Selma Blair

Selma Blair (born June 23, 1972) is an American actress.

She is known for her roles in Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde, The Sweetest Thing, and the Hellboy franchise.

Blair, born in Southfield, Michigan, emerged from a background in legal and political involvement: both her parents were lawyers and her father active in the U.S. Democratic Party.

Blair's upbringing was predominantly Jewish.

She initially pursued photography at Kalamazoo College before moving to New York to become involved in the arts, graduating from the University of Michigan.

Blair's early career was marked by numerous auditions to land her first roles in television and film, with her breakthrough in "Cruel Intentions" and subsequent mainstream success in projects like "Legally Blonde" and "Hellboy."

Blair's personal life include her marriage to Ahmet Zappa and subsequent relationships and motherhood.

Blair was born on June 23, 1972, in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Michigan, the youngest of four daughters of Molly Ann (née Cooke) and Elliot I. Beitner.

Her maternal grandfather was the founder of Penn Fruit and she spent a great deal of her childhood in Philadelphia.

She then spent two years (1990–1992) studying photography at Kalamazoo College.

At age 21, Blair moved to New York City, where she lived at The Salvation Army.

Intending to become a photographer, she attended New York University (NYU), and took acting classes at the Stella Adler Conservatory, the Column Theater, and Stonestreet Studios.

In 1990, during her time at Cranbrook Kingswood, Blair was involved in a production of T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral.

She considered it a failure, but her English teacher told her not to give up; that was the first time she thought she could be an actress.

In 1993 in New York, an agent discovered her in an acting class and Blair signed with her.

After 75 auditions, Blair got her first advertising job, a TV ad for the Theater of Virginia.

She returned to Michigan, transferred from NYU to the University of Michigan and, in 1994, graduated magna cum laude with a triple major in photography, psychology, and English.

She then returned to New York City to pursue a career in the arts.

Blair won her first professional role in a 1995 episode of the children's sitcom The Adventures of Pete & Pete.

In 1996, she landed her first feature film role in the comedy The Broccoli Theory.

In 1997, she made her first appearance in a mainstream feature film, the comedy In & Out.

She auditioned six times for the role and remained on-set for several weeks, but most of her scenes were cut from the film's final version.

Her first lead role was in the film Strong Island Boys.

She then won the lead in the 1997 fantasy film Amazon High.

Blair achieved her breakthrough in the 1999 coming-of-age drama Cruel Intentions.

It received mixed reviews, with Variety finding "newcomer" Blair "too broad" and "overdoing [her role]'s clumsiness".

The film made US$75.9 million internationally and brought Blair a nomination for the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and a win for "Best Kiss", shared with co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Cruel Intentions has since developed a cult following.

In 1999, Blair starred as Zoe Bean on Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane, and was nominated for the Teen Choice Awards for "TV – Breakout Performance".

The film, which was proposed as a third show set in the Hercules and Xena mythological genre, did not air, but portions of it were used in the 2000 Xena: Warrior Princess episode "Lifeblood".

She was considered for the role of Joey Potter in Dawson's Creek, a role which ultimately went to Katie Holmes.

She subsequently appeared in several independent and short productions, including the award-winning Debutante.

Both of her parents were lawyers; her father was a labor arbitrator and was active in the U.S. Democratic Party until his death in 2012; her mother died in 2020.

Her parents divorced when Blair was 23.

Selma and her sister Elizabeth officially changed their surname to 'Blair'; in her memoir, Blair wrote that, following a concerted effort on the part of her father's girlfriend to derail her career, she did not speak to her father for 12 years.

Blair's father and maternal grandfather were Jewish; her Scottish maternal grandmother, and her mother, were Anglican but Selma and her sisters had a Jewish upbringing and Selma formally converted to Judaism in the second grade; her Hebrew name is 'Bat-Sheva'.

Blair attended Hillel Day School in Farmington Hills, and Cranbrook Kingswood in Bloomfield Hills.

Her health journey became public with her multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2018, an experience she has openly shared, contributing to her advocacy work.

In 2021, Blair starred in Introducing, Selma Blair, a documentary about her life since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Her autobiography, Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up, was published by Knopf in 2022.