Selma Blair recently graced the cover of British Vogue and got even more vulnerable about her multiple sclerosis journey. Blair, who has previously spoken about her condition, tells the magazine that it took her 40 years to receive a diagnosis. The ‘Legally Blonde’ actor was only diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018, despite later discovering she had lived with symptoms for most of her life.
By the age of seven, she had lost the use of her right eye, left leg, and her bladder. She also woke up in the middle of the night with waves of hysterical laughter. But all of this was dismissed by doctors as “attention seeking,” rather than the dark reality: undiagnosed juvenile MS.
“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. Aside from the physical symptoms, she assumed the fits of laughter and eventual uncontrollable sobbing were due to her being a “hugely emotional person.” Turns out MS had damaged her anterior lobe, essentially the equivalent of a brain injury. “I looked like a ‘normal’ girl,” she says, “but I was disabled all the time.”
“I didn’t think I could ever make a difference by appearing as myself and being open about my experiences.”
Despite being silenced in her youth, the 50-year-old actress is now one of the most vocal and visible stars with disabilities. Blair was photographed for the cover of British Vogue as part of May’s ‘Reframing Fashion’ issue, which highlights how the fashion industry can be more inclusive of the disability community. The cover features Blair proudly showing off her cane, a mobility aid that some people with MS (including Christina Applegate) use to help with balance and support.
“I have an emotional and physical attachment to the cane,” Blair explained to British Vogue, when asked what the support means to her. “I settle into my voice and body as soon as I hold on [it]. It’s an extension of me. And I know it adds to visibility. So many younger people have begun to embrace their sticks more publicly. I do think that representation matters. If I can help take away stigma or over-curiosity in a crowd for someone else, that’s great.”
But being visible wasn’t always the goal. Blair said she had “worried since the dawn of time” that her health problems would be “discovered”, and lived in “terror” during the early parts of her career. In 2009, she decided to leave the industry completely.
“My autoimmune system wasn’t working…I lost most of my hair and all of my energy. I leaned over a bit [after the show],” Blair said, referring to her taking a step back after shooting the “Kath & Kim” remake.
“I spent my days in bed, crying, sometimes binge drinking, sometimes reading and sleeping, visiting doctors and healers… I almost gave up until the diagnosis,” Blair continued. “I was always terrified that I would be deemed incompetent. Or mentally unsound. My mother taught me that was death for a woman in her career.”
But it turns out that being diagnosed with MS, and then being open about the experience, only opened up new opportunities for Blair. From her bestselling memoir “Mean Baby” to her documentary “Introducing, Selma Blair” – the actor has created a huge amount of awareness around multiple sclerosis.
Blair made her first public appearance since announcing her MS diagnosis at the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, where she received strong support both in person and online.
“I didn’t think I could ever make a difference by appearing as myself and being open about my experience,” she told British Vogue. “But when others with mobility aids gathered around my presence on the red carpet with a cane and in the middle of an MS flare, I noticed. I felt empowered to share…Now it’s a conscious choice to do so .”
Image Source: Photo by Adama Jalloh Courtesy of British Vogue
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