Selma Blair Covers ‘British Vogue’ With Her Cane Amid MS Battle: Gorgeous Photos
Selma Blair revealed her cane is ‘an extension’ of herself and that she hopes she brings ‘visibility’ to MS and others struggling with the disease.
Selma Blair took her beauty to the cover of British Vogue‘s May 2023 issue, on which she posed with a cane and opened up about her daily life with her multiple sclerosis diagnosis. As seen below, the 50-year-old Legally Blonde actress donned a stunning light pink dress that featured a cape and cutouts on the sides of her torso. She exuded confidence as she posed with a stern look on her face and showed off her black cane in front of her. In a second image, also seen below, she looked breathtaking in a strapless black midi dress.
“I have an emotional and physical attachment to the cane. I settle in my voice and body as soon as I hold [it]. It’s an extension of me,” Selma told British Vogue (via ABC News). She also proudly stated that using her cane shamelessly helps bring “visibility” to others who may be less confident. “So many younger people have started publicly embracing their sticks more. I do think representation matters. If I can help remove stigma or over-curiosity in a crowd for someone else, then that’s great,” she explained.
The former Dancing with the Stars contestant is part of British Vogue‘s “Reframing Fashion” issue alongside 19 other people with disabilities with success in the arts as well as fashion, sports, and more. “[Producing this issue] was a necessary and overdue education for all — and taught us many lessons we will carry forward into the future,” Edward Enninful, Vogue European editorial director and British Vogue Editor-in-Chief, told ABC in a statement.
Selma announced that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018 and made her red carpet debut with her cane at the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscars Party. She has since been open about the struggles of living with the disease — which causes her immune system to attack her nervous system, creating issues with communication between the brain and body — and even left Season 31 of Dancing with the Stars early due to concerns about her health.
Luckily, she is in remission but still has very apparent symptoms. “I’m so much better, but it haunts my physical cells. It’s there,” Selma told SELF earlier this year. “Some people wake up two years later, and they’re like, ‘I’m healed! Colors are brighter!’ But I never had that moment. I just stopped having regression.”
In her chat with British Vogue (via PEOPLE), the Cruel Intentions star said that she sometimes will pass out and after waking up have “no idea” where she is. Selma confessed that she ignored her symptoms and diagnosis as long as she could so she could keep acting. “I was worried since the beginning of time that a glaring fault would remove me from the workforce,” she explained. “And usually it was my incoordination or getting stuck, too weak or sick, in my trailer – or any time, really. The vomiting or body issues were terrifying, [and the] baldness or rashes.”
She is now happy to share her experiences with the world to make a difference. “I didn’t imagine I could ever make a difference by showing up as myself and being open about my experiences. But when others with mobility aids rallied around my presence on the red carpet with a cane and in the midst of an MS flare, I noticed. I felt empowered to share,” she recalled. “Now it’s a conscious choice to.”