EXCLUSIVE: Selma Blair Suffered Days She Couldn't 'Move' or 'Get Out of Bed' Amid Brutal Battle With MS Before Going Into Remission
Selma Blair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018.
June 22 2026, Updated 4:43 p.m. ET
Selma Blair announced that she had officially gone into remission from multiple sclerosis in 2021, but prior to that, she suffered a brutal battle with the autoimmune disease.
One day before the iconic Cruel Intentions star turns 54 years old, RadarOnline.com revisits her health journey and how her diagnosis changed everything.
Selma Blair Tried to 'Stay Strong' for Her Son Amid MS Battle
Selma Blair went into remission in 2021.
Blair was diagnosed with MS in 2018, after years of suffering unexplained symptoms, from extreme fatigue to vision and balance issues.
In the toughest times, one of her friends revealed there were some days the actress couldn't even "move" or "get out of bed."
"She’s trying to stay strong for her son and smile more for him. But it’s been hard," added the pal at the time.
Inside Selma Blair's Diagnosis
Selma Blair said she felt like a 'stranger' to herself amid MS battle.
After Blair's diagnosis, she claimed she felt a sense of relief at finally being able to put a name to the symptoms she'd lived with for so many years.
"It has a label. There is language for your experience," she shared in an excerpt of her book, Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up by Selma Blair.
But with the relief also came tragedy at the knowledge of how much her life had and would change.
"The future you imagined for yourself begins to morph before your eyes. Your plans, even the ones you didn’t realize you had, start to look radically different," she continued. "In a moment, your life divides itself into the before and the after. You realize this body you’ve inhabited for so many years – this bizarre collection of cells – has turned against you. It’s more than a betrayal. You feel trapped, a hostage inside your own skin. You are a stranger to you."
Selma Blair's Emotional Moment on the Red Carpet
Selma Blair used a cane at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2019.
Amid the pain, one bittersweet moment came when she attended the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2019.
"I wore my hair gelled up and back – no side part any more. I’ve never felt more beautiful," she wrote. "When I stepped out on the red carpet, with my beautiful dress and my cape and my bejewelled cane, and saw the cameras waiting for me, I broke down sobbing."
Not only did her manager help her during the emotional moment, the photographers also put their cameras down and let her have time to herself.
"They waited, quietly, as I dried my face and found my balance," she recalled. 'You look great, Selma!' a paparazzo shouted. 'We love you!' I’d never seen anything like it. I smiled and readied myself to pose. And then they started up again."
Selma Blair Is 'Much Happier' Now
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Selma Blair is an 'inspiration' to MS patients, a source claimed.
Back in 2024, an insider told Radar that Blair was "one tough cookie" and serves as an "inspiration" to MS survivors.
Last year, the actress also admitted she was "so much happier" following her diagnosis, despite the "setbacks" and times when "life goes off the rails."
"I was a sad person. I wanted joy and good things but I was living a lie because I didn’t know I was sick," she continued. "It’s been a long time of learning a new normal ... I’m doing great."
