Christina Applegate is battling an early form of breast cancer, her publicist said.

The disease was detected through an MRI ordered by a doctor but is not life-threatening, Ame Van Iden said in a statement.

She said: "She is following the recommended treatment of her doctors and will have a full recovery."

Applegate, 36, is best known for playing Kelly Bundy in the long-running US sitcom Married with Children.

She was nominated last month for an Emmy award for her role as an amnesia sufferer in TV comedy Samantha Who?.

She also received a Golden Globe nomination for the show.

Her mother battled both breast and cervical cancer, and she has been an advocate for breast cancer research.

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