Reese Witherspoon is an American actress and producer who grew from a child commercial model in Nashville into an Oscar winner and prominent media producer. After earning critical acclaim in late-1990s films such as Pleasantville and Election, she gained mainstream stardom playing Elle Woods in the 2001 comedy Legally Blonde. In 2005, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress after singing and starring as June Carter Cash in Walk the Line. Witherspoon later co-founded Pacific Standard, producing successful literary adaptations including Gone Girl and Wild, the latter earning her a second Oscar nomination. She also established an award-winning presence across prestige television, starring in and executive producing series such as Big Little Lies, Little Fires Everywhere, and The Morning Show.
Reese Witherspoon won an Academy Award for portraying June Carter Cash in Walk the Line and starred as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. She moved from early roles in Pleasantville and Election into Hollywood producing, with projects including Gone Girl, Wild, and Big Little Lies.
Family and personal life
Witherspoon married actor Ryan Phillippe in June 1999. The couple had two children: daughter Ava, born in September 1999, and son Deacon, born in 2003. They divorced in 2007.
She married talent agent Jim Toth in March 2011. They had a son named Tennessee and divorced in 2023. Outside of entertainment, she served as honorary chair of the Avon Foundation, supporting breast cancer research and domestic violence prevention.
Early roles and breakthrough
Born in New Orleans, Witherspoon lived in Wiesbaden, Germany, for four years while her father served as a military surgeon. Her family then settled in Nashville, Tennessee. She trained as a gymnast for seven years. At age seven, she booked her first television commercial for a local florist. She won first place in a Ten-State Talent Fair at age eleven.
Her film debut came in 1991 in Robert Mulligan's drama The Man in the Moon. She played a fourteen-year-old tomboy. After graduating from Harpeth Hall School in 1994, she enrolled at Stanford University to major in English literature. College did not last. She left school when starring roles arrived in Fear and Freeway. Critical notices followed for Pleasantville, Cruel Intentions, and her performance as ambitious student Tracy Flick in Election.
Box-office success and producing
She established herself as a comedy lead in Legally Blonde in 2001. The film was a major box-office hit. She followed it with the 2002 romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama, which grossed over $100 million in theaters. In 2005, she starred alongside Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line. She performed her own vocals for the soundtrack and won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Witherspoon co-founded the production company Pacific Standard. In 2014, she produced David Fincher's thriller Gone Girl and the survival drama Wild. To make her character's fatigue convincing in Wild, she hiked with a backpack packed with real weights. The role earned her a second Oscar nomination. She later produced and starred in television series such as Big Little Lies, The Morning Show, and Little Fires Everywhere.
Quick facts
- Spent the first four years of her childhood living in Wiesbaden, Germany, where her father was stationed in the military.
- Trained as a gymnast for seven years before committing to acting.
- Won first place at a Ten-State Talent Fair at age eleven.
- Attended Stanford University to study English literature before leaving to film Fear and Freeway.
- Sang all of her own musical tracks for her Oscar-winning role in Walk the Line.
- Hauled a backpack filled with heavy weights while filming Wild to ensure authentic physical strain.
- Blew an early audition for Martin Scorsese's Cape Fear after becoming nervous on her flight to the meeting.
- Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in December 2010.
- Recorded a duet of Somethin' Stupid with Michael Bublé for his album To Be Loved.
- Turned down the lead role in the 1996 horror film Scream.
FAQs about Reese Witherspoon
How many marriages has Reese Witherspoon had?
Reese Witherspoon has been married twice. She was married to actor Ryan Phillippe from 1999 to 2007, and to talent agent Jim Toth from 2011 until their divorce in 2023.
How old was Reese when she had her first baby?
Witherspoon was 23 years old when her first child, daughter Ava Phillippe, was born in September 1999.
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