Christine Campbell (character)
| Christine Campbell | |
|---|---|
 Christine Campbell | |
| First appearance | Pilot |
| Portrayed by | Julia Louis-Dreyfus |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | GYM Owner |
| Family | Matthew Kimble (brother) Richie Campbell (son) |
| Spouse | Richard Campbell (ex-husband) |
| Children | Richie |
Christine Campbell (née Kimble) is the title character of The New Adventures of Old Christine, portrayed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus in her Emmy winning role. The series surrounds her as she starts to live a more complicated daily life when her ex-husband dates a new, younger Christine
Character History
Christine is a single, divorced 37-year old with a son. Christine's competitive and aggressive nature are common factors that get in the way of her happiness, such as in the episode Ritchie has two Mommies, where she refuses to let her son meet her ex-husband's new girlfriend Christine, fearing he'll like her more.[1] Christine is seen as very self-centered, as she often makes situations revolving around other people about her.
Christine's oblivious attitude towards current events and politics frequently go back to her obsession with American Idol. In Strange Bedfellows, Christine attempts to get more involved with the world to be a good role model for her son, which goes horribly wrong when she supports a cause sponsored by the oil company.[2] Christine often gets obsessions with celebrities, as her peers have brought up Jon Stewart, and she has brought up people including Jake Gyllenhall and Taylor Hicks.
Character Relationships
Family
Richard Campbell (Clark Gregg), Christine's ex-husband and current friend. Richard often criticizes Christine for being too controlling and being a bad role model for their son Ritchie. They remain friends and Christine often gets herself tangled up in his problems, resulting in them being worse.
Matthew (Hamish Linklater), Christine's live-in brother and nanny of Ritchie. Matthew lives at the house and does as he pleases in exchange for caring for Ritchie when needed. Matthew often finds himself having to tend to Christine's strange problems, issues and ideas.
Ritchie Campbell (Trevor Gagnon), Christine's adorable son. They have a good relationship but Ritchie prefers to hang out with his dad.
Friends
Christine Hunter (Emily Rutherfurd), Richard's live-in girlfriend (as of 3.07). Perceived as a dumb blond, Christine fills herself with feelings of jealousy and hatred for unknown reasons, until made apparent when Christine ruins Richard's birthday when saying that she was better than New Christine. Since then, Christine has hated her for different reasons, such as setting her up with a high school student (3.06) and moving in with Richard. Christine also slept with her father, a problem circulating through the seasons.
Lindsay and Marly (Alex Kapp Horner and Tricia O'Kelley), Meanie moms at Ritchie's school. Continuously criticize Christine for her age, because she works and her fashion style. Recently, Christine attempted to befriend them, and although it went well, she later left because they were disrespecting Ritchie. Lindsay, the least cut-throat, defended Christine once when they crashed cars.
Barb (Wanda Sykes), Christine's best friend and co-owner at the gym. Barb and Christine are seen frequently as disagreeing despite their friendship. Barb often goes with people such as Matthew and Richard who make fun of her for various reasons.
Conception
Although Julia Louis-Dreyfus' run on Seinfeld ran for nine historic seasons, the actress struggled to find success in a post-Seinfeld world. The NBC sitcom Watching Ellie did not last more than two shortened seasons but her role as Christine Campbell on The New Adventures of Old Christine is into its third full season on CBS, and it's a role she's incredibly comfortable with.
Within the world of her current show, Julia enjoys playing the part of a mother, a characteristic not present in her previous two roles on television. A mother of two boys herself, Julia Louis-Dreyfus finds joy in portraying Christine Campbell[1], who coincidentally enough has a young boy of about the same age as her real life children. It's a role that Julia easily fits into because of the amount of reality it possesses for her. This reality within the character of Christine is amplified further by both Julia and Christine's interest in saving the environment[2], as both drive hybrid cars[3].
References
- ^ "Ritchie has two Mommies". The New Adventures of Old Christine. 2006-05-01.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Strange Bedfellows". The New Adventures of Old Christine. 2007-03-19.
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