'It took me 30 years to get an MRI': Selma Blair’s MS story is a masterclass in missed diagnoses
Key Takeaways
Industry Buzz
“If you’re a boy with those symptoms, you get an MRI. If you’re a girl, you’re called ‘crazy.’” — Selma Blair, British Vogue
At age 7, Selma Blair lost control of her bladder, lost vision in one eye, and lost function in one leg.[] Cancer was ruled out—but that was the end of the workup. No MRI. No neurology referral. Just decades of being dismissed as dramatic, unstable, or attention seeking.
What went undiagnosed turned out to be juvenile-onset multiple sclerosis. But for nearly 40 years, Blair lived with a growing list of unexplained neurologic symptoms. She wasn’t diagnosed until 2018, at age 46. “It took me 30 years to get an MRI,” Blair said during a panel at the 2025 Women’s Health Lab, hosted in partnership with Northwell Health’s Katz Institute for Women’s Health.[]
The A-list actress' story exemplifies a common issue in medicine: How gender and age bias can delay or derail diagnosis. “If you’re a boy with those symptoms, you get an MRI. If you’re a girl, you’re called ‘crazy,’” Blair told British Vogue.[]
Related: Most commonly misdiagnosed medical conditionsThe physician who finally took her seriously
Even after her diagnosis, Blair’s journey wasn’t smooth. She suffered a major relapse following a stem cell transplant. But her care took a dramatic turn when she began working with a new provider—the first female physician she’d ever seen.
This doctor approached Blair’s MS from a holistic standpoint, incorporating her history of early menopause and looking beyond textbook symptoms.
"It really did change my life completely. We found a way to manage my MS and I am doing really, really well right now."
— Selma Blair
Her experience underscores a broader point: Early onset MS is often missed, not because it’s hard to spot, but because patients' symptoms are dismissed or unaddressed. When young patients, especially girls, present with vague or multifocal neurological complaints, the response is often to minimize, not investigate.
The lesson for physicians? Stay curious. When symptoms span systems or defy easy categorization, resist the urge to dismiss. It might not "look" like MS, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t. Listening—without bias—might just change everything.
Read Next: Patients suffer when these rare neurological conditions are misdiagnosed