Selma Blair said she experienced symptoms she later associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) in childhood, but was not diagnosed until 2018. In a 2023 interview with British Vogue, she recalled episodes of uncontrollable crying before she understood what might be behind them: “I just thought I was a hugely emotional person.” Her account describes her own history; emotional episodes alone do not establish an MS diagnosis.
What Blair said about the symptoms that began in childhood
Looking back in her April 2023 British Vogue interview, Blair said that by age seven she had lost use of her right eye and left leg and had bladder problems. She later understood these experiences as part of her history with MS. The interview does not say that MS was identified as their cause when they occurred.
Blair also recalled nighttime episodes of hysterical laughter as a child and uncontrollable crying as an adult. She said she had interpreted the crying as a reflection of her personality: “I just thought I was a hugely emotional person,” she confided to interviewer Frances Ryan.
That sentence is a personal reflection, not a clinical explanation of crying or a general description of MS. The interview does not establish that an emotional episode, by itself, indicates the condition.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →#1 Best Overall
Why the diagnosis came decades later
Blair said she received an MS diagnosis in 2018, after years in which symptoms from her childhood had been dismissed or explained in other ways. Vanity Fair reported the diagnosis date as August 16, 2018. The roughly 40-year interval in the British Vogue headline describes Blair’s retrospective account of the time between early symptoms and diagnosis; it is not a general measure of how long MS takes to diagnose.
Reflecting on differences in how symptoms may be taken seriously, Blair told British Vogue: “If you’re a boy with those symptoms, you get an MRI. If you’re a girl, you’re called ‘crazy’.” The remark conveys her experience and perspective; it should not be read as a universal account of how every patient is assessed.
What the 2023 interview reported about treatment and disability
The interview reported that Blair received a hematopoietic stem cell transplant in 2019 and that her MS had gone into remission in the period covered by the article. These are details reported in 2023, not an update on her health today.
Blair also spoke about using a cane and described a personal attachment to it: “I have an emotional and physical attachment to the cane.” She said, “I settle in my voice and body as soon as I hold [it]. It’s an extension of me.” She connected using it with her identity and with making disability visible; that is her perspective, not a prescription for how other people should relate to mobility aids.
Where to hear more from Blair
The interview discusses Blair’s memoir, Mean Baby, and the documentary Introducing, Selma Blair, as parts of the wider story she has shared publicly. It also reports her work with Guide Beauty on adaptive beauty products. These provide context for her public life alongside her account of MS, but do not replace her medical history or serve as medical guidance.
Read Frances Ryan’s April 2023 British Vogue interview with Selma Blair. For the contemporaneous diagnosis date, see Kase Wickman’s April 2023 report for Vanity Fair.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
