After training at The Stella Adler Conservatory, pretty dark-haired Selma Blair began her acting career with a series of small roles on film and television. In 1997 she appeared briefly in the features "In & Out" and "Arresting Gena" and had a larger role in the independent "Strong Island Boys". The following year, Blair acted in the series premiere of the Fox comedy "Getting Personal" and had a featured guest role in the CBS drama "Promised Land" as a troubled teenager with a drinking problem. She appeared in the 1998 USA Network TV-movie "No Laughing Matter" before landing a role in the ensemble of the teen comedy feature "Can't Hardly Wait" (1998).
Blair had her first starring film role in the thriller "Brown's Requiem" (1998) and was chosen to head the cast of the coming-of-age midseason replacement series "Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane" (The WB, 1999-2000), playing Zoe Bean, a witty and blunt Manhattan teenager. She was also tapped for the role of shy Cecile in "Cruel Intentions", a contemporary reworking of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" set in New York starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe, and was featured in the music-themed "Girl" (both 1999). 2001 saw her return to the big screen with a memorable supporting role as an uptight Harvard Law student in the hit comedy "Legally Blonde". Then in 2003, Blair joined Jason Lee and Julia Stiles for the romantic comedy "A Guy Thing.".
