×
Back left
Back right

Reese Witherspoon Biography

Dec 27, 2006

Birthdate: March 22, 1976
Birthplace: Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Reese Witherspoon - Southern Belle

Reese Witherspoon was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana but moved to Nashville, TN early on. Her father, John, is a surgeon and her mother, Betty, is a pediatric nurse. Reese has said that if she wasn't an actress she would've become a physician too. While growing up, she went to a private girls school and only considered acting a hobby. Things changed in Reese Witherspoon's junior and senior years of high school when she landed the lead role in a feature film The Man in the Moon. Reese Witherspoon suddenly found herself faxing in her homework assignments.

Reese Witherspoon - No Scream Queen

Reese Witherspoon's teen thriller Fear, in 1996, really started to get her noticed by the public. The flick, which also starred Mark Wahlberg, had movie peeps offering Reese roles in Scream, Urban Legends and I Know What You Did Last Summer - but she turned them all down. She didn't want to be labeled a "scream queen" and Reese says horror films, "aren't her cup of tea."

Reese Witherspoon - Love Letters

Reese Witherspoon threw herself a big bash for her 21st birthday, which included about 300 guests. One of the guests was fellow actor, Ryan Phillippe. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, Ryan was jetting off to North Carolina the very next day to film I Know What You Did Last Summer (the movie she had just turned down). The pair wrote each other letters the entire time he was away. Ryan and Reese were engaged in 1998 and married in 1999. They also filmed the blockbuster hit Cruel Intentions together.

Reese Witherspoon - Funny Gal

Reese Witherspoon has played a lot of successful comedy roles, but none of them compare to her character, Elle Woods, from the Legally Blonde movies. With her passion for pink, her pint-sized dog Bruiser and her hottie boyfriend, played by Luke Wilson, Elle Woods is a smart, sassy role model for tons of girls.

Reese Witherspoon - Super Mom

Reese Witherspoon is defintely a modern woman, juggling a busy film career, marriage and raising two kids! Reese took a bit of a break after her Legally Blonde sequel but is now back on the big screen with a couple flicks in 2005. On September 16, 2005 you'll be able to check her out in the romantic comedy, Just Like Heaven and then in November 2005, Reese will star in the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line, alongside Joaquin Phoenix.

Reese Witherspoon - Did U Know?
  • Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Philippe have a daughter, Ava Elizabeth, who turned seven in September 2005 and a son, Deacon, who will be two in October 2005.
  • One of her relatives, John Witherspoon, signed the Declaration of Independence.
  • Reese Witherspoon was a cheerleader in high school.
  • Reese Witherspoon's real, full name is Laura Jean Reese Witherspoon.
  • Reese Witherspoon is a vegetarian.
Reese Witherspoon Says...

"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."

Related Stories:
Related Articles