Selma Blair

Blair was born Selma Blair Beitner in Southfield, in the Metropolitan area of Detroit, Michigan; the youngest child of judge Molly Ann (née Cooke) and Elliot I. Beitner.[8][9][10]

Blair had a Jewish upbringing; her Hebrew name is Bat-Sheva.[11][12] Her father was an attorney, active in the U.S. Democratic Party and labor arbitrator until his death on November 17, 2012, at the age of 82.[13] Her parents divorced when Blair was 23; she subsequently legally changed her surname. She has three older sisters, Katherine (a book publicist), Elizabeth and Marie Beitner.[14]

Blair attended Hillel Day School, a Jewish day school in Farmington Hills[15] and Cranbrook Kingswood in Bloomfield Hills; soon after, she spent her freshman year (1990–91) in Kalamazoo College,[16] where she studied photography and acted in a play called The Little Theater of the Green Goose.[17] At that time, she wanted to be a ballerina and a horse trainer.[18]

Later, at the age of 20, Blair moved to New York City, where she lived at The Salvation Army, in poor living conditions.[18][19] She attended NYU as well as acting classes at the Stella Adler Conservatory, the Column Theatre and the Stonestreet Screen Acting Workshop; later, she returned to Michigan to finish her studies.[20][21][22] After transferring from New York University, she graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan in 1994 with a BFA degree in Photography, BA in Psychology as well as Double major in Fine Arts and English.[10][14] [23][24][25] One week later, after graduating from Michigan, Blair returned to New York City to pursue her photography career or start an acting career