Applegate Reveals Real-life Kelly Bundy
By WENNWednesday, July 28, 2010
CHRISTINA APPLEGATE gave U.S. TV audiences a late night laugh on Tuesday (27Jul10) - when she exposed the real-life ditzy blonde who inspired her character on hit ’90s sitcom MARRIED WITH CHILDREN.
Applegate soared to fame after playing stereotypical dumb blonde Kelly Bundy on the hit series, about a dysfunctional family living in Chicago, Illinois.
But it wasn’t until she saw spacey, Spandex-wearing Cindy Birmisa in a 1988 documentary about heavy metal that she developed her famous Married with Children character.
The actress played a clip from the film on late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live! - and admitted even Birmisa herself doesn’t know she was Applegate’s inspiration.
She explained, “If you see the first season of Married with Children, I’m kind of a tougher 15 year old. But I saw The Decline of Civilization Part II: The Metal Years and I’m watching this movie and this girl comes on and I went, ‘Oh my God, that’s it! That’s who this character is!’ And literally the next day I went to get Lycra mini dresses with the wardrobe lady… I haven’t ever revealed who it was and this is her.”
