Selma Blair Beitner was born June 23, 1972, in the Detroit suburbs of Southfield, Michigan. The youngest of four girls, she attended Kalamazoo College before transferring to the University of Michigan where she graduated magna cum laude with a degree in photography. However, Selma Blair didn't seriously consider pursuing a career in acting until several months later when she enrolled at the prestigious Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City.

Selma Blair proved to be a quick study and she soon began landing roles in a number of small independent films such as Strong Island Boys, Brown's Requiem and Arresting Gena, costarring Sam Rockwell and Adrian Grenier. These decidedly modest productions helped bolster her confidence and Selma Blair soon graduated to more mainstream fare like the 1998 blockbuster teen comedy Can't Hardly Wait and 1999's Cruel Intentions, a teen-themed remake of Dangerous Liaisons. The award-winning film increased Selma Blair's exposure tenfold and she cashed in the following year with the career-defining role of Zoe Bean in the WB's Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane.

The hit sitcom proved to be the perfect showcase for Selma Blair's quick wit and comedy chops and she soon found herself back on the big screen in 2001 playing Reese Witherspoon's high-strung foil in Legally Blonde. The goofy comedy was a surprise hit with critics and audiences alike and Selma Blair continued to find work as a likable supporting actress in 2002's The Sweetest Thing, costarring Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate, and 2003's A Guy Thing featuring Jason Lee.

2004 was a particularly big year for Selma Blair as she appeared in three big-budget flicks including the sleeper superhero hit Hellboy, directed by Oscar-nominated helmsman Guillermo del Toro, the refreshingly crisp drama In Good Company and the ribald John Waters vehicle A Dirty Shame, in which she played a ridiculously large-chested stripper named Caprice Stickles.

Selma Blair has since starred in a number of below-the-radar films, including The Big Empty, My Mom's New Boyfriend and Feast of Love, a touching meditation on love in its many incarnations, costarring Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear.

Selma Blair's other 2008 projects included the eagerly anticipated superhero flick Hellboy II: The Golden Army and Driving Lessons, a heartfelt comedy about a mother and daughter stricken with memory loss.