Selma Blair Was Diagnosed With MS In 2018 — How Is She Doing Now?
Updated Oct. 18 2022, 2:27 p.m. ET
Finding out that you have a disease can cause most to panic. Many people under those circumstances typically go through feelings of doubt, sadness, and in some cases, denial. However, once you realize your new normal, learning how to live your life to the fullest extent becomes paramount — and actress Selma Blair is a shining example.
In case you’ve been MIA, Selma shared her MS aka multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2018. Since then, the now 50-year-old has been very vocal about living with the disease. In light of Selma’s Season 31 Dancing With the Stars cast announcement, fans have been yearning for a health update. Here’s everything that we know.
Selma Blair has described her experience with MS as “not as bad as she thought it would be, but also way worse” in her memoir.
Before we go into Selma’s health update, it’s important to share what MS actually is. According to Mayo Clinic, MS “is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system).”
The disease is said to affect how the brain and nerves in your body communicate. As a result, issues with mobility can surface along with symptoms that include brain fog, tremors, nerve pain, vision problems, and more.
Selma first announced to the world that she was diagnosed with MS on October 20, 2018, on Instagram. Since then, the actress has been very open about living with the disease via social media and has even shared her new normal in the May 2022 memoir, Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up.
“Living with MS is not as bad as I thought it would be. It’s also way worse,” Selma wrote in her memoir via The Guardian. “My particular experience with this disease is that it has affected every inch of my body, from scalp to marrow. If I stand up too quickly, I fall. If I’m triggered by anything where I don’t know the outcome, I can’t speak. I sweat through my clothes, but I’m freezing.”
Selma continued, “If I don’t take my meds, I cannot feel my body. I don’t know if I’m sopping wet or getting frostbite. Without my meds, I also lose the ability to speak. When I’m in a flare, I sound like a tantrum-throwing toddler, distraught and gasping for breath. I sometimes choke when I eat. I am sometimes incontinent.”
Selma also shared that while her symptoms often come and go, she sometimes has to use a cane to get around. However, Selma’s determined to live her life on her own terms.
It’s no secret that living with MS comes with its shares of challenges, but Selma being open about her journey with the disease shows how far perseverance can take you.
Why does Selma Blair have a cane?
At the 2022 Emmys, Selma graced the stage to present the Outstanding Drama Series winner wearing a stunning dress and using a matching cane. That cane is directly related to her health, but it has also become an important part of her life.
She told Harper's Bazaar the cane is her "dance partner," and that it has helped her emotionally just as much as physically since her 2018 diagnosis.
She said: "Movement has been so important to me my whole life. I was a gymnast. I always wanted to be a dancer, but I never had any talent, never even took a lesson, and then to have my movement compromised... then I found the cane and realized how much I could work around it and how much coordination I still had, despite certain glitches. That freed me up so much.”
Selma Blair has a sizable net worth.
As of writing, Celebrity Net Worth reports that Selma has earned a net worth of $6 million and counting. This number reflects Selma’s work as an actress and voice actress. Selma has long been celebrated for her work in 1999’s Cruel Intentions and 2001’s Legally Blonde. Additionally, Selma has gone on to earn 80 credits for her acting skills.
Aside from Selma’s talent as an actress, the 50-year-old is also a player in the charitable world. The outlet shares that Selma has supported a slew of charitable organizations including the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Operation Smile, Children's Action Network, and Staying Alive Foundation.
Selma was part of Season 31 of ‘Dancing With the Stars.’
Per Page Six, Selma joined a star-studded Dancing With the Stars cast that includes Gabby Windey of Season 19 of The Bachelorette, RHONJ’s Teresa Guidice, Jersey Shore star Vinny Guadagnino, songstress Jordin Sparks, singer Jessie James Decker, reality star Shangela, actress Cheryl Ladd, actor Jason Lewis and Trevor Donovan, fitness model Joseph Baena, comedian Wayne Brady, and weather anchor Sam Champion.
However, she announced in October 2022 that she was going to have to step away from the show for health reasons.
“I've been monitored and in touch with my doctors this whole process. I had these MRI’s and the results came back, and it just all adds up to, I can’t ... I can’t go on with the competition," she told her partner Sasha Farber in her final episode of the season.
She continued: "There’s just intensive bone trauma and inflammation, among rips and tears, and so I could do extensive damage that, of course, I do not want."
What she did want, however, was one final dance with her partner for the season. Her sendoff was a perfect score on her performance. Now, she can go back to focusing on keeping herself happy, knowing her time on the show meant the world to many people, and her as well.
“This is a dance for everyone that has tried and hoped they could do more," she said, "but also the power in realizing when it’s time to walk away."