Christina Ricci on the Childhood Cost of Spooky Stardom

Ricci, who gained fame in 1991 with The Addams Family and later starred in Casper and Sleepy Hollow, admitted in an interview with TODAY that her professional obligations often took precedence over holiday fun. While she recalls brief moments of trick-or-treating during her earliest years, the demands of Hollywood largely sidelined the holiday for her. She noted that she identifies more with Christmas as a personal favorite, viewing her spooky roles as professional assignments rather than a reflection of her private life.

Motherhood has fundamentally shifted her perspective. With her children, Freddie and Cleopatra, the actress has embraced the traditions she once missed, from neighborhood trick-or-treating to festive family chili cookouts. These days, she even collaborates on seasonal campaigns, such as a recent partnership with Kathy Najimy to celebrate community-focused Halloween traditions. Looking back, Ricci’s childhood memories are anchored not by commercial festivities, but by a peculiar family heirloom: a recurring gorilla costume passed down through her siblings, which she creatively repurposed each year before it eventually became a permanent, rice-stuffed fixture in her mother’s home.