Selma Blair Promises a Triumphant Met Gala Return Despite MS

Selma Blair popped up at a hotel shindig on Friday and did what I love her for: she got candid, nostalgic, and very Selma about the Met Gala. She has not hit those steps in ages, but she is absolutely plotting a return. Just not this Monday.

Selma on her Met Gala past (and future )

At Calamigos Ranch Resort & Spa for a celebration of its new Leading Hotels of the World accreditation on Friday, May 1, the 53-year-old actress told Us Weekly she used to be a regular at fashion's big night. Her first Met? With designer Behnaz Sarafpour. After that, she did a couple of years with Chanel. The last time she remembers going was with Marc Jacobs, which, by her math, was roughly 20 years ago. In other words: it has been a minute.

'One day I will be back at the Met, because I love fashion. I love wardrobes. It is a passion of mine.'

She is not attending this year's gala, but she will be watching the red carpet like the rest of us.

Met Gala 2026: the quick version

• Date and place: Monday, May 4, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City
• Cochairs: Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour
• Exhibition theme: 'Costume Art,' tracing 5,000 years of the dressed body
• Dress code: 'Fashion Is Art' — expect sculptural, conceptual, avant-garde looks that treat the body like a living canvas

Yes, the theme title sounds academic, but the idea is pretty clear: turn clothing into literal art on a moving body. This is one of those very industry specific prompts that designers love to overachieve on.

Where Selma has been since we last saw her on those steps

Back in October 2018, Blair revealed she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a chronic autoimmune disease that damages the protective covering of nerves. Symptoms can include numbness, weakness, vision changes, and trouble walking. There is no cure yet.

She went public after a wardrobe fitting on her Netflix series Another Life, where she played Harper Glass, shouting out costumer Allisa Swanson for literally helping her into outfits on hard days. It was one of those posts that pulled back the curtain on what it takes to keep working while managing MS.

Seven years on, in a November 2025 interview with Stellar, she said she has been relapse free for years. Not adding new damage to her brain means everything to her, and she credits a lot of rehab and neuroplasticity work for the progress. Her take was classic Selma: grateful, blunt, and determined to push back on stigma because, in her words, her big mouth is good for something.

Why she is loudly backing brain research right now

On Friday she also talked about her new role with the American Brain Foundation as a global ambassador and the national chair of brain health advancement. She is optimistic about where things are headed — not overnight, but soon — pointing to what smarter tools (yes, including AI ) plus serious scientists can do when they are all actually working together. She is thinking beyond MS too, calling out ALS and the people she has loved who have battled it, including Eric Dane, who she noted died of ALS on February 19. For her, this is personal and generational: for them, for her, and for their kids.

So no Met cameo this year. But the door is wide open for a Selma Blair return in a future season — and if and when she does, I would put money on something that remembers the art part of the dress code without forgetting the person inside it.