Christina Ricci's Best TV And Movie Roles

Christina Ricci has been working in Hollywood for over three decades now, and as expected, her acting resume runs both vast and deep. According to IMDb, Ricci has 89 onscreen acting credits as of this writing, including newer projects like "The Matrix Resurrections,"  the horror movie "Monstrous, and the sci-fi thriller "The Dresden Sun." While her career has had its ups and downs, Ricci has never stopped working since she first began in 1990.

The actress got her onscreen start with a guest stint on the sitcom "H.E.L.P.," and that same year made a splash with her movie debut in "Mermaids," opposite Cher and Winona Ryder. She became an in-demand child actor soon after, stealing scenes in family films like "The Addams Family," "Casper," and "Now and Then." Ricci utilized her atypical (for Hollywood) looks and sardonic personality to her advantage during her teens and 20s, choosing offbeat characters in movies like "The Opposite of Sex," "Pecker," "Monster," and "Black Snake Moan."

While Ricci has remained active in film over the last decade, she has been more present on television, where she has dazzled in leading roles in shows like "Pan Am" and the currently-airing "Yellowjackets," and in miniseries like "The Lizzie Borden Chronicles" and "Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story." Here are some of Christina Ricci's all-time best television and movie performances.

Two years after "Addams Family Values," Christina Ricci starred in a pair of moderately successful family films – "Casper," based upon that friendly ghost we all know and love, and "Now and Then," a coming-of-age dramedy written by I. Marlene King, who would go on to develop the "Pretty Little Liars" television world. Ricci was good in both movies, but it was "Now and Then" that allowed her to better shine as a moody teen dealing with the death of a parent and the onslaught of unwanted puberty.

Ricci's character Roberta Martin was one of four girls at the center of "Now and Then," shown in flashbacks to the summer of 1970, and contrasted with present-day scenes of their adult counterparts (Rosie O'Donnell played Roberta as an adult). While audiences like the film far more than critics (see Rotten Tomatoes, where it has a 30% critic score and an 82% from audiences), they were much kinder to the young actors than the adult ones. Variety called it "a showcase for four fine actresses in their early teens" and legendary critic Roger Ebert said in his Chicago Sun-Times review that "the four young actresses ... are wonderfully talented."

At the height of her popularity in the late 1990s, Christina Ricci appeared in 13 films between 1997 and 1999. Seven of these came out in 1998, an especially big year for the actress, including "Pecker," "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," and "Desert Blue." One of these films, "Buffalo 66," is amongst Ricci's best — a dark crime comedy about a man named Billy Brown (Vincent Gallo), who has recently been released from prison. Billy kidnaps a young woman (Ricci as Layla) and forces her to pose as his wife for the benefit of his parents, and the two end up falling for each other.

"Ricci is perfectly cast as the fleshy and nurturing Layla, playing her as a kindred spirit to Billy's package of damaged emotional goods," wrote the Washington Post's movie critic. Other critics were equally enchanted, with Time calling Ricci "just lovely,"and the San Francisco Chronicle calling it "another amazing performance" from the young star. "Christina Ricci is like a soloist who occasionally stands up and takes the spotlight while the other players recede into the shadows, nodding and smoking," wrote Roger Ebert in his review.

In 1999, Christina Ricci went back to her inner Wednesday Addams and drew on her gothic roots when she appeared in Tim Burton's supernatural horror movie "Sleepy Hollow." The movie focuses on Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp), an 18th century constable who is called from New York City to investigate a series of decapitations that are believed to have been done by a deadly apparition known as The Headless Horseman. While in Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod is being boarded by the Van Tassel family, headed by rich famer Baltus (Michael Gambon) and his second wife Mary (Miranda Richardson). Ricci plays Baltus' daughter Katrina, who is dating egotistical Brom Van Brunt (Casper Van Dien) but becomes involved with Ichabod (and entangled in the mystery).

The New York Times reviewer wrote that, "Katrina is played photogenically by Christina Ricci, who gets through the film gamely while remaining very much a sardonic creature of her own time." And while "Sleepy Hollow" does sometimes venture into predictable territory, it is a beautifully shot film. It was also cool to see Ricci play against-type and less sarcastic than usual, in a role that earned her a Blockbuster Entertainment Award, a Saturn Award, and nominations at the Teen Choice Awards and Young Artist Awards.

Everyone knows "Monster" as the movie that won Charlize Theron her (much-deserved) Oscar, but Christina Ricci also turned out a fine performance in the 2003 biographical drama. Theron played murderous sex worker Aileen Wuornos, who murdered seven of her clients in 1989 and 1990. Ricci played Wuornos' lover Selby Wall, whom she meets at a Daytona Beach gay bar in the film. Selby eventually realizes Aileen is a serial killer, and later testifies against Aileen at her trial.

There is no denying the force that was Theron in "Monster," but it is a shame that focus was so much on Theron that Ricci was overlooked for her performance. Not everyone got it, but those who did were quick to offer praise. "Christina Ricci finds the correct note for Selby Wall — so correct some critics have mistaken it for bad acting, when in fact it is sublime acting in its portrayal of a bad actor," wrote the Chicago-Sun Times film critic extraordinaire Roger Ebert. "She plays Selby as clueless, dim, in over her head, picking up cues from moment to moment, cobbling her behavior out of notions borrowed from bad movies, old songs, and barroom romances."

We will never know exactly what Christina Ricci could have given us with "Pan Am," since ABC canceled the show after only half a season. But we do know that "Pan Am" was an inventive and enjoyable period drama, and that Ricci was great in the 14 episodes that did air. The show revolved around a group of stewardesses (who would now be called flight attendants) in the 1960s Jet Age, all working for the now-defunct Pan American World Airways. Ricci's character Maggie Ryan was a bleeding-heart bohemian who was recently reinstated after being suspended for not wearing a girdle, and who lied about knowing Portuguese to get the job as a purser.

Ricci's first starring role in a television series was interesting and her character Maggie had ideals that often did not align with her behaviors. For instance, uber-Liberal Maggie had an affair with a Republican congressman she wrote a scathing expose about. Maggie also joined one of the pilots in smuggling alcohol and tobacco during flights, and consistently rebelled against the system, which gave Ricci much to do. Reviews were mixed, and the audience never bit, but like Entertainment Weekly, we found Ricci "engaging," and like the A.V. Club, we enjoyed "the cool, confident way Ricci carries herself in the role."

Christina Ricci continued her television streak with "Z: The Beginning of Everything," a semi-biographical period drama focused on Zelda Fitzgerald. The series was a fictionalized version of the life of the socialite/writer, who was married to author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ricci appeared as Zelda who, along with husband F. Scott (David Hoflin), partied too hard in 1920s New York City. The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "This is in every way a tailored star vehicle, but the actress throws herself fully into every scene, playing up Zelda's the-world-bows-to-me! aggressiveness, while always hinting at the aching, delicate spirit underneath."

The series begins with the courtship between Zelda and her eventual husband, and it covers the changes the Southern Belle undergoes — both physically and psychologically — after they marry and she begins to integrate into his world. "Ricci commits to the role like it's the role of a lifetime, and honestly, that might be the case," wrote IndieWire's reviewer. "It's certainly not hard to imagine her scoring a few nominations for this performance." Sadly, the Amazon Studios show lasted only one season (though it was originally renewed for a second season before Amazon rescinded the renewal) and Ricci earned no honors.

In 2021, Christina Ricci is getting much attention for her starring role in the new television series "Yellowjackets." The Showtime show is about four high school soccer players who survive a devastating plane crash circa 1996. The series traces both their time as teenager, stranded in the Ontario wilderness and desperate to survive, as well as their lives as adults in the current day. Ricci plays the adult version of Misty, the team's student manager who goes from bully to leader in the face of the tragedy.

In the adult timeline, Misty is hospice nurse who is depicted as incredibly manipulative and cold-blooded, which has allowed Ricci to really sink her teeth into the complex role. "As an ever-lonely and calculating Misty, Christina Ricci toes the line of maniacal without crossing over into full camp as could easily be the case," said Variety in their review. And in their rave review, IndieWire wrote that, "Ricci is equally wonderful to watch, giving a Patrick Bateman-level turn with a smile and deep-seated psychopathy that is terrifying."