Christina Ricci Is Grateful That Cher Protected Her On “Mermaids” Set

At 44, Christina Ricci has had an impressive career. She made her acting debut at just 10 years old in the cult classic film Mermaids alongside Winona Ryder and the iconic star of stage and screen, Cher. Even though Christina was just a kid, Cher treated her as a professional.

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She told Entertainment Weekly that Cher was a superstar, but she was also kind and generous.

“Cher took me under her wing, and she recognized that sometimes you could be on a set, and you don’t know exactly what is going on behind the scenes — power struggles, or different issues,” she said. “And if you don’t know any better, and have no experience, you can think it was your fault. And she never wanted me to feel insecure.”

She added that Cher let her have fun on the set. And sometimes, she’d also be allowed to skip homework for a sweet treat.

“She was great. I spent all my time with her,” Christina said. “I used to hide from tutor school in her trailer eating See’s — she was obsessed with the chocolate See’s lollipops. It was the first time I had ever seen sparkling water, also. I was like, ‘These rich people with their bubbly water!'”

Acting allowed her to have an even greater bond with her own mom.

“What I really loved was getting to go with my mom on the bus to New York to the Port Authority,” Christina recalled. “My mother was kept in a place in my home where she was not present. And as soon as she and I got out of the house, she had a personality. We became very close, and she would teach me about street smarts, and getting around Manhattan, and all the stuff to avoid getting killed at the Port Authority — ’cause it was 1987, so it was a really unsafe time to be at the Port Authority. So having that one-on-one attention from my mother was something that was really incredible.”

This story’s featured image is by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images.