Reese Witherspoon

Biography of Reese Witherspoon

Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon was born on March 22, 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is an American actress, film producer and Academy Award winner.

At the age of seven, Witherspoon was cast in commercials for a florist. After graduating from Harpeth Hall School, a private all-girls high school in Nashville, she began studying English literature at Stanford University, which she dropped out to pursue an acting career.

In 1991 she starred in her first film role at the age of 14 in The Man on the Moon opposite Jason London. In 1996 she starred in the thriller Fearalongside Mark Wahlberg. In 1998, Paul Newman discovered Witherspoon for his thriller In the Twilight. She rose to prominence in the 1998 comedy Pleasantville opposite Tobey Maguire, which was a critical and popular success. That year she enjoyed another success with the drama Cruel Intentions opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar and her future husband Ryan Phillippe.

Her big break came in 2001 when she starred as Elle Woods in the comedy Legally Blonde. In 2003 she was able to build on this success with the sequel Naturally Blond 2. In 2002, she starred alongside Patrick Dempsey in the hit romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama. At the same time she founded her own production company Type A Films, so she also acted as a producer on the films Legally Blonde 2 and Penelope (2006).

Witherspoon's most notable role to date was in James Mangold's 2005 drama Walk the Line. She received critical acclaim for her performance and won numerous film awards, including a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical and an Oscar for Best Actress.

Witherspoon starred alongside her future partner Jake Gyllenhaal in the thriller Rendition (2007). In the comedy Four Christmases (2008) she played, among others, alongside Vince Vaughn.

In 2010, she starred alongside Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson and Jack Nicholson in the comedy How Do You Knowin front of the camera. She played the role of Lisa, a former softball player who has to choose between two men. Witherspoon received the 2425th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 1, 2010.

For the role of Cheryl Strayed in Wild (2014) she received her second Oscar nomination for best actress in 2015.

On June 5, 1999, Reese Witherspoon married actor Ryan Phillippe. They have two children together, a daughter (1999) and a son (2003). The marriage was divorced on October 5, 2007.

From 2007 to December 2009, she lived with fellow actor Jake Gyllenhaal, whom she met while filming the film Rendition.

On March 26, 2011, Witherspoon married acting agent Jim Toth. The couple temporarily lived on a ranch in Ojai, California, about 150 kilometers north of Los Angeles.

In September 2012, she gave birth to her third child, a son.