his wife. The story has everything from crime to broken families but above all it shows the power of love.
| IMDb Rating: 7.4/10 | Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 76% |
Penelope (2006)
In a time when actresses must put on tons of makeup and even go under the knife to look appealing, Ricci donned the snout of a pig for the titular character in Penelope. The movie has a nostalgic feeling of old fairy tales that our grandmothers used to recite. Christina Ricci movies sure know how to hit the right spot with their uniqueness.
What happens when you are born into a wealthy family, and have everything one can only dream of, but one family curse ruins it all for you? Penelope Wilhern is born with a pig snout nose and has to find someone who falls in love with her so that the curse can break. Her wealthy family tries their best to get someone as her prospective partner but every effort seems to go in vain as everyone is freaked out when they meet Penelope. She decides to run away and then begins the adventurous story of self-discovery and self-love.
| IMDb Rating: 6.7/10 | Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 53% |
Casper (1995)
The friendly ghost movie was way ahead of its with the animated ghost which was widely appreciated for the animation. Among all the movies with Christina Ricci, this one became a trendsetter with the friendly ghost concept. Ricci plays the role of, Kat, the 10-year-old daughter of a paranormal expert who is hired to exorcise the ghosts from an old mansion so that the owner can inherit the map of a hidden treasure.
When Kat arrives, she comes across the ghost of a boy named Casper who might be the friendliest ghost anyone will ever meet. But the other ghosts in the house have no intention of being friendly, in fact, they hate humans and do not want even a single one in their house. Can Casper help Kat and her father get rid of his own relatives or will they all form an alliance?
| IMDb Rating: 6.1/10 | Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 51% |
Black Snake Moan (2006)
The Black Snake Moan movie has a strong and equally disturbing storyline but Christina Ricci was praised for her performance. She plays the character of Rae, a nymphomaniac who has suffered abuse from her parents since a young age. She comes across, Samuel L. Jackson’s character of Lazarus in the worst state when someone left her to die on a roadside. He decides to take her in to treat her but his methods are somewhat questionable.
Lazarus succeeds in working as the changing force in the life of Rae and her equally disturbed boyfriend. All the characters in the movie are extremely raw and brutal in their own ways and might even be triggering for some viewers.
| IMDb Rating: 6.9/10 | Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 66% |
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Sleepy Hollow is one of the best movies of Johnny Depp with Tim Burton. The gothic horror story could not have had a better cast than Depp and Ricci. It is clear by now that Christina Ricci has a thing for the horror genre and no one is complaining. Burton’s signature dark atmospheric vibe and the suspenseful storyline make the movie a must-watch in the list of Christina Ricci movies and TV shows.
| IMDb Rating: 7.3/10 | Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 70% |
The Ice Storm (1997)
The Ang Lee directorial is set in 1973 and is based on Ricky Moody’s novel of the same name. The plot revolves around two dysfunctional high-class families. Christina Ricci plays the character of Wendy Wood, the teenage daughter of Kline and Allen. Though The Ice Storm movie did not perform well at the box office it was later appreciated and is considered a cult classic by Ang Lee.
The whole plot takes place during the Thanksgiving holiday and Ricci once again nailed her role as a teenager with wild thoughts who wants to explore her sexuality. The movie is proof of how much of a mature actor Ricci has been since a young age and no character is too much for her.
| IMDb Rating: 7.3/10 | Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 86% |
Conclusion
Christina Ricci has been a part of the industry since a young age but that has not let her lose her enthusiasm as an artist over the years. She is still taking up challenging roles and delivering her best to the audience. Christina Ricci movies and TV shows have always been unique and special and the actress and consciously picked roles that will challenge her to grow. We are looking forward to more of her work in the future.
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Soumya Nair is an entertainment industry enthusiast who loves to write and bring in all the gossip and news to everyone interested. She always make sure to keep a keen eye on everything that goes behind the glam and glitter of the industry.
