- Born
- Birth nameLaura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon
- Height5′ 1¾″ (1.57 m)
- Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon was born on March 22, 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Betty Witherspoon, a registered nurse & John Draper Witherspoon, a military surgeon. Reese spent the first 4 years of her life in Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany, where her father served as a lieutenant colonel in the US Army reserves. Shortly after, the family moved back to the USA & settled in Nashville, Tennessee.
Reese was introduced to the entertainment industry at a very early age. At age 7, she began modeling. This led to appearances on several local television commercials. At age 11, she placed first in a Ten-State Talent Fair.
In 1990, she landed her first major acting role in Robert Mulligan's The Man in the Moon (1991). Her role as a 14-year old tomboy earned her rave reviews. Roles in bigger films such as Jack the Bear (1993) and A Far Off Place (1993) followed shortly after.
Following high school graduation in 1994 from Harpeth Hall, a Nashville all girls school, Reese decided to put her acting career on hold and attend Stanford University where she would major in English literature. However, her collegiate plans were shortly dashed when she accepted roles to star in two major motion pictures: Fear (1996), alongside Mark Wahlberg, and Freeway (1996) with Kiefer Sutherland. Although neither film was a huge box-office success, they did help to establish Reese as a rising starlet in Hollywood and open the door for bigger and better film roles. Those bigger roles came in movies such as Pleasantville (1998), Election (1999) and Cruel Intentions (1999).
Her breakthrough role came as Elle Woods in the 2001 comedy, Legally Blonde (2001). The movie was huge box-office smash and established Reese as one of the top female draws in Hollywood. The next year, she scored a follow-up hit with Sweet Home Alabama (2002), which went on to gross over $100 million dollars at the box office. In 2006, she took home the best actress Oscar for her role as June Carter Cash in the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line (2005). On the late 2000s and early 2010s, Reese continued to star in more romantic comedies, such as Four Christmases (2008) and How Do You Know (2010). In December 2010, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the year 2014, she produced both Gone Girl (2014) and Wild (2014), for which she got nominated for best actress Oscar again for her role as Cheryl Strayed.- IMDb Mini Biography By: SteveG
- SpousesJim Toth(March 26, 2011 - August 2, 2023) (divorced, 1 child)Ryan Phillippe(June 5, 1999 - October 5, 2007) (divorced, 2 children)
- Children
- ParentsDr John Draper Witherspoon
- RelativesJohn D. Witherspoon(Sibling)
- Mostly plays chipper-type women convinced of their own successful destiny
- Expressive face
- Smooth voice with a strong southern accent
- Blonde hair and blue eyes
- Was approached by a few companies to record music after she provided her own singing voice for Walk the Line (2005).
- Considers Wild (2014) to be her best film and her best performance.
- Rushed to the hospital after being hit by a car on September 7, 2011 while jogging in Santa Monica, California. Was treated for minor injuries before being sent home. Received a quarter-inch scar on her forehead that she hides with her bangs.
- Shortly after she started acting, she had an audition for a role in Cape Fear (1991). She was supposed to meet with Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese for the audition, but at the time did not really know who they were. On the plane, she was talking to the man next to her about her audition, and the man started to rave to her about De Niro and Scorsese. This made her so nervous that she completely blew the audition and the role eventually went to Juliette Lewis.
- She was a gymnast for seven years.
- [on having a baby]: Obviously, this isn't the time in my life that I would have chosen to do this, but I feel like life gives you these challenges for a reason. I feel so happy and glad to be in the place that I am. I really feel blessed. This is something I need to face and take control of.
- [on how she choose the films she will be in]: I have a weird process, but the main thing is like this: I hear her voice in my head. There are a lot of wonderful scripts my agents can't believe I pass on, but I do because I can't hear the voice. It doesn't appeal to me then. I'm really careful. Unless I hear the voice, I can't do it.
- [on Ryan Phillippe]: I'm lucky to find a person to share my life, and the best friend I'll ever have.
- [on motherhood and her baby]: I feel good, I'm proud of Election (1999) and very proud of this [her child]. It couldn't be a better time. It's always the right time when it happens. You make it the right time.
- [on Pleasantville (1998)]: We were thrilled for just the three nominations we got, but obviously it's a little sad. I went through so many press junkets with people saying they loved it. And Joan Allen was robbed but she can't get nominated every year. She's an inspiration for every young actress. She has that calm and reserve about herself and makes you think she appreciates the normal things of everyday. Then she transforms into this character that's so different.
- The Morning Show (2019) - $2,000,000 / episode + back end (2019, 2020)
- Big Little Lies (2017) - $1 000 000 per episode (season 2 - including producer fees)
- This Means War (2012) - $12,000,000
- Water for Elephants (2011) - $2,000,000
- How Do You Know (2010) - $15,000,000
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