Selma Blair facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Selma Blair
Blair in 2023
Born	Selma Blair Beitner (1972-06-23) June 23, 1972 (age 52) Southfield, Michigan, U.S.
Education	University of Michigan (BA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1990–present
Spouse(s)	Ahmet Zappa ​ ​ (m. 2004; div. 2006)​
Children	1

Selma Blair (born Selma Blair Beitner on 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. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2018, she has shared her experience with the condition, contributing to her advocacy work. In 2021, Blair starred in Introducing, Selma Blair, a documentary about her life since being diagnosed with MS. Her autobiography, Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up, was published by Knopf in 2022.

Early life

Blair was born on June 23, 1972, in Southfield, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. She is the youngest of four daughters of Judge Molly Ann (née Cooke) and Elliot I. Beitner. Her father was an attorney, active in the U.S. Democratic Party, and labor arbitrator until his death in 2012 at the age of 82. Her parents divorced when Blair was 23; she subsequently legally changed her surname. She has three older sisters, Katherine, Elizabeth, and Marie Beitner.

Her father and maternal grandfather were from Jewish families, while her maternal grandmother, who had Scottish ancestry, was Anglican. Blair formally converted to Judaism as a child, and had a Jewish upbringing; her Hebrew name is Bat-Sheva. Blair attended Hillel Day School, a Jewish day school in Farmington Hills and Cranbrook Kingswood in Bloomfield Hills soon after. She spent her freshman year (1990–1991) at Kalamazoo College, where she studied photography and acted in the play The Little Theater of the Green Goose. At the time, she wanted to be a ballerina and a horse trainer.

At the age of 20 she moved to New York City, where she lived at The Salvation Army. She attended New York University (NYU), as well as acting classes at the Stella Adler Conservatory, the Column Theatre, and the Stonestreet Screen Acting Workshop. Later, she returned to Michigan to finish her studies. After transferring from NYU, she graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan in 1994 with a triple major in photography, psychology, and English.

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

Career

1990–1998: Career beginning

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.

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. 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.

1999–2004: Breakthrough and mainstream success

Following several auditions, independent film roles, and guest roles in television series, Blair achieved her breakthrough opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe 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". Nevertheless, the film made an impressive US$75.9 million internationally, and brought Blair an MTV Movie Award nomination for "Best Breakthrough Performance" and a win for "Best Kiss", shared with Gellar. Cruel Intentions has since developed a cult following.

Blair went on to star as Zoe Bean on Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane, alongside Azura Skye and Michael Rosenbaum. The first season follows the lives of four high school classmates from Manhattan. The second season follows the title character a few years later as a psychology student; the show was not renewed for a third season. She was nominated for the Teen Choice Awards for "TV – Breakout Performance" category for her role in Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane.

In 2000, Blair won a Movieline's Young Hollywood Award in the "Exciting New Face – Female Category", and portrayed a college student in the teen comedy Down to You, alongside Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Julia Stiles. A lukewarm critical and commercial response greeted the film upon its release. Her film career continued with the independent drama Kill Me Later opposite Max Beesley. She starred as a bank teller taken hostage during a bank robbery, who tries to persuade her captors to kill her. The film received a limited release in September 2001, in New York and Los Angeles.

Blair co-starred opposite Reese Witherspoon in the comedy Legally Blonde, portraying a preppy, snobby law student and the "rival" for the affections of Witherspoon's ex-boyfriend. The Hollywood Reporter found her to be a "strong presence" in her role. The film was released on July 13, 2001, topping the US box office in its opening weekend; it went on to gross US$96.5 million in North America and a worldwide total of US$141.7 million. She next starred in the independent drama Storytelling, alongside Leo Fitzpatrick. It premiered at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, and received a limited release in most international markets.

She starred with Jared Leto and Jake Gyllenhaal in the crime drama Highway, which was released directly to-DVD in March 2002. The independent film, filmed in locations of Seattle, is set in the mid-'90s grunge music scene and follows a road trip to the 1994 Kurt Cobain vigil. Blair next appeared opposite Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate in the comedy The Sweetest Thing, as the roommate of Diaz's character. While the film received mixed reviews, it grossed US$68.6 million worldwide. For her part, she was nominated for the Teen Choice Awards, in the "Best Actress in a Comedy" category.

In 2002, Blair appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone, and in a television commercial for The Sims Online video game. She also had a guest role in the episode "The One with Christmas in Tulsa" on the hit sitcom Friends. In 2003, Blair co-starred with Jason Lee in the romantic comedy A Guy Thing, playing the fiancé of a man who wakes up after his bachelor party in bed with another woman (played by Julia Stiles). The film received negative reviews and made a lackluster US$15.5 million at the North American box office.

She filmed supporting parts for the independent road film Dallas 362 (2003) and the well-received comedy-drama In Good Company (2004), and appeared alongside former NBA star John Salley and Judy Davis in the television movie Coast to Coast. In 2004, Blair took on the role of Liz Sherman, a depressed pyrokinetic superhero, in Guillermo del Toro's blockbuster fantasy film Hellboy, co-starring Ron Perlman. Based on Mike Mignola's popular comic book series, the film was favorably received by critics. Hellboy topped the box office in the U.S. and Canada in its opening weekend, and ultimately grossed US$99.3 million around the globe.

Blair took part on the social project The 1 Second Film as a producer.

2005–2011: Independent films and The Diary of Anne Frank

Blair starred as a young Harvard-trained economist involved in an international oil scandal in the political thriller The Deal (2005), opposite Christian Slater and Angie Harmon. It received limited release in the United States and the United Arab Emirates. She next played supporting role in the independent black comedy Pretty Persuasion (2005), starring Evan Rachel Wood. Her last film release in 2005 was the John Carpenter-produced remake The Fog, in which she did her own stunts, and spent 12 hours in a water tank over two days to shoot her underwater scenes. The film, co-starring Tom Welling and Maggie Grace, met with overwhelmingly negative reviews, and grossed a modest US$46.2 million worldwide. Blair also starred with Elias Koteas in the fantasy short film The Big Empty, based on the story The Specialist and produced by George Clooney. It revolved around a young woman with a psychosomatic medical condition.

Blair starred in the dysfunctional family drama The Night of the White Pants, with Nick Stahl. The film premiered through a limited theatrical run in NYC in 2006. She also appeared in a small role in the comedy-drama The Alibi (2006). In 2007, Blair took on the lead role in Edward Burns' Purple Violets, a romantic comedy co-starring Burns, Patrick Wilson and Debra Messing. In the film, Blair played a frustrated and lonely writer who falls in love with her childhood sweetheart. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was the first feature film to debut exclusively on the iTunes Store.

She co-starred in Robert Benton's romantic dramedy Feast of Love (2007), opposite Greg Kinnear and Morgan Freeman, portraying a woman who begins a lesbian relationship due to her marital frustrations. The film received mixed critical reviews upon its limited theatrical premiere in North America. She next appeared in the British crime thriller WΔZ (2007), opposite Stellan Skarsgård, Melissa George and Tom Hardy. The film had a limited theatrical run, but was favorably by critics.

Blair was included in the list of People Magazine's "World's Most Beautiful People 2007". In 2008, she reprised her role of Liz Sherman in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, where her character has a larger role in the storyline than its predecessor. The film garnered largely positive reviews from critics and became a worldwide commercial success, grossing US$160 million. She was nominated for the Scream Awards for Best Actress in a Fantasy Movie or TV Show.

Blair at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival

In 2008, Blair starred in Lori Petty's independent drama The Poker House, opposite Jennifer Lawrence (in her breakthrough role) and Chloë Grace Moretz, who starred as her daughters. The film is set in 1976 and was based on Petty's real story. The production initially had a 2008 limited release in theaters only, but was later re-released in 2015 in the UK as Behind Closed Doors; it received generally favorable reviews from critics, with The Hollywood Reporter considering her performance one of the best of her film career. Blair worked with Antonio Banderas and Meg Ryan in the comedy My Mom's New Boyfriend (2008), where she played a young FBI agent. The movie was screened only in Latin American cinemas and went straight-to-DVD in Anglo America.

Blair accepted the titular role on the NBC sitcom Kath & Kim, opposite Molly Shannon. The sitcom was based on the Australian television series of the same name about a mother and daughter who are obsessed with celebrity culture. Blair had to gain weight and use hair extensions to play her role as Kim, a self-absorbed suburban young princess who is forced to reassess her relationship with her mother. The series was canceled after one season. Blair also appeared with Rainn Wilson singing "Baby, It's Cold Outside" for the 2008 Gap winter ad campaign, and was included in Glamour's list of the 50 Most Glamorous Women of 2008.

In 2009, Blair returned to the stage, when she took on the lead role of Kayleen in Rajiv Joseph's Gruesome Playground Injuries, opposite stage actor Brad Fleischer. The drama made its world premiere at Houston's Alley Theatre on October 16, 2009, to largely positive reviews. In 2010, Blair lent her voice to narrate The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition, originally written by Holocaust victim Anne Frank. The audiobook received generally positive reviews from critics and readers. Her performance received a 2011 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children nomination.

Blair starred in the music video for Danko Jones' "Full of Regret"; the video also featured Elijah Wood and Lemmy Kilmister. She next had a guest role in three episodes of the online series Web Therapy starring Lisa Kudrow, and appeared as a guest judge in Heidi Klum's fashion reality show Project Runway. She appeared in a supporting role as a lesbian teacher in the small-scale black comedy The Family Tree (2011), with Madeline Zima, and starred in the psychological thriller Columbus Circle, with Amy Smart and Giovanni Ribisi. Filming for Columbus Circle took place in 2009, but the movie received a straight-to-DVD release in March 2012.

In 2011, Blair appeared as guest-star in the Portlandia episode "Blunderbuss", appeared in Animal Love, a short college film about life in the post global warming world premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival, and also starred in the comedic short film The Break-In, directed by Jaime King. In the independent comedy-drama Dark Horse (2011), Blair starred with Christopher Walken, Mia Farrow and Jordan Gelber, reprising her role of Storytelling (2001), who has become an "overmedicated depressive" woman. Dark Horse received a limited theatrical release and garnered a positive response from critics. A.V. Club felt that "the scenes between Gelber and Blair are the strongest in [in the film], because they form a bond not out of shared interests or passion, but a weary kind of compromise".

2012–present: Film and television

In 2012, Blair returned to television as the female lead with the premiere of FX's Anger Management, co-starring Charlie Sheen. She starred in 53 episodes as Dr. Kate Wales, Sheen's neurotic therapist and love interest. The series premiered to mixed critical reviews, but broke ratings records with 5.74 million viewers in its debut and ranks as the most-watched sitcom premiere in cable history. Blair left the show in June 2013, during the shooting of the second season, due to disagreements with Sheen, who fired her via text message.

In 2012, Blair narrated Xfinity TV commercials, including the London 2012 Olympics ads. In 2014, she obtained her first television role since Anger Management when she was cast as Joanna in the Amazon's comedy pilot Really. The pilot was not picked up but, in February 2016, Blair co-starred in the FX miniseries American Crime Story: The People vs. O. J. Simpson.

In October 2012, Blair starred in the political satire sketch The Woman for Romney, about the campaign proposals of Mitt Romney, former Republican Party nominee for the 2012 United States presidential election.

In 2018, Blair was cast in a recurring role on the Netflix science-fiction drama series Another Life; it ran from 2019 to 2021 before being canceled.

In September 2022, Blair became a contestant on season 31 of Dancing with the Stars but left in the fifth week of the competition because of her deteriorating health.

Her next film role is in the Israeli project, Be Strong by Doron Eran. The film focuses on Alon Shamriz, Yotam Haim, and Samer Talalka, three Israeli men taken hostage by hostage by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel. They were mistakenly identified as a threat by Israeli soldiers during fighting in northern Gaza and killed. The film went into production in late 2024, with filming taking place in Georgia.

Fashion

Blair at the 2011 Hollywood Style Awards

Blair is known for her fashion-forward style, and for her frequent radical hairstyle changes. She lent her image to the Marc Jacobs-Brian Bowen Smith clothing line, and has worked with several other fashion designers, including Karen Zambos, Martin Margiela, Isaac Mizrahi, Reinaldo Herrera, and Stella McCartney.

She was featured in the 2002 Pirelli Calendar, and, in 2005, appeared in The New York Times Magazine award-winning photography gallery, "The Selma Blair Witch Project: Fall's Dark Silhouettes Have a Way of Creeping Up on You" by the art photographer Roger Ballen, at the Palau Robert in Barcelona in 2012.

Blair also appeared with Rainn Wilson singing "Baby, It's Cold Outside" for the 2008 Gap winter ad campaign, and was included in Glamour's list of the 50 Most Glamorous Women of 2008.

In 2010, Blair posed with Demi Moore and Amanda De Cadenet for a spread in Harper's Bazaar magazine. In 2012, she became the spokesperson for, and first actress to appear on, the "Get Real For Kids" campaign. In the spring of that year, she released SB, a line of handbags and wallets which she designed.

She has appeared on covers and photo spreads of other magazines, including CR Fashion Book magazine in February 2016. In 1999, she appeared in Seventeen, and in subsequent years, in Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, Vogue, Glamour, Rolling Stone, The Lab Magazine, Interview, Dazed & Confused, Hunger, and Elle. She has been the face of fashion houses Chanel, Miu Miu and GAP. She presented parts of the collection of Christian Siriano at a celebration of his 10th stage anniversary at Masonic Hall during New York Fashion Week 2018. In 2020, she appeared as a judge on a Project Runway special.

Personal life

On January 24, 2004, Blair married writer and producer Ahmet Zappa at Carrie Fisher's mansion in Beverly Hills, California. They lived in Los Angeles in a 1920s-era home they bought for $1.35 million. She filed for divorce from Zappa on June 21, 2006, citing "irreconcilable differences." The divorce became final in December 2006.

Blair has dated actors Jason Schwartzman and David Lyons and, from 2008 to 2010, dated her Kath and Kim co-star Mikey Day.

In 2010, Blair began dating fashion designer Jason Bleick; they have a son, Arthur Saint Bleick. In September 2012, they announced that they had separated.

In 2022, Blair and her ex-boyfriend, filmmaker Ron Carlson, whom she had been seeing since 2017, requested temporary restraining orders against each other. The order requests were mutually dismissed.

Joe Biden and Selma Blair arrive to an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) reception on October 2, 2023, at the White House

Advocacy

Blair with Joe Biden at the White House in October 2023

On May 27, 2012, Blair was a special guest at the National Memorial Day Concert at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. She presented the story of Brigette Cain, a war widow who lost her husband (Pfc. Norman L. Cain III) in Afghanistan.

Blair supported Marianne Williamson for the 2014 congressional elections.

Blair's charity work and philanthropic causes include Marc Jacobs' Skin Cancer Awareness Campaign, H&M's Fashion Against AIDS 2011 Campaign, Children's Action Network, AmFAR AIDS Research 2011, Lange Foundation (dedicated to saving homeless and abandoned animals), Bulgari-Save the Children 2012 Ad Campaign, No Kid Hungry, Staying Alive Foundation and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. On October 2, 2015, she received the Universal Smile Award during THE SMILE GALA LA 2015 to benefit children with cleft lip and palate. In December 2021, Michelle Pfeiffer presented Blair with the Equity in Entertainment Award at the Power 100 Women ceremony.

In June 2022, Blair became chief creative officer of Guide Beauty, a company which creates cosmetic products for those with mobility challenges. In December 2022 she was chosen as one of the BBC's 100 women.

Views on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

In May 2021, during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, Blair signed an open letter by the Creative Community for Peace calling for "peace, balanced discourse and an end to inflammatory one-sided accounts" of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

In October 2023, Blair expressed support for Israel in the Israel-Hamas war.

In September 2024, Blair again expressed support for Israel and the hostages taken by Hamas, and said that Gaza was being run by "Jihadists, the radicals, the extreme" and "terrorists".

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Music videos

Video games

Audiobooks

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Selma Blair para niños