\n<\/p>\n
The creation of this article included the use of AI and was edited by human content creators. Read more on our AI policy <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n There\u2019s something deeply personal about watching an actress who shaped your teenage years fight her way back to the screen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For those who came of age with Selma Blair \u2014 who watched her deliver that iconic kiss in \u201cCruel Intentions,\u201d cheered for her as the perfectly neurotic Vivian Kensington in \u201cLegally Blonde,\u201d and laughed until we cried at her antics in \u201cThe Sweetest Thing\u201d \u2014 her return to acting feels like welcoming back an old friend.<\/span><\/p>\n The 53-year-old actress, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in August 2018, appeared on the Jan. 26 episode of \u201c<\/span>Today with Jenna & Sheinelle<\/span><\/a>\u201d with news that many of her longtime fans have been waiting years to hear.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She\u2019s working again, and she\u2019s doing well.<\/span><\/p>\n In the candid interview with hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones, Selma Blair<\/a> opened up about where she stands in her health journey\u2014and her words carried the weight of someone who has genuinely stared down the possibility of losing everything she loved about her career.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI am doing well. If you give me a chance to complain, that\u2019s my love language, but I won\u2019t do that,\u201d she told the hosts with characteristic humor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m relapse-free for a couple years. It took a long time to break through and start healing. I\u2019m trying to get as much done and wake up as much as I can. I\u2019m still tired a lot, and I need glasses now,\u201d she added.<\/span><\/p>\n According to <\/span>TODAY.com<\/span><\/a>, Blair has been in remission since 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI absolutely thought I would not act again,\u201d she said on the show.<\/span><\/p>\n Let that sink in for a moment. The woman who brought Cecile Caldwell to life with such delicious naivety, who made fans root for the \u201cvillain\u201d in \u201cLegally Blonde,\u201d who became Liz Sherman in the \u201cHellboy\u201d franchise\u2014she genuinely believed her time in front of the camera was over.<\/span><\/p>\n Photo by JC Olivera\/Getty Images<\/p>\n <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Blair didn\u2019t sugarcoat what the journey has been like. She spoke openly about the challenges that made returning to work seem impossible for so long.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI have some glitches with speech (and) movement, but that can all be worked out with the character. It\u2019s not a big deal. A lot of people have things. But I didn\u2019t have the energy,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI move fine now. That was difficult, and lights and being with people\u2026there\u2019s so many things. But going on Dancing With the Stars and doing things and kind of an immersion therapy, you just kind of have to work through it,\u201d she added.<\/span><\/p>\n You probably remember watching Blair on season 31 of Dancing with the Stars in the fall of 2022.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Partnered with Sasha Farber, she brought the same commitment and vulnerability to the ballroom that she\u2019d always brought to her film roles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She withdrew in week five (October 2022) due to health issues related to her Multiple Sclerosis, but earned a perfect 40\/40 on her final dance, <\/span>according to People<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n That perfect score on her final performance\u2014knowing she was saying goodbye to the competition\u2014remains one of the most emotionally powerful moments in the show\u2019s history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s worth taking a moment to appreciate just how formative Blair\u2019s filmography was for anyone who grew up in the late \u201990s and early 2000s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Blair achieved her breakthrough in the 1999 coming-of-age drama Cruel Intentions after appearing in \u201cStrong Island Boys\u201d (1997) and \u201cAmazon High\u201d (1997), <\/span>according to IMDB<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cCruel Intentions\u201d alone became a cultural touchstone\u2014endlessly quoted, constantly referenced, and responsible for introducing a generation to the complicated pleasures of morally questionable characters. Blair\u2019s portrayal of the innocent Cecile, manipulated by the scheming Sebastian and Kathryn, was pitch-perfect.<\/span><\/p>\n Then came \u201cLegally Blonde\u201d in 2001, where she played the preppy, dismissive Vivian Kensington opposite Reese Witherspoon\u2019s Elle Woods.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She\u2019s also known for her roles in \u201cThe Sweetest Thing,\u201d and the \u201cHellboy\u201d franchise\u2014a range that demonstrated her ability to move between comedy, drama, and action with ease.<\/span><\/p>\n For nearly three decades, Blair has been a consistent presence in entertainment, making her absence during the most difficult years of her MS journey all the more noticeable to those who grew up watching her work.<\/span><\/p>\n The best news for fans eager to see Blair back on screen? She\u2019s not just talking about returning to acting\u2014she\u2019s already done it, with more projects lined up.<\/span><\/p>\n She most recently appeared in the Israeli drama film \u201cStay Forte\u201d (2025) and will soon star in the supernatural thriller \u201cSilent,\u201d <\/span>according to Variety<\/span><\/a>. She will also have a supporting role in \u201cThere There.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Multiple new projects suggest this isn\u2019t a tentative toe-dip back into the industry\u2014it\u2019s a genuine return to the work she loves.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFor me, I\u2019ve been lucky that I had this relapse-free time to kind of get strong again. But I did, for a long time, think this was it,\u201d she told Bush and Hager of acting. \u201cI knew I was trying and I wanted to try, but it\u2019s hard.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She went on to describe being on set as a \u201cvery comfortable place\u201d for her.<\/span><\/p>\n For those who have watched Blair\u2019s career unfold over decades, there\u2019s something deeply satisfying about knowing that the place where she created so many memorable characters\u2014the place where she brought to life the roles that soundtracked our adolescence\u2014still feels like home to her.<\/span><\/p>\nSelma Blair thought she would never act again<\/b><\/h2>\n
Selma Blair details her long road back to acting<\/b><\/h2>\n
A storied career that defined an era<\/b><\/h2>\n
What\u2019s Next: New projects on the horizon<\/b><\/h2>\n