Selma Blair Particulars Return to Performing After Considering Profession Was Finished

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There’s something deeply personal about watching an actress who shaped your teenage years fight her way back to the screen. 

For those who came of age with Selma Blair — who watched her deliver that iconic kiss in “Cruel Intentions,” cheered for her as the perfectly neurotic Vivian Kensington in “Legally Blonde,” and laughed until we cried at her antics in “The Sweetest Thing” — her return to acting feels like welcoming back an old friend.

The 53-year-old actress, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in August 2018, appeared on the Jan. 26 episode of “Today with Jenna & Sheinelle” with news that many of her longtime fans have been waiting years to hear. 

She’s working again, and she’s doing well.

Selma Blair thought she would never act again

In the candid interview with hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones, Selma Blair opened up about where she stands in her health journey—and her words carried the weight of someone who has genuinely stared down the possibility of losing everything she loved about her career.

“I am doing well. If you give me a chance to complain, that’s my love language, but I won’t do that,” she told the hosts with characteristic humor. 

“I’m relapse-free for a couple years. It took a long time to break through and start healing. I’m trying to get as much done and wake up as much as I can. I’m still tired a lot, and I need glasses now,” she added.

According to TODAY.com, Blair has been in remission since 2021.

“I absolutely thought I would not act again,” she said on the show.

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 “villain” in “Legally Blonde,” who became Liz Sherman in the “Hellboy” franchise—she genuinely believed her time in front of the camera was over.

Selma Blair details her long road back to acting

Blair didn’t sugarcoat what the journey has been like. She spoke openly about the challenges that made returning to work seem impossible for so long.

“I have some glitches with speech (and) movement, but that can all be worked out with the character. It’s not a big deal. A lot of people have things. But I didn’t have the energy,” she said.

“I move fine now. That was difficult, and lights and being with people…there’s 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,” she added.

You probably remember watching Blair on season 31 of Dancing with the Stars in the fall of 2022. 

Partnered with Sasha Farber, she brought the same commitment and vulnerability to the ballroom that she’d always brought to her film roles. 

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, according to People.

That perfect score on her final performance—knowing she was saying goodbye to the competition—remains one of the most emotionally powerful moments in the show’s history. 

A storied career that defined an era

It’s worth taking a moment to appreciate just how formative Blair’s filmography was for anyone who grew up in the late ’90s and early 2000s. 

Blair achieved her breakthrough in the 1999 coming-of-age drama Cruel Intentions after appearing in “Strong Island Boys” (1997) and “Amazon High” (1997), according to IMDB.

“Cruel Intentions” alone became a cultural touchstone—endlessly quoted, constantly referenced, and responsible for introducing a generation to the complicated pleasures of morally questionable characters. Blair’s portrayal of the innocent Cecile, manipulated by the scheming Sebastian and Kathryn, was pitch-perfect.

Then came “Legally Blonde” in 2001, where she played the preppy, dismissive Vivian Kensington opposite Reese Witherspoon’s Elle Woods. 

She’s also known for her roles in “The Sweetest Thing,” and the “Hellboy” franchise—a range that demonstrated her ability to move between comedy, drama, and action with ease.

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.

What’s Next: New projects on the horizon

The best news for fans eager to see Blair back on screen? She’s not just talking about returning to acting—she’s already done it, with more projects lined up.

She most recently appeared in the Israeli drama film “Stay Forte” (2025) and will soon star in the supernatural thriller “Silent,” according to Variety. She will also have a supporting role in “There There.”

Multiple new projects suggest this isn’t a tentative toe-dip back into the industry—it’s a genuine return to the work she loves.

“For me, I’ve 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,” she told Bush and Hager of acting. “I knew I was trying and I wanted to try, but it’s hard.”

She went on to describe being on set as a “very comfortable place” for her.

For those who have watched Blair’s career unfold over decades, there’s something deeply satisfying about knowing that the place where she created so many memorable characters—the place where she brought to life the roles that soundtracked our adolescence—still feels like home to her.

Welcome back, Selma.