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Selma Blair (born Selma Blair Beitner; June 23, 1972) is an American film, television and theater actress who has starred in blockbuster and art house films as well as in independent and low-budget directorial debut films.
She began her professional acting career in 1995; later, Blair gained mainstream recognition after starring in the 1999 teen drama Cruel Intentions. She achieved international fame as a result of her portrayal of the pyrokinetic-heroine Liz Sherman in Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Other films include Legally Blonde, The Sweetest Thing, The Fog and Purple Violets. Blair portrayed in the 1990s the titular role of Zoe on the teen sitcom Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane; in the 2000s, she starred as Kim in the American version of Kath & Kim. In 2012, she returned to television as the female lead in the comedy series Anger Management. Blair received a 2011 Grammy Award nomination for her reading of the Holocaust-related document: The Diary of Anne Frank. Biography One of our most exciting and versatile actresses, Selma Blair first gained our attention for her performance in Cruel Intentions (1999), a youthful retelling of the classic novel "Les Liaisons Dangereuses". After graduating from high school in Michigan, Selma moved to New York City to pursue her goal of being a photographer but found her way to acting classes at The Stella Adler Conservatory and The Column Theatre. Selma starred for two seasons as the title character in the WB's "Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane" (1999) and then appeared in the hit comedy, Legally Blonde (2001) opposite Reese Witherspoon. She then starred opposite Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate in The Sweetest Thing (2002) and in two independent films that garnered her much critical acclaim: Dana Lustig's Kill Me Later (2001) and Todd Solondz's controversial Storytelling (2001). In 2004, Selma starred in Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy (2004) and appeared in John Waters's A Dirty Shame (2004). Her other film credits include Paul Weitz's In Good Company (2004), opposite Topher Grace in Pretty Persuasion (2005), opposite Stellan Skarsgård in The Killing Gene (2007), in Ed Burns's Purple Violets (2007), in Robert Benton's Feast of Love (2007) starring opposite Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear.and Newton Thomas Sigel's award-winning short film, The Big Empty (2005) opposite Elias Koteas. Selma's subsequent films included Homeland Security (2008) opposite Colin Hanks, Antonio Banderas, and Meg Ryan, and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008). |