Selma Blair shows solidarity with Christina Applegate over multiple sclerosis: 'Always here'
Selma Blair, one of the most high-profile celebrities open about living with multiple sclerosis, is showing support to Christina Applegate after the actress announced her own MS diagnosis.
Applegate, 49, revealed Tuesday that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a few months ago, after which Blair, who frequently shares updates about her condition with her social media followers, shared supportive words.
"Loving you always," Blair tweeted. "Always here. As are our kids. Beating us up with love."
Applegate shared a few details about her health on Twitter.
"It’s been a strange journey," she tweeted. "But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some (expletive) blocks it."
"As one of my friends that has MS said ' we wake up and take the indicated action'. And that’s what I do," Applegate continued, asking for privacy "as I go through this thing."
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society website describes MS as "an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body."
The cause is unknown, the site says, though the disease is believed to be triggered by an environmental factor in a person with a genetic predisposition to respond. Most people are diagnosed between ages 20 and 50, and women are two to three times more likely to receive the diagnosis.
Other celebrities living with MS include Joan Didion, Montel Williams, Clay Walker, Jack Osbourne, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Teri Garr.
Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some asshole blocks it.
— christina applegate (@1capplegate) August 10, 2021
Applegate rose to fame as a child actor on the sitcom "Married… with Children" from 1987 to 1997 before going on to a successful career as an adult in film, TV and theater that nabbed her an Emmy Award, Tony Award and four Golden Globe nominations.
Some of her most notable performances include starring roles on the sitcoms "Jesse" and "Samantha Who?", Rachel's sister on "Friends" (for which she received an Emmy in 2003) and anchor Veronica Corningstone in "Anchorman." She currently stars alongside Linda Cardellini in Netflix's "Dead to Me."
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The actress previously spoke out about health struggles in 2008, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. In 2017, Applegate revealed she had also removed her ovaries and fallopian tubes to prevent further cancer diagnoses.
"My cousin passed away from ovarian cancer in 2008. I could prevent that," she told the "Today" show. "That’s how I’ve taken control of everything. It’s a relief. That’s one other thing off the table. Now, let’s hope I don’t get hit by a bus."
Applegate opened up to USA TODAY in 2019 about continuing to struggle with her body image more than a decade after the surgery.
"I think about it every day," she said. "Girls who go through this, we say to each other, 'Yep, it’s been 10 years,' but you’re never not aware that that’s something you’ve been through. Everything looks different. You have to shower and you’re like, 'Oh, there they are. That happened.' "
Contributing: Kim Willis
More on MS: Selma Blair reveals she has multiple sclerosis: 'I want my life to be full somehow'
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Christina Applegate finds support in Selma Blair over MS diagnosis
