Selma Blair Popular Books

Selma Blair Biography & Facts

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. 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. Early life 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. 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. 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. 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. Career 1990–1998: Career beginnings 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 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". In 2000, following her performance in the teen comedy Down to You, Blair won the Young Hollywood Award for "Exciting New Face". In 2000 and 2002, Blair was included in Vanity Fair's "Hollywood's Next Wave of Stars" issues. Blair co-starred in the 2001 hit comedy Legally Blonde, portraying a preppy, snobby law student; The Hollywood Reporter found her to be a "strong presence" in her role. The film topped the US box office in its opening weekend; it grossed US$96.5 million in North America and US$141.7 million worldwide. She next starred as a college student having an affair with her professor in the 2001 independent drama Storytelling. It premiered at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival; SPLICEDwire cited Blair and co-star Leo Fitzpatrick for "painfully authentic performances as an emotionally insecure coed and her cerebral palsy-stricken dorm neighbor and lover". In its review, View Auckland noted: "The acting, throughout, is excellent, with Selma Blair giving a mature performance that suggests better roles await her than those she’s had so far." Blair next appeared in the 2002 comedy The Sweetest Thing. While the film was generally panned, it grossed US$68.6 million worldwide. Blair appeared with her co-starts from the film on the cover of Rolling Stone and was nominated for the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress – Comedy for her work in the film. 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; The New York Times remarked: "Blair's heavy-lidded eyes seem to be at half mast from some lovely lewd fantasy. With her sleepy carnality and dry, hesitant timing, she is a superb foil for Mr. Perlman's plain-spoken bravado." Hellboy topped the box office in the U.S. and Canada in its opening weekend, and ultimately grossed .... Discover the Selma Blair popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Selma Blair books.