Biography
American actress Selma Blair enjoyed tremendous success as a young actress before later using her own experiences with the disease to promote awareness of multiple sclerosis. Born in Southfield, Michigan, she began gravitating towards acting in college. Living in New York, her early career was filled with fits and starts. She made her television debut in the children's sitcom "The Adventures of Pete & Pete" (Nickelodeon, 1992-96). Big screen roles followed in the drama "Strong Island Boys" (1997) and the comedy "In & Out" (1997), as well as the TV fantasy adventure "Amazon High" (1997). The profile of her roles continued to increase as she starred with Dominique Swain in "Girl" (1998) and the well-received thriller "Brown's Requiem" (1998). She found mainstream success when she joined Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Reese Witherspoon in the cast of "Cruel Intentions" (1999). Blair was then cast as the lead in "Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane" (The WB, 1999-2000), playing first a high school and then, in the second season, college student. She continued working with her top contemporaries, starring alongside Freddie Prinze Jr. and Julia Stiles in "Down to You" (2000) and joining Witherspoon for the hit comedy "Legally Blonde" (2001). In between the studio fare, she worked steadily in independent films, including "Storytelling" (2001) and "Highway" (2002), with Jake Gyllenhaal. Now firmly established, she starred with Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate in the comedy "The Sweetest Thing" (2002), joined Stiles for "A Guy Thing" (2003), and made a memorable guest appearance on the hit TV show "Friends" (NBC, 1994-2004). She found a different kind of acclaim when she teamed with Ron Perlman for Guillermo Del Toro's superhero offering "Hellboy" (2004). She played Liz Sherman, a woman with pyrotechnic abilities, a role she would revisit in the sequel "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" (2008) and in animated follow-ups to the films. While continuing to work in a variety of film projects, Blair returned to television with starring roles in the sitcoms "Kath & Kim" (NBC, 2008-09), opposite Molly Shannon, and "Anger Management" (FX, 2012-14) with Charlie Sheen. She also took on the role of Kardashian family matriarch, Kris Jenner, in the high-profile miniseries "American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson" (FX, 2016), acting alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. and John Travolta. The actress later joined the ensemble cast, along with Susan Sarandon and Courteney Cox, of the drama "Mothers and Daughters" (2016). Just as she was cast in a recurring role in the online series "Another Life" (Netflix, 2019), Blair revealed that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The revelation led to a fresh round of dialogue and attention around the debilitating neurological disorder. Stars in "A Dark Foe" (2021) with Oscar Cardenas, Kenzie Dalton and Graham Green.
