Selma Blair honored with CineHealth Lifetime Achievement Award amid MS battle

Selma Blair was honored with the CineHealth Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s CineHealth Festival in Philadelphia, a recognition of her long career across film, television and fashion as well as her advocacy for disability representation. The award honors individuals who create media that educates, empowers and inspires people facing health challenges, a description that fits Blair’s public journey with multiple sclerosis.

Blair, 53, arrived at the ceremony by helicopter with her service dog Scout by her side and walked straight to the stage in a sleek black gown and heels. On Instagram, she wrote, “From a helicopter ride straight to the stage (!!) to stepping out in my @alexandrebirman heels, it was a night to remember. Endless gratitude to my glam and styling dream team! You made me feel like a star.”

Blair is best known for Legally Blonde, The Sweetest Thing and Hellboy, and has become a trailblazer for disability representation since publicly sharing her MS diagnosis in 2018. She documented her journey in the award-winning film Introducing Selma Blair and wrote the memoir Mean Baby, which earned critical acclaim for its candor and resilience. Blair has also raised awareness for Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, broadening her advocacy for people living with invisible illnesses.

She has spoken openly about the ups and downs of treatment. Earlier this year she told People that she was “doing amazingly well” and had “been feeling great for about a year.” Blair has discussed past relapses, including a two-month hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in 2019 aimed at jumpstarting her immune system, and the medication adjustments that followed after MRI scans showed new lesions, highlighting the ongoing challenges of living with MS.

In January, Variety reported that Blair had three projects in production: Stay Forte, a drama about the Israel-Hamas war; a supernatural thriller called Silent; and a twin drama There There. She said she started feeling better in the past year and expected to have more to announce as she returns to acting.

Blair has described her return to work as part of a broader goal to help others navigate chronic illness and remind them to dream and set goals for the future, even when the outcome remains uncertain. She has emphasized the importance of speaking openly about health challenges and supporting others who are dealing with similar conditions.

Her latest recognition comes as she balances acting work with ongoing treatment and advocacy. The CineHealth Festival’s lifetime achievement award underscores her influence in shaping conversations about health, disability and representation in media, reflecting a career that spans decades and a public life marked by resilience and advocacy.