Selma Blair Does Not ‘Live In Fear’ Of MS Diagnosis
By Movieguide® Contributor
Selma Blair is opening up about life in remission from multiple sclerosis.
“I don’t live in fear of this condition at all,” the actress told TODAY.
Blair revealed her MS diagnosis in 2018. Three years later, she announced she was in remission after receiving a stem cell transplant.
While Blair is in remission, she still deals with MS symptoms, from fatigue and balance issues to glitches in motion and speech.
“I still have symptoms,” she explained. “I do not have the absolute weakness that I had for a long time, and if I focus on something really truly and I’m awake, I can correct it. But often, it just takes a lot of energy.”
In recent years, Blair has become an outspoken advocate for disability rights. The actress recently appeared at the White House, where she spoke at an event honoring the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 50th anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act.
“The push towards equity continues,” Blair said. “Our laws and policies must reflect that our disabled lives are not of lesser value.”
Blair has said that her work is “for other people more than myself,” adding, “It makes me feel better.”
“It’s so the viewer at home normalizes that the kid in the wheelchair or the braces or with cerebral palsy—whatever it is that makes them feel different than the person that can just bounce up with their heels—can be in the movies,” she explained. “It’s like, ‘I can dream this. It’s built in that I can dream this. There is a way for me to get up there.’ I always say how visibility matters for the disabled. Well, visibility matters for everyone.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Blair’s life with MS:
Actress Selma Blair, known for LEGALLY BLONDE and HELLBOY, recently opened about her struggle with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Blair, 50, was diagnosed with MS in August 2018. While she has partially recovered, Blair said that it remains an everyday battle.
“I’m so much better, but it haunts my physical cells. It’s there,” she told Self magazine. “Some people wake up two years later and they’re like, ‘I’m healed! Colors are brighter!’ But I never had that moment. I just stopped having regression.”
Despite her condition, Blair said that she wants to continue to work in the entertainment industry as an actress.
“Yes, there’s a spectrum of peoples’ abilities. Absolutely. But you are what you are and it requires accommodations,” she said of disability and the industry. “There’s just so much realizing that people feel that they are a burden, and it takes away from your work. It takes away from focusing on your right to be there just as much as everyone else on the set.”
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