True, Christina Ricci was a dark and disturbed teenager, prone to bad habits and self-loathing. But the woman she has turned into today, is a far cry from her former self.
From being the spooky kid in Hollywood (you have to remember her role in The Adams Family), Christina Ricci went on to be the bad girl of Hollywood. She glorified her anorexia, made no qualms about her liberal views on incest, was proud of physically harming herself ... In her own words, she was "one mixed up kid".
But today we see a new Christina. One who has embraced change, righted her wrongs, turned over a new leaf and started afresh.
The perfect start to this new life could be her role in Speed Racer. Unlike all her past characters, this one isn't malevolent (Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family, 1991), or a disturbed nyphomaniac (Rae in Black Snake Moan, 2006), or dark and damaged (Shelby in Monster, 2003), or even a tormented teen (The Ice Storm, 1997, Buffalo '66, 1998, and Prozac Nation, 2001).
Unlike all those other roles, this one's upbeat, cute, likes action and even flies a pink helicopter! She's a cartoon character brought to life on the big screen. And with her big eyes and pale white skin, Christina makes for the perfect choice to play Trixie Fontaine. In an interview with UK's The Telegraph, Ricci says, "What's really funny is that people for years had been saying to me, 'You know, they're going to make a Speed Racer movie and you should totally play Trixie.' And I do look a little bit anime when I have dark hair with my white skin."
And movie characters isn't the only thing she's changed about her life. True, it's been a life with its share of ups and downs, but then again, whose life hasn't, you'd think? But how many of those other lives have had to be lived out in the public eye? When the media scrutinises every move you make, where a simple trip to the hairdressers becomes paparazzi headlines. Imagine what a circus they'd make out of puberty.
A circus it was, and sadly, Christina was their clown. The one to mock, the one people pointed their fingers and laughed at. The one who, after all those cruel jibes about her imbalanced life, was pushed to the extent of wanting to prove them right, just so she wouldn't have to fight back.
So instead of proms and pretty dresses, Christina made shocking adult-like statements about her parents, hurt herself, got into bad company, turned goth, anorexic, and just all-around bad.
Until something within her snapped. And suddenly she sat up and realised that she was born privileged. With a silver spoon in her mouth. With the gift of fame and talent. And instead of using it well and being a role model to the young generation, she was throwing it away.
So began the uphill climb to the Christina we write about today. The girl who has a McDonald's happy meal named after her character Trixie in Speed Racer. The girl who now admits that image, especially self-image, is a very important thing and shouldn't be taken lightly. Ricci strongly feels that too many teens see themselves in a negative light and hopefully, she can finally be that long-desired role model to them. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Ricci says, "I was too busy thinking about my skin or my weight or the clothes I was wearing instead of just enjoying it and saying, 'I can't believe I am where I am. This is awesome and I'm going to experience it.' The more focused you are on criticism, the more it's going to affect you. Vanity is unnecessary. I'm the most vain person on earth, but I have learned to let things go, just so I can have fun. You really have to make a decision in life that you're not going to be crippled by your insecurities."
Today Ricci stands proud with what she's accomplished. Her weight doesn't balloon up and down. She isn't plagued by anxiety, loathing and self-doubt. She's come to terms with who she is, where she stands in life, what she wants from it and where she's heading. Today's Christina Ricci isn't scared of what life to offer her. Instead, she's waiting with open arms to embrace all that it brings her way. She's finally turned over a new leaf, overcome those demons, faced her fears, and won all those once-lost battles. Today's Christina Ricci is a woman to be proud of. A woman to look up to. A woman to love.
