Latest news with #SelmaBlair
New York Post
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Selma Blair reveals the MS symptoms doctors dismissed since she was a kid: ‘It took me 30 years to get an MRI'
The world learned about Selma Blair's multiple sclerosis diagnosis nearly seven years ago — but the autoimmune disease has been tormenting her for most of her life. The 'Cruel Intentions' actress, now 52, can trace early symptoms back to her childhood, but claims doctors brushed off the red flags for decades. 'It took me 30 years to get an MRI,' Blair said last week during a panel at the second annual Women's Health Lab, hosted in partnership with Northwell Health's Katz Institute for Women's Health. Advertisement 3 Selma Blair was diagnosed with MS on August 2018. Getty Images for Glamour At the age of 7, Blair lost control of her bladder and use of her right eye and left leg — yet, after ruling out cancer, doctors and family branded her an attention seeker. What they missed: Juvenile MS, a debilitating disease that affects the central nervous system by disrupting the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and body. 'If you're a boy with those symptoms, you get an MRI. If you're a girl, you're called 'crazy',' Blair told British Vogue in 2023. Advertisement As a child, the 'Hellboy' actress would wake up laughing uncontrollably in the middle of the night. Decades later, those laughs gave way to sudden, uncontrollable spells of sobbing. 'I just thought I was a hugely emotional person,' Blair said. In reality, MS had damaged her frontal lobe — like a brain injury. Advertisement It would be another 40 years until she received the diagnosis. 3 Selma Blair with her service doc Scout at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in 2025 Getty Images '[I was] thrilled,' Blair told People earlier this month. Advertisement 'I felt like people thought it had to be some tragic thing, but I was like, 'No, you don't understand,'' she said. 'I was feeling tragic inside before.' Blair, who shares 13-year-old son Arthur with ex Jason Bleick, said she often wondered what was 'wrong' with her before the diagnosis. 'I just did not understand how I was so different from people, but yet totally kind of fine-ish,' she told the outlet. 'I finally just felt seen.' Nearly 1 million Americans have been diagnosed with MS, according to the National MS Society. The disease can affect anyone, including children. You may be at higher risk if you're female, between 20 and 40, and of Northern European descent, per the Cleveland Clinic. 3 'If you're a boy with those symptoms, you get an MRI. If you're a girl, you're called 'crazy',' Blair said. Getty Images Doctors don't know exactly what causes MS, but research suggests that factors like smoking, childhood obesity, low vitamin D levels and genetics could be possible triggers. Advertisement Exposure to toxins like secondhand smoke and pesticides — as well as viruses such as Epstein-Barr or mono — may also increase the risk. Early warning signs of the MS include blurred vision, muscle weakness and numbness. As the disease progresses, symptoms can range from fatigue and dizziness to trouble with balance, bladder control, mood swings, muscle stiffness, and cognitive issues like memory and concentration problems. Many patients experiencing periods of remission where signs of the disease fade. While there is no cure, treatments can help manage symptoms and reduce flare-ups. Advertisement Last year, Blair revealed she suffered a major relapse after a stem cell transplant — but she's now in remission thanks to a new provider. Her doctor — the first woman she's ever been treated by — took a holistic approach, including factoring in the actresses early menopause. 'It really did change my life completely,' Blair said at the Women's Health Lab panel. 'We found a way to manage my MS and I am doing really, really well right now.'
The Independent
02-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Why Selma Blair was ‘thrilled' to receive her MS diagnosis
Selma Blair expressed feeling "thrilled" upon receiving her Multiple Sclerosis (MS) diagnosis in 2018. Prior to the diagnosis, she struggled to understand how others functioned normally while she experienced debilitating symptoms, unsure if her issues were psychosomatic. The diagnosis provided validation and a sense of being "seen," explaining her experiences with relapsing MS, where symptoms can temporarily disappear. Her doctor initially advised her to keep the diagnosis private, reflecting a past stigma surrounding such disclosures. She revealed experiencing MS symptoms as early as age seven, but her doctor dismissed them, highlighting the gender disparity in medical treatment.
New York Post
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Selma Blair admits she was ‘thrilled' after MS diagnosis while sharing huge health update
Selma Blair said she was 'thrilled' to have received her Multiple Sclerosis (MS) diagnosis. The 'Cruel Intentions' actress, 52, was diagnosed with the debilitating disease — which affects the central nervous system by disrupting the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and body — in August 2018. '[I was] thrilled,' Blair told People of the autoimmune disease. 'It's so funny. I felt like people thought it had to be some tragic thing, but I was like, 'No, you don't understand.' 4 Selma Blair said she was 'thrilled' to have received her Multiple Sclerosis (MS) diagnosis. Paul Zimmerman/Shutterstock 'I was feeling tragic inside before, and thinking this is just all psychosomatic and how can I change myself?' she added. Blair, who shares 13-year-old son Arthur with her ex Jason Bleick, said she would often wonder what was 'wrong' with her prior to the diagnosis. The 'Legally Blonde' alum said she would ask herself how people would go on with their daily routines with ease. 'I just did not understand how I was so different from people, but yet totally kind of fine-ish,' she told the outlet. 4 The actress, 52, was diagnosed with the debilitating disease in August 2018. 'I finally just felt seen. I kind of joke like, wait, there's receipts. This validates this vision here, this validates this or this or this, that people wouldn't really see because with relapsing MS, it can go away. It can relapse.' 'It's like relapse remitting, so it can relapse and it can remit, and so as a kid you'd get something checked and then you'd go back [and] it's not quite there, but you're left with the shadow of it,' she added. Blair admitted that she felt as though people had been 'gaslighting' her, albeit unintentionally. 4 The condition affects the central nervous system by disrupting the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and body. Getty Images for TIME 100 Health She acknowledges that it took her a long time to accept her reality, but eventually, she began speaking openly about her battle with the disease. 'And that's the part that I want to just tell people,' she said. 'Sometimes if we're lucky enough, we're still here at the end of these years to get better.' 'I'm just so curious and I just wanted to hear everything about people's experiences,' Blair added. The actress last week shared a welcome health update, revealing that she's 'truly in remission.' 4 The 'Cruel Intentions' star said it took her a long time to accept her reality. ©Columbia Pictures/courtesy Eve Blair told People that she's 'finally well enough' to leave the house. 'I am doing amazingly well. I've been feeling great for about a year,' she told the outlet. 'But I am finally well enough to really, genuinely — I always try and feel my best — but now that I actually have stamina and energy and getting out and going out isn't so scary.'
Perth Now
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Legally Blonde star Selma Blair reveals why she was 'thrilled' to receive her MS diagnosis
Selma Blair was "thrilled" to receive her MS diagnosis. The 52-year-old actress found out that she was suffering from multiple sclerosis - a condition that can affect the brain and spinal cord - in 2018 and insisted that the news only made her feel better about herself. She told People: "[I was] thrilled. It's so funny. I felt like people thought it had to be some tragic thing, but I was like, 'No, you don't understand. "I was feeling tragic inside before, and thinking this is just all psychosomatic and how can I change myself?" The 'Legally Blonde' star - whohas 13-year-old son Arhtur with her former partner Jason Bleick - would wonder before her diagnosis what was "wrong" with her and how other people seemed to manage in a day-to-day life. She said: "How do they do that? How do they feel that way? How does that mom carry her baby and stay awake? "I just did not understand how I was so different from people, but yet totally kind of fine-ish " finally just felt seen. I kind of joke like, wait, there's receipts. This validates this vision here, this validates this or this or this, that people wouldn't really see because with relapsing MS, it can go away. It can relapse." Just days ago, the 'Cruel Itentions' actress confirmed that she was "truly in remission" following her MS battle and had come to terms with being able to leave the house as she is "finally well enough" to do so now. She said: "I am doing amazingly well. I've been feeling great for about a year. But I am finally well enough to really, genuinely ... I always try and feel my best, but now that I actually have stamina and energy and getting out and going out isn't so scary." Selma has actually been in remission since 2021, and the actress previously explained that she was feeling "really great", despite the challenges of living with multiple sclerosis. She told People in 2023: "Everything's great. I am still in remission. "I do have things that will probably always be with me, dystonia and things that come and go that are a real phenomenon. But neurology is an interesting thing and it's fascinating to me." Multiple sclerosis causes involuntary muscle contractions, and Selema acknowledged that the disease had changed her life. Despite this, the movie star insisted at the time that she was still feeling "really happy". She said: "I do get tired, That's the thing. It is hard. "So we do have to remember to build in a rest day … because if mama goes down then we're down for a minute. But when I'm up, I'm doing it and I'm happy. I'm really happy."
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Selma Blair celebrates being ‘truly in remission' 7 years after MS diagnosis
Selma Blair is feeling optimistic. The 'Legally Blonde' actress revealed she's 'truly in remission' from multiple sclerosis while attending The Daily Front Row's 9th Annual Fashion Los Angeles Awards on Thursday. 'I am doing amazingly well,' the 'Cruel Intentions' star told People at the event. 'I've been feeling great for about a year,' she added. 'But I am finally well enough to really, genuinely … I always try and feel my best, but now that I actually have stamina and energy and getting out and going out isn't so scary.' The mom of one, 55, had been living with the autoimmune disease of the central nervous system for seven years. She said she's now ready to focus on what lies ahead. 'It's funny, I haven't spent enough time having dreams,' she told the outlet. 'And now it's like, what are my dreams?' 'You're just tired all the time,' she confessed of living with MS. 'I spent so much of my life so tired from being unwell that I think I just was trying to get through the day.' 'It's like, wait, I realize I don't know what my goals are.' The actress feels 'much more career-oriented' now and said she 'would love' to return to acting. In fact, she already has some movies in the works. Additionally, the 'Hellboy' star said she's still 'advocating for people with chronic illness and getting better, and what that looks like when you haven't made your wishes.' 'How do we give ourselves a new life force?' she said. For Blair, that new life force means more writing — she previously authored a memoir called 'Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up.' Now, she'd like to write a young adult book, citing for inspiration Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved 'The Secret Garden.' In June 2024, Blair poignantly told Page Six how her service dog, Scout, helped her remember to take her MS medication. 'He gives me a little nibble on my nose because I can get a little spastic. He reminds me,' she said at Chanel's Tribeca Festival Women's Luncheon. 'I get really distracted so I need him.' She also said she was doing 'well' following a bone marrow transplant several years earlier. 'It took a long time to recover but now I'm finally walking really well,' she told Page Six. 'I'm wearing heels without a cane.' Blair first disclosed her diagnosis in an emotional social media post in October 2018. 'I am disabled,' she wrote at the time. 'I drop things. My memory is foggy. And my left side is asking for directions from a broken gps.'
