Actress known for her role in "Legally Blonde": Who is Reese Witherspoon?

Her full name is Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon, she was born on March 22, 1976, in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was born to her father, medical school student John Draper Witherspoon, and her mother, a professor of nursing and Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Reese Witherspoon.

Raised as an Episcopal, Witherspoon decided to take acting classes at the age of seven when she was chosen as a model for a florist's television commercials. Witherspoon, who got high grades in school and loved to read, graduated from the all-girl Harpeth Hall School in Nashville. Then she enrolled at Stanford University to study English literature. Later, she dropped out of school to pursue her acting career.

Witherspoon auditioned for the drama film "The Man in the Moon" in 1991 and was cast as the lead role of 14-year-old country girl Dani Trant. Her performance was critically acclaimed, earning her a Young Artist Award nomination in the Best Young Actor category. Later that year, she made her television debut, co-starring with Patricia Arquette in the movie "Wildflower."

In 1993, Witherspoon appeared in the CBS mini-TV series "Return to Lonesome Dove" and the Disney movie "A Far Off Place." Later that year, she had a small role in the drama film "Jack the Bear" and won the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress Supporting Star for her performance. The following year, the black comedy film "S.F.W." directed by Jefery Levy. She also starred as Wendy Pfister. In 1996, she co-starred with Mark Wahlberg in the psychological thriller "Fear" as Nicole Walker, a teenager who starts dating a man with obsessive tendencies. The film, which was largely ridiculed upon its release, later became a dormant hit and has become a cult film since 1996. It also found success at the box office. That same year, she played Vanessa Lutz in the black comedy "Freeway", written and directed by Matthew Bright, with Kiefer Sutherland and Brooke Shields. Witherspoon was praised for her performance, while the film received positive reviews from critics.

Two years later, she appeared with Paul Rudd in the romantic comedy movie "Overnight Delivery" directed by Jason Bloom. In the same year, she starred in the thriller "Twilight" directed by Robert Benton. Later that year, she played Jennifer alongside Tobey Maguire in the teen fantasy comedy-drama film "Pleasantville," written and directed by Gary Ross. She was praised for her performance and won the Young Hollywood Award for Best Breakthrough Actress.

Later, Witherspoon landed one of the leading roles as Lissa in the crime thriller drama movie "Best Laid Plans" (1999) alongside Alessandro Nivola. Also in 1999, she co-starred with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe in the teen romantic drama "Cruel Intentions", a modernized version of a novel. The film, which received mixed reviews and was a box office success, was praised for its portrayal of Witherspoon. She then appeared with Matthew Broderick in the black comedy film "Election"(1999) based on the novel of the same name. Acclaimed for her portrayal, Witherspoon earned her first nominations at the Golden Globe Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards. Additionally, she won the Best Actress Award from the National Society of Film Critics and the Online Society of Film Critics. Witherspoon was listed by Premiere magazine as one of the "100 Greatest Movie Performances of All Time".

In 2000, Witherspoon had a supporting role as Patrick Bateman's award-winning girlfriend in the satirical horror film "American Psycho" directed by Mary Harron. The following year, she was cast as fashion business expert Elle Woods in the romantic comedy film "Legally Blonde", based on the novel of the same name and directed by Robert Luketic, which marked a turning point in her career. Witherspoon's performance garnered critical acclaim, and the film was a box office success. Witherspoon has also been referred to in the media as the "new Meg Ryan". Additionally, her performance earned her a second nomination for Best Actress at the Golden Globe Awards and an MTV Movie Award for Best Comedy Performance.

The following year, she appeared as Cecily in the comedy-drama film "The Importance of Being Earnest" based on Oscar Wilde's play. She earned a Teen Choice Award nomination for her performance. That year, she co-starred with Josh Lucas and Patrick Dempsey in the romantic comedy "Sweet Home Alabama" directed by Andy Tennant. The film became Witherspoon's biggest live-action box office hit, and despite this, it received negative reviews from critics.

In 2003, she appeared in the sequel "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde" in the same lead role. The film was not as successful financially as the first film and received mostly negative reviews. Despite this, the film made almost three times its production budget at the box office. The following year, she starred as Becky Sharp in the drama film "Vanity Fair", adapted from the novel of the same name and directed by Mira Nair. Both the film and Witherspoon's performance garnered mixed reviews. In late 2004, Witherspoon took a lead role as Elizabeth Masterson, alongside Mark Ruffalo, in the romantic comedy "Just Like Heaven" directed by Mark Waters. The film was a healthy commercial gain at the box office, despite mixed reviews.

She then took on the role of singer-songwriter Johnny Cash's second wife, June Carter Cash, with Joaquin Phoenix in the biographical drama film "Walk the Line"(2005), directed by James Mangold. Witherspoon, who sang her own vocals in the film, had to perform songs in front of a live audience and spent six months learning to sing. Acclaimed by the critics for her performance, Witherspoon won the Best Actress Award at the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, British Academy Film Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

After these successes, Witherspoon appeared in the fantasy romance film "Penelope" (2006) as Annie alongside Christina Ricci, James McAvoy and Catherine O'Hara. The film was produced by her own company, "Type A Films", and it premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. The movie, however, was not released until February 2008. The film, which received mixed reviews upon release, was able to achieve moderate financial gains at the box office.

Witherspoon appeared with Jake Gyllenhaal in the thriller "Rendition" (2007), in which she played Isabella El-Ibrahim, the pregnant wife of a bombing suspect. Released in October 2007, the film received mostly mixed reviews and was considered a major disappointment. Witherspoon's performance was similarly criticized. In addition, she was only able to meet the production budget at the box office.

In 2008, she co-starred with Vince Vaughn in the comedy "Four Christmases," a story about a couple who must spend Christmas Day trying to visit all four of their divorced parents. Despite critical acclaim, the film was a box office success. The following year, Witherspoon voiced the lead character, Susan Murphy, in the DreamWorks Animation animated monster comedy "Monsters vs. Aliens." The film grossed $381 million worldwide and was critically acclaimed.

In the following years, Witherspoon co-starred with Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd in the romantic comedy film "How Do You Know" directed by James L. Brooks. The film failed both critically and commercially and was considered "one of the biggest failures of the year". The following year she landed the role of Marlena in the drama film "Water for Elephants", based on the novel of the same name, with Christoph Waltz and Robert Pattinson. The film received mixed reviews and was a box office success. In 2012, she co-starred with Chris Pine and Tom Hardy in the romantic comedy spy film "This Means War" directed by McG and broadcast by 20th Century Fox. The film was a great success at the box office, as well as being generally negatively evaluated.

Witherspoon next played Pam Hobbs in the biographical crime drama film "Devil's Knot" (2013), directed by Atom Egoyan and based on the true crime book of the same name. Upon its release, the film garnered predominantly negative reviews.

In 2012, she founded her own production company, "Pacific Standard". Through the company, Witherspoon produced the psychological thriller "Gone Girl" (2014), based on Gillian Flynn's novel of the same name. She also appeared as Strayed in producing and co-starring in the biographical adventure movie "Wild" (2014), based on Cheryl Strayed's memoir of the same name. The film was released in December 2014 to critical acclaim. She earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance.

In the following years, Witherspoon co-starred in the drama film "The Good Lie", directed by Philippe Falardeau, based on a true story about an employment consultant who wins a lottery to relocate to the United States and is tasked with helping four young Sudanese refugees. Released on October 3, 2014, the film was mostly well received. She then appeared in the neo-noir mystery comedy film "Inherent Vice" (2014), based on Thomas Pynchon's novel of the same name. In May 2014, Witherspoon co-starred with Sofía Vergara in the action comedy "Hot Pursuit", in which she portrays a police officer in Louisiana trying to protect the widow of a drug lord. The film, which received negative reviews, was a moderate financial gain at the box office.

In 2016, Witherspoon voiced and composed the soundtrack for the animated musical comedy "Sing." The film became Witherspoon's first major commercial success. That same year, Witherspoon appeared alongside Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley in the seven-part miniseries adaptation of Liane Moriarty's best-selling book "Big Little Lies." She received critical acclaim for her performance, and the series was renewed for a second season. Witherspoon also starred in Hallie Meyers-Shyer's directorial debut, the romantic comedy "Home Again," which was released on September 8, 2017. The movie was a success, grossing $37 million at the box office.

The following year, she starred alongside Oprah Winfrey and Mindy Kaling as Miss Whatsit in Disney's science fiction film "A Wrinkle in Time", based on Madeleine L'Engle's novel of the same name and directed by Ava DuVernay. The movie, which was released in March 2018, was one of the biggest box office bombs of all time with its revenue. Four months later, Witherspoon began hosting the DirecTV talk show "Shine On with Reese." On the show, she interviewed female guests focusing on how they achieved their ambitions.

Today, Witherspoon produces and co-stars with Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell on the Apple TV+ drama series "The Morning Show." Her work on the series, which premiered in the first season in November 2019, earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama and a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series. The show's second season was halted due to the COVID-19 outbreak and then premiered on Apple TV in September 2021.

In 2020, Witherspoon produced and starred in the Hulu mini-series "Little Fires Everywhere" with Kerry Washington, the television adaptation of Celeste Ng's 2017 novel of the same name. She also narrated "Fierce Queens," a Quibi nature documentary series focusing on female animals in the animal kingdom.

Witherspoon will produce and star in three Netflix movies. The first will be "Pyros," a science fiction drama directed by Simon Kinberg. Second, there will be two romantic comedy movies released on Netflix. Additionally, Witherspoon will be involved in producing two films, including "A White Lie" starring Zendaya and a documentary about Martina Navratilova.

Witherspoon will next star in and produce the sequel "Legally Blonde 3" as Elle Woods again. In 2015, it was announced that she was signed to star in and produce a live-action movie about "Tinker Bell" for Disney. Six years later, the project was re-engaged to develop it as part of the overall contract that Gary Marsh is still under as producer with Disney and Witherspoon.

Personal life

In March 1997, Witherspoon met actor Ryan Phillippe. The couple got engaged in December 1998 and married on June 5, 1999. The couple has a daughter, Ava Elizabeth Phillippe and a son, Deacon Reese Phillippe. The couple announced their separation on October 30, 2006 and divorced on June 13, 2008.

Witherspoon was in a relationship with actor Jake Gyllenhaal from 2007 to 2009. In February 2010, Witherspoon revealed she is dating Jim Toth. The couple got engaged in December and married on March 26, 2011 in Ojai, California. The couple has a son named Tennessee James Toth, who was born on September 27, 2012 and announced their divorce in March 2023.

Witherspoon is involved in support campaigns and aid funds for many institutions, organizations and associations in various categories. In 2005, she was ranked #5 on Teen People magazine's list of "the most powerful young Hollywood actors". She was named one of the "100 Sexiest Women in the World" by readers of FHM magazine in 2006.