Reese Witherspoon biography

Synopsis

Early Life and Career

Reese Witherspoon was born Laura Jean Reese Witherspoon on March 22, 1976, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The daughter of a physician and a nurse, Witherspoon grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, where she was a debutante and attended Harpeth Hall, a private all-girls high school.

On a bit of a whim in 1991, Witherspoon answered a call for extras in her hometown newspaper. She wound up with the lead in her first feature film, The Man in the Moon (1991), at just 14 years old. Her first year out of high school, Witherspoon considered abandoning acting altogether to follow her parents into the medical field. But in 1996, her performance in the film Freeway earned her the Catalonian International Film Festival award for best actress. She deferred college for a year to focus on acting, then briefly studied English literature at Stanford University before deciding to return to work.

Witherspoon quickly established herself as a talented actress in films such as Pleasantville (1998), Election (1999) and Cruel Intentions (1999). While filming Cruel Intentions, she began exploring an off-set romance with co-star Ryan Phillippe, whom she had met previously at her 21st birthday party. The couple married in 1999, and welcomed two children soon after: daughter Ava Elizabeth (born 1999) and son Deacon (born 2003).

Role in 'Legally Blonde'

In 2001, Reese Witherspoon continued to soar when she starred in the surprise box-office hit Legally Blonde. Witherspoon played Elle Woods, a tow-headed sorority girl who follows her ex to Harvard Law School. The movie proved to be such a success that it spawned a sequel. Witherspoon starred in, and produced, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003) earning $15 million—15 times the amount that she was paid for the original. The franchise quickly established Witherspoon as a must-have commodity, and propelled her to the realm of A-list actors. She also became one of the most highly paid actresses in Hollywood, according to the Hollywood Reporter, regularly commanding $15 million to $20 million per film.

Continued Success and Personal Struggles

Reese Witherspoon further proved her acting mettle in 2005, when she appeared as country singer June Carter to Joaquin Phoenix's Johnny Cash in the biopic Walk the Line. The film proved to be both a critical and commercial success, with Witherspoon earning an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for her singing and acting in the film.