'Legally Blonde' actress Selma Blair reveals multiple sclerosis took her career down

‘Legally Blonde’ actress Selma Blair recently opened up about her multiple sclerosis diagnosis as she revealed that the disease had a major impact on her Hollywood career. 

Speaking to BBC, Selma said, "When I talked about it, there was so much support, but I never got a job again.”

Owing to suffering from multiple sclerosis, Selma felt fatigue and speech issues since her youth. She kept them a secret at first because she was “ashamed and concerned” that she wouldn’t get work again. 

She felt at ease only after 2018 when doctors diagnosed multiple sclerosis. After she knew she had a health condition, Selma felt relief. “There was a little bit of panic, like how will I have the energy to ever even deal with this? I had been down that road for so many years without a diagnosis that I did feel kind of hopeless still, but I was hoping that the diagnosis of MS would give me so many more options. It was an amazing, comforting feeling to know that there was a whole community of chronic illness or MS patients."

Known for iconic films like ‘Cruel Intentions’ and ‘Legally Blonde’, Selma feels Hollywood has come a long way in diversifying its heroes and in representation of all kinds of people including those with disabilities. She still feels Hollywood has a “bigger responsibility to create iconic images with people that have disabilities.”
She added, "I know that my own MS took my career down. I had to stop working for years, even before I had my son [in 2011], because I wasn't well. Disability was affecting me and taking me out of the workforce and it created huge changes in my physical appearance… things that couldn't be in a movie or a TV show."

Selma Blair is on the list of women featured on the BBC 100 Women list for 2022. Each year, 100 inspiring and influential women are listed in this.