Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actor from New Orleans, Louisiana.
She won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2005 for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line. Her breakout role was Elle Woods in Legally Blonde in 2001. She is noted for being able to play a broad spectrum of characters. In 2000, she co-founded her production company Type A Films, which has since merged with Hello Sunshine, a media firm she also co-founded that focuses on female-led stories. She has produced and starred in Big Little Lies, Little Fires Everywhere, and The Morning Show.
She was married to Ryan Phillippe and to Jim Toth. She became part of the ever-growing list of celebrities who have invested in US soccer teams in 2022, when she and her ex-husband became part of the ownership group of Major League Soccer side Nashville SC.
Her roles include:
- The Man in the Moon (1991) as Danielle "Dani" Trant
- A Far Off Place (1993) as Nonnie Parker
- Freeway (1996) as Vanessa Lutz
- Fear (1996) as Nicole
- Pleasantville (1998) as Jennifer
- Cruel Intentions (1999) as Annette Hargrove
- Election (1999) as Tracy Flick
- American Psycho (2000) as Evelyn Williams
- Little Nicky (2000) as Holly
- King of the Hill (2000) as Debbie, Buck Strickland's mistress (voice)
- Legally Blonde (2001) as Elle Woods
- Sweet Home Alabama (2002) as Melanie
- The Simpsons (2002) as Greta Wolfcastle
- Vanity Fair (2004) as Becky Sharp
- Walk the Line (2005) as June Carter Cash
- Penelope (2006) as Annie
- Four Christmases (2008) as Kate
- Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) as Ginormica/Susan Murphy (voice)
- Water for Elephants (2011) as Marlena
- This Means War (2012) as Lauren
- Inherent Vice (2014) as Deputy D.A. Penny Kimball
- Wild (2014) as Cheryl Strayed
- Hot Pursuit (2015) as Rose Cooper
- Sing (2016) as Rosita (voice)
- Sing 2 (2021)
- Big Little Lies (2017) as Madeline Martha MacKenzie
- A Wrinkle in Time (2018) as Mrs. Whatsit
- The Morning Show (2019) as Bradley Jackson
- Little Fires Everywhere (2020) as Elena Richardson
Tropes relating to her career:
- Bookworm: For her book club, Reese’s Book Club, she picks a book every month she loves from a variety of different genres that has a female-driven story.
- Dyeing for Your Art: Is a brunette in Walk the Line and the 2014 film The Good Lie.
- Fake Brit: Portrays an English woman in the films The Importance of Being Earnest and Vanity Fair (2004).
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Her more recent roles (The Morning Show and Little Fires Everywhere) have this character trait.
- Large Ham: She has a tendency to be one.
- Playing Against Type: Her role as Elena Richardson in Hulu's adaptation of Little Fires Everywhere.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gifted at doing these, see Walk the Line, Freeway, Election, etc.
