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Witherspoon was born in New Orleans,
Louisiana. Her father is John Witherspoon, a Georgia-born lieutenant
colonel in the US Army reserves and later an otorhinolaryngologist. Her
mother is Betty Witherspoon, a paediatric nurse from Harriman, Tennessee.
Witherspoon has said that she is a direct descendant of Scotland-born John
Witherspoon, who was a signatory of the United States Declaration of
Independence and the sixth president of Princeton University. Witherspoon
was raised in the Episcopalian religion. Because her father worked for the
US military in Wiesbaden, Germany, she lived there for four years as a
small child. After returning to the United States, Witherspoon spent her
childhood in Nashville, Tennessee, where, she says in Interview magazine,
"I grew up in an environment where women accomplished a lot. And if they
weren't able to, it was because they were limited by society. I grew up
with a grandma--my father's mother—who was incredibly intelligent but was
limited by the bounds of society and propriety ... She was a voracious
reader, and she encouraged me to read a lot as a child ..." a woman whose
"depression" and "disconnect between her capabilities and her lack of
fulfillment and achievement" continue to motivate Witherspoon in life.
Witherspoon graduated from the private all-girls' Harpeth Hall School in
Nashville, Tennessee, where she was a former cheerleader. She attended
Stanford University in California as an English literature major. After
completing a year of her studies, she left Stanford to pursue her acting
career.
Witherspoon's first role was in a made-for-TV movie called Wildflower,
directed by Diane Keaton and starring alongside Patricia Arquette. At age
15, Witherspoon attended an open casting call for The Man in the Moon,
intending to audition as a bit player. She was instead cast in the lead
role, for which she was nominated for the Young Artist Award Best Young
Actress. She has since built up an impressive filmography, playing both
comedic and dramatic roles. Following the success of The Man in the Moon,
Witherspoon acted in many both lead and supporting roles. In 1993,
Witherspoon had a minor role in Jack the Bear, which helped her win the
Young Artist Award Best Youth Actress co-starring. In 1992, Witherspoon
appeared in the US TV movie Desperate Choices: To Save My Child as a
critically ill young girl. The next year, she played a young wife in the
CBS mini series "Return to Lonesome Dove" and got a starring role as she
was casted the leading character "Nonnie Parker" in the teen-aimed Disney
film A Far Off Place. The following year, Witherspoon acted in another
leading role as "Wendy Pfister" in the 1994 film S.F.W..
In 1996, Witherspoon was offered parts in two major movies. She played the
role of Nicole Walker in the thriller film Fear alongside Mark Wahlberg
and Alyssa Milano. Later, she appeared as Vanessa Lutz in the thriller
Freeway, alongside Kiefer Sutherland and Brooke Shields. Following this
performance, Witherspoon won a Best Actress at the Cognac Festival du Film
Policier, thus established herself as a rising star. 1998 was a busy year
for Witherspoon as she appeared in three films, Twilight, Overnight
Delivery, and Pleasantville. In Pleasantville, where Witherspoon played
alongside Tobey Maguire, her role as Jennifer garnered her a Young
Hollywood Award for Best Female Breakthrough Performance.
In 1999, Witherspoon starred as Lissa in the drama thriller Best Laid
Plans; she portrayed Annette Hargrove in Cruel Intentions, alongside her
future husband Ryan Phillippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar. In the same year,
Witherspoon portrayed high school overachiever Tracy Flick in Election,
her first starring show. The film received good reviews and Witherspoon's
performance earned her a first Golden Globe nomination, an Independent
Spirit Award nomination, and a rank on the list of 100 Greatest Film
Performances of All Time by Premiere Magazine; however, Witherspoon noted
in an interview that she struggled to find work after completing the film.
When analyzing the reasons behind her difficulty to find work, Witherspoon
commented "I think because the character I played was so extreme and sort
of shrewish - people thought that was who I was, rather than me going in
and creating a part. I would audition for things, and I'd always be the
second choice - studios never wanted to hire me, and I wasn't losing the
parts to big box-office actresses but to ones who I guess people felt
differently about."
In 2000, Witherspoon received a supporting role in American Psycho and
made a cameo appearance in Little Nicky. She also appeared as a guest star
in season six of Friends, playing the role of Jill Green, Rachel Green's
sister.
After struggling to find work for a period of time, in 2001 Witherspoon
starred as "Elle Woods", a fashion merchandising major who decided to
become a law student to follow her ex-boyfriend to Harvard, in the film
Legally Blonde, resulting in her breakthrough as a leading actress.
Critics began referring to Witherspoon as "the new Meg Ryan". The
box-office hit helped Witherspoon achieve fame. Meanwhile, critical
reviews were generally positive, with Roger Ebert commenting that
"Witherspoon effortlessly animated this material with sunshine and quick
wit". As a result, Witherspoon garnered her second Golden Globe Best
Actress nomination and an MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance.
Speaking about Woods' character, Witherspoon said "When I read Legally
Blonde,I was like, 'She's from Beverly Hills, she's rich, she's in a
sorority. She has a great boyfriend. Oh yeah, she gets dumped. Who cares?
I still hate her.' So we had to make sure she was the kind of person you
just can't hate."
Following the success of Legally Blonde, Witherspoon starred in a number
of different roles. In 2002, Witherspoon was the voice of the animated
character Greta Wolfcastle in The Simpsons episode The Bart Wants What It
Wants. Additionally, Witherspoon portrayed "Cecily" in the comedy The
Importance of Being Earnest. Witherspoon received a Teen Choice Award
nomination as a result of her role. The same year, Witherspoon starred as
"Melanie Smooter/Carmichael" in Sweet Home Alabama.
In 2003, Witherspoon followed up the success of Legally Blonde by starring
in its sequel Legally Blonde 2, in which her character became a
Harvard-educated lawyer. The sequel took over $39m (£25m) in its first
five days in the US box office charts and Witherspoon received a $15
million paycheck for the sequel, making her one of Hollywood's highest
paid actresses.
In 2004, Witherspoon starred as Becky Sharp in the film Vanity Fair, an
adaptation of the 19th century classic novel Vanity Fair by William
Makepeace Thackeray. Witherspoon was pregnant during the film, so she was
costumed to conceal her pregnancy. According to Witherspoon, the gestation
had helped her portrayal of Sharp’s character, "I love the luminosity that
pregnancy brings, I love the fleshiness, I love the ample bosom - it gave
me much more to play with." she said. In early 2005, Witherspoon acted as
"Elizabeth Masterson" in the romantic comedy Just Like Heaven.
In 2005, Witherspoon garnered much critical praise and awards for her turn
as June Carter Cash in Walk the Line. Carter Cash, who died in 2003, had
personally approved of Witherspoon to play her in the 2005 biopic.
However, Witherspoon never had the chance to meet Carter Cash, as
Witherspoon was filming Vanity Fair when Carter Cash died. Witherspoon did
her own vocals in the movie, and as the songs had to be performed in front
of a real audience, Witherspoon had to spend six months learning how to
sing. "That was the most challenging part of the role," she said in an
interview, "I had to learn to sing: I'd never sung professionally." For
playing the role of Carter Cash, Witherspoon won several critical awards
across the globe, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress –
Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, NYFCC, the FFCC, the SFFCC Award for
Best Actress, the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) for best actress in a lead
role, the British Academy's BAFTA for best actress in a lead role, the
"Favorite Leading Lady" at the 32nd Annual People's Choice Awards, the
National Society of Film Critics Awards, and the Academy Award for Best
Actress.
In 2006, Witherspoon was featured as one of Time Magazine's 100 Most
Influential People. Her article was written by friend and fellow co-star
in the Legally Blonde movies, Luke Wilson. She is also listed as one of
"100 Sexiest Women In The World" by FHM Magazine. According to the survey
by the film-trade paper The Hollywood Reporter in 2007, Witherspoon has
established herself as the world's highest-paid actress, earning $20
million a movie.
Witherspoon also runs a production company, Type A Films. Some believe the
company is named after her childhood nickname "Little Miss Type A," but
she clarified the misconception in Interview: "People think I named it
after myself ... But it just isn't who I am at all. It was actually an
in-joke with my family because at 7 I understood complicated medical
terms, such as the difference between type A and type B personalities. But
I just wished I'd named the company Dogfood Films or Fork or something.
You carry that baggage all your life." Type A Films has produced the
Legally Blonde sequel, and a modern-day fable named Penelope starring
Christina Ricci.
Reese Witherspoon at the Golden Globes in 2007Witherspoon has commented on
her motivation to act. "Sometimes I think it's about acknowledgement. I
always felt like people didn't understand me what I was capable of or what
I could accomplish. I was driven to make people understand that I was
capable of more ... But for me part of the experience of acting is that it
is really moving--it's almost meditative, going into a different
character. You lose all self-consciousness and self-awareness for that
brief moment. It's really magical. Of course, it can also be drudgery if
you can't connect with the material or director."
Witherspoon's first post-Oscar role came in the modern-day fairy tale,
"Penelope", in which Witherspoon plays the supporting role of Annie, the
eccentric best friend of Christina Ricci's pig-nosed character. Filming on
Penelope began in March 2006, almost immediately after Witherspoon won her
Academy Award, and the film premiered at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival.
However, the film, which Witherspoon's Type A Films produced, has suffered
two release delays and is now set for a February 2008 release.
Witherspoon was back in front of the cameras again in November 2006 as
shooting began for the political thriller Rendition, in which she stars as
Isabella El-Ibrahim, alongside Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin, Peter Sarsgaard,
and Jake Gyllenhaal. The film was releasd on October 12, 2007. It is
Witherspoon's first appearance in theatres in two years, since the 2005
release of Walk the Line.
In 2007, Reese Witherspoon made her first move into the world of
endorsements as she signed a multiyear agreement to serve as the first
Global Ambassador of cosmetics company Avon Products. She will be involved
in product development, appear in advertisements, and will serve as the
honorary chairwoman of the Avon Foundation, which focuses on breast cancer
and domestic violence research. On explaining her motives for joining the
foundation, Witherspoon said "As a woman and a mother I care deeply about
the well being of other women and children throughout the world and
through the years, I have always looked for opportunities to make a
difference." She is also set to star in a Universal Pictures remake of the
1939 comedy Midnight, scripted by Michael Arndt, and is in talks to star
in the holiday comedy Four Christmases alongside Vince Vaughn. 2009 may
also see Witherspoon take on the horror genre for the first time as a star
of Our Family Troubles, which she and partner Jennifer Simpson will
produce under the Type A banner.
Witherspoon met American actor Ryan Phillippe at her 21st birthday party
in March 1997, where she told him "I think you're my birthday present."
The pair got engaged in December of 1998. The following year, after
starring together in the box office hit Cruel Intentions, the couple got
married in Charleston, South Carolina on June 5, 1999. They have two
children: daughter Ava Elizabeth, born September 9, 1999, and son Deacon,
born October 23, 2003. In order to be able look after the children at all
times, the couple alternate shooting for films.
By 2005, in response to critical news reports of Witherspoon and Phillippe
receiving marriage counseling, Witherspoon stated "We've done that in the
past, and it's always struck me as odd that people grabbed onto that story
and made it sound so negative." In December 2005, she said on The Oprah
Winfrey Show: "In what capacity is working on yourself or your marriage a
bad thing? What marriage isn't a journey? ... Nobody's perfect ... We all
have our own set of problems." In the same month, Witherspoon also said in
an interview: "I think if anybody rests on the idea that they are perfect
or their life is perfect or their relationship is perfect and is so
troubled about destroying the facade as opposed to getting to what's real,
that is troublesome."
On June 21, 2006 Witherspoon sued the US-based tabloid Star Magazine for
running a false story on a third pregnancy. She sought unspecified general
and punitive damages in the lawsuit, asserting that the claim harmed her
reputation because it suggested she was hiding the news from producers of
her upcoming films. On October 30, 2006, Witherspoon and Phillippe
announced that they decided to formally separate after seven years of
marriage. On November 8, 2006, Witherspoon filed for divorce, citing
irreconcilable differences as a reason. In her petition she sought joint
legal custody of their two children and sole physical custody, with full
visitation rights for Phillippe. Although the couple have no prenuptial
agreement and Phillippe is entitled to half of Witherspoon's assets by
California law, she requested that the court not grant spousal support for
Phillippe. On May 15, 2007, Phillippe filed for joint physical custody of
the couple's children. He did not ask for spousal support, and did not
make any move to block Witherspoon from seeking support from him. In
September 2007, on speaking openly about the separation, Witherspoon told
the Elle magazine that it was "a difficult and frightening experience for
her." On October 5, 2007, Witherspoon and Phillippe’s final divorce
documents were filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court, which made their
single status officially take effect. |
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[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."
[talking about 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."
[talking about Ryan Phillippe]: "I'm lucky to find a person to share
my life, and the best friend I'll ever have."
[Talking about 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".
[talking about 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."
[talking about the movie business]: "The battles that we face in
this business aren't financial, but they are moral. And I certainly
think that the longer you can keep your values, and your morality
intact, and keep your head on your shoulders about what is important
at the end of the day, you can get the most out of this business and
really emerge with something wonderful."
"I grew up in Tennessee. We didn't know what Louis Vuitton was. I
had to order all my prom outfits out of catalogs".
"People want to try and move you into a place where you can be
easily identifiable by every woman in America - to be this very
likable woman in a romantic comedy. And it's really hard for me. I
just don't see myself as the girl that everybody likes. I never have
been and I don't know how to be that person."
"As far as being in the spotlight and under public scrutiny, a lot
of that's about how much you put yourself out there. It's not like
we go to every premiere and every celebrity function and every
charity auction. We really just try to maintain our privacy and
never let our public persona get out of hand."
"I'm not perfect! I'm human. I make mistakes. But I try to be as
conscious as I can about things I should be. If I'm going to do
something commercial and mainstream and made for the masses, I just
believe you can make those kinds of films with quality - and good
ideas and good intentions. There's a lot of negativity out there."
"While making Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003), I had
like 50 outfit changes. It was great! I'm real into the whole
"girlie" thing, it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it".
"Attending an all-girls school has its advantages, there are no
inhibitions. You can walk to school with your zit cream on and your
hair in rollers and nobody cares."
"It's nice to come home to what's real." - E! "Revealed with Jules
Asner" (2001).
[On husband Ryan Phillippe] "I don't think I can imagine a better
guy than the one I've ended up with".
"There's something timeless and important about making people laugh,
about being the right spot in their day." - as quoted in the Dec 7,
2004 issue of Woman's World
"I was thinking about why I make movies, and I know why. Life is
hard. It's nice to go escape and have a good time at the movies. If
I can give people a movie about hope, love and the future, then I've
done my job."
"I do think things were meant to happen. I'm just this little girl
from Tennessee, and here I am today. I think a lot of things are
just out of your hands."
[Asked about the ways she is discriminated against] "I get
discriminated against in three ways: I get discriminated against
because I'm blond, I get discriminated against because I'm an
actress and I get discriminated against because I'm from the South."
I did. I called my attorney. My agent. My manager. I said "You know
y'all, you're serious about this? I'm really.. I gotta get out of
this. Like can't they call 'Leann Rimes'? I mean she's good." - On
trying to get out of the part of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line
(2005).
"The director came to us and he said "No, I really want you guys to
learn to sing. To learn to play instruments and I want you to record
an album". and that is what... and I just absolutely was just
gob-smacked and I said .. "I don't know. I can't do that." And he
said "Well I want you to try." Now that's the thing for me. If
someone asks me to try, I will always try. - On doing her own
singing in Walk the Line (2005)."
"Life isn't just about you: It's about family and friends and giving
back." quoted in Woman's World magazine 2-21-06
About dual careers and marriage: "Marriage and family come before
everything. You don't want to make a movie at the cost of your
relationship."
"I feel like there's a race being run for some unattainable goal -
to be the best, the skinniest, the most beautiful. I just admit
that's what I'll never be."
"What gets me is how many women - young women - give up their power
and sense of self. Thinking they're going to get more out of life if
they take off their clothes and objectify themselves, instead of
functioning on the principle that they're smart and capable, that
you can be an actress and not be on the covers of T&A magazines. I'm
flabbergasted by how many legitimate actresses do that. It blows my
mind."
(Part of Oscar Speech) I am so blessed to have my family here
tonight. My mother and my father are here. And I just want to say
thank you so much for everything, for being so proud of me. It
didn't matter if I was making my bed or making a movie. They never
hesitated to say how proud they were of me. And that means so very
much to a child. So thank you, Mom and Dad. I want to say thank you
to my wonderful husband and my two children who should be going to
bed. And thank you for loving me so much and supporting me. And I
want to say that, my grandmother was one of the biggest inspirations
in my life. She taught me how to be a real woman to have strength
and self respect, and to never give those things away. And those are
a lot of qualities I saw in June Carter Cash. People used to ask
June how she was doing, and she used to say -- 'I'm just trying to
matter'. And I know what she means. You know, I'm just trying to
matter, and live a good life and make work that means something to
somebody. And you have all made me feel that I might have
accomplished that tonight. So thank you so much for this honor".
"I think everyone has their own set of problems, and sometimes I
feel I'm in the middle of the biggest challenge of my life just
trying to maintain normalcy in a kind of crazy lifestyle."
"I'm pretty conservative or old-fashion, I should say, it's how I
grew up. I think you have to let your children be individuals, but
you have to set boundaries. Ryan and I have similar ideas about all
of it, you really have to support you partner in the things that are
important to them and hold the line together."
"Many people worry so much about managing their careers, but rarely
spend half that much energy managing their lives. I want to make my
life, not just my job, the best it can be. The rest will work itself
out."
"I have cellulite. I have stretch marks. I feel intimidated by
Victoria's Secret. Hollywood is one of those endless competitions,
but it's like running a race toward nothing. There's no winning.
You're never going to win the pretty race. I just want to be the
best version of myself that I can be."
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