Selma Blair's MS Went Undiagnosed for 40 Years: 'I Just Thought I Was a Hugely Emotional Person'
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Selma Blair experienced symptoms of multiple sclerosis during childhood but wasn't diagnosed until 2018
Selma Blair is opening up about what her childhood was like before she learned she had multiple sclerosis.
The 50-year-old actress — who was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease in 2018 and has been in remission since 2021 — appeared on the May 2022 cover of British Vogue, detailing how she lived for 40 years before learning she had the disease.
Blair explained that as early as 7 years old, she was unknowingly experiencing symptoms of MS like losing use of her right eye, left leg and her bladder. However, she said she was labeled as an attention-seeker and often dismissed by doctors.
"If you're a boy with those symptoms, you get an MRI. If you're a girl, you're called 'crazy,'" she said.
The Cruel Intentions star told the outlet that as a child, she would also often wake up in the middle of the night laughing hysterically — which later turned into uncontrollable crying as an adult.
"I just thought I was a hugely emotional person," she recalled. "I looked like a 'normal' girl to them, but I was Disabled this whole time."
Related: How Selma Blair Is Helping to Make Shopping Easier for People with Disabilities
Being diagnosed with MS 40 years later, Blair admits that it can be "overwhelming" living with the constraints of her disease.
"I can be sat on the couch and then I wake up. I've passed out and have no idea where I am," she explained.
Those symptoms are, in part, why she decided to hide her diagnosis — so that she could continue working.
"I was worried since the beginning of time that a glaring fault would remove me from the workforce," Blair said. "And usually it was my incoordination or getting stuck, too weak or sick, in my trailer – or any time, really. The vomiting or body issues were terrifying, [and the] baldness or rashes."
She added that she was terrified of being "found out."
However, now that Blair has shared her experience with MS, she said she's motivated by others with disabilities to embrace her journey, and to help others do the same.
"I couldn't have made a move — sometimes literally — without my allies in the Disabled community," she says. "They blow my mind."
Blair continued, "I didn't imagine I could ever make a difference by showing up as myself and being open about my experiences. But when others with mobility aids rallied around my presence on the red carpet with a cane and in the midst of an MS flare, I noticed. I felt empowered to share… Now it's a conscious choice to."
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