Description:
Laura Jean Reese Witherspoon was born on March 22, 1976 in
New Orleans, Louisiana. She was the second child born to Dr. John and Betty
Witherspoon. Her father was a military surgeon specializing in the ear, nose
and throat. Her mother was a Registered Nurse who later became a Ph.D in pediatric
nursing. Reese spent the first four years of her life in Wiesbaden, Germany
where her father served as a lieutenant colonel in the US Army reserves. Shortly
after, John moved the family back to the States, settling 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).
Off the screen, she has been married to Ryan Phillippe since 1999. They met
at her 21st birthday party and subsequently worked together in Cruel Intentions
(1999). They have two children: a daughter, Ava Elizabeth (born 9 September
1999) and a son, Deacon (born 23 October 2003).
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