Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon

Born 1976-03-22 (age 50) New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
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Biography

Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2006 and 2015, and Forbes listed her among the World's 100 Most Powerful Women in 2019 and 2021. In 2021, Forbes named her the world's highest earning actress, and in 2023, she was named one of the richest women in America with an estimated net worth of $440 million.

Witherspoon began her career as a teenager, making her screen debut in The Man in the Moon (1991). Her breakthrough came in 1999 with a supporting role in Cruel Intentions, and for her portrayal of Tracy Flick in the black comedy Election. She gained wider recognition for playing Elle Woods in the comedy Legally Blonde (2001) and its 2003 sequel, and for starring in the romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama (2002). She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for portraying June Carter Cash in the musical biopic Walk the Line (2005). Following a career downturn, during which her sole box-office success was the romantic drama Water for Elephants (2011), Witherspoon made a comeback by producing and starring as Cheryl Strayed in the drama Wild (2014), which earned her a second nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards.

She has since worked primarily in television, producing and starring in several female-led literary adaptations under her company Hello Sunshine. These include the HBO drama series Big Little Lies (2017–2019), the Apple TV+ drama series The Morning Show (2019–present), and the Hulu miniseries Little Fires Everywhere (2020). For the first of these, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series. She has also produced the film adaptations Gone Girl (2014) and Where the Crawdads Sing (2022), and the miniseries adaptation Daisy Jones & the Six (2023).

Witherspoon also owns Reese's Book Club and a clothing company, Draper James. She is involved in children's and women's advocacy organizations. She serves on the board of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) and was named Global Ambassador of Avon Products in 2007, serving as honorary chair of the charitable Avon Foundation dedicated to women's causes.

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Known For

Cruel Intentions
Cruel Intentions

1999

as Annette Hargrove

American Psycho
American Psycho

2000

as Evelyn Williams

Sing 2
Sing 2

2021

as Rosita (voice)

Sing
Sing

2016

as Rosita (voice)

Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde

2001

as Elle Woods

Monsters vs Aliens
Monsters vs Aliens

2009

as Susan Murphy / Ginormica (voice)

Mud
Mud

2013

as Juniper

Fear
Fear

1996

as Nicole Walker

Just Like Heaven
Just Like Heaven

2005

as Dr. Elizabeth Masterson

Pleasantville
Pleasantville

1998

as Jennifer

Walk the Line
Walk the Line

2005

as June Carter

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
Inherent Vice
Inherent Vice

2014

as Deputy D.A. Penny Kimball

Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama

2002

as Melanie Smooter

Little Nicky
Little Nicky

2000

as Holly

Wild
Wild

2014

as Cheryl Strayed

Minions & More 2
Minions & More 2

2022

as Rosita (voice)

Rendition
Rendition

2007

as Isabella Fields El-Ibrahimi

Friends: The Reunion
Hot Pursuit
Hot Pursuit

2015

as Officer Rose 'Coop' Cooper