Blonde, poised and versatile, actress Reese Witherspoon went from Southern debutante to a driven Hollywood hot ticket after getting her start in the 1991 feature "The Man in the Moon". Cast thanks to a 10-state talent search, the inexperienced actress had only local commercials to her credit, but she gave a shining performance on her first time out, playing with heartbreaking poignancy a fourteen-year-old girl in love with the boy-next-door dating her sister. It was immediately apparent from her performance that the newcomer could handle three-dimensional, passionate characters with both manners and moxie. 

That same year Witherspoon made her TV acting debut in the Diane Keaton-directed cable movie "Wildflower" (Lifetime, 1991), playing a girl who discovers an epileptic teenager (Patricia Arquette) held captive by her father. Witherspoon racked up more television credits as a critically ill young woman in "Desperate Choices: To Save My Child" (NBC, 1992) and a young wife with a wandering eye in the miniseries "Return to Lonesome Dove" (CBS, 1993). That same year she evaded murderous poachers as the star of "A Far Off Place", a teen-aimed Disney adventure filmed in the Kalahari Desert.

Though she had always projected an aura of sexuality, Witherspoon delivered a breakthrough turn as a sensitive and sassy hostage in the controversial Gen-X satire "S.F.W." (1995) which signaled her move toward more risky, complex roles. She was stalked by a pre-"Boogie Nights" Mark Wahlberg in James Foley's "Fear", and kissed her nice girl image good-bye in "Freeway" (both 1996) as a gun-toting, illiterate, trash-mouthed juvenile delinquent, snarling and pouting her way through a modern-day "Little Red Riding Hood". (The film debuted on HBO before receiving a limited theatrical release.) 

Developing a varied and rewarding career seemed to come naturally to the young actress, who shied away from typical teen roles and avoided being stereotyped. After she portrayed the wayward daughter of Susan Sarandon and Gene Hackman in "Twilight", her kewpie-doll prettiness and pert demeanor found its way into Gary Ross' "Pleasantville" (both 1998), as the 90s hoyden introducing a bold new life force to the 1950s black-and-white world, changing it irrevocably. She continued her march to stardom with turns in three 1999 releases: as Alessandro Nivola's lover who plot together to escape from their desolate town in "Best Laid Plans", opposite Matthew Broderick in the darkly satiric "Election" and playing the plucky but virginal Annette in "Cruel Intentions", a spin on "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" set amongst the teen set.

While the better-than-average "Cruel Intentions" would see a larger audience and showcase Witherspoon's versatility, critics' favorite "Election" would really set her apart from other performers of her generation. Playing the fiercely ambitious and preternaturally perky class president candidate Tracey Flick, Witherspoon essayed a whole new kind of villain, a seemingly harmless teenager so unflinchingly focused on her goal that anything and anyone in the way is justifiably destroyed. Funny and frankly terrifying, Witherspoon's portrayal of the character took Alexander Payne's black comedy to its highest level. A guest role as Rachel's younger sister on the hit sitcom "Friends" (NBC) raised her profile even further in 2000, a year that saw the young star otherwise busy with marriage and the birth of her first child.

In 2001, Witherspoon returned to the big screen, leading the charming comedy "Legally Blonde" to the number one box office spot. This cute tale of a spirited fashion major from Malibu-cum-Harvard Law student became a surprise hit due in no small part to her irresistible and playful but heartfelt performance. She was tapped to play Cecily Cardew in the somewhat lackluster 2002 film remake of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" and would move into the realm of producing with projects in development including a feature adaptation of the best-selling novel "The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing.”

First Witherspoon returned in a movie close to her heart, the romantic comedy "Sweet Home Alabama" (2002) about a southern girl who, after transforming herself into a New York socialite, has second thoughts about her true self during a trip back home. The following year, Witherspoon starred and executive produced the sequel "Legally Blonde: Red, White and Blonde" (2003), a lesser version of the original that took the beloved character Elle Woods to Washington D.C to battle to pass a law--the film was endurable solely thanks to Witherspoon's charms.

The actress wisely to a hiatus from formulaic comedies and took on the role of the aspiring elitist Becky Sharp in director Mira Nair's stylish adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's classic novel "Vanity Fair" (2004), playing a character that uses all of her charm, wit, guile and sensuality to climb the ranks of British society. The actress' innate likeability and relatively sympathetic portrayal of the ladder-climbing Becky resulted in a sympathetic, more determined, less calculating interpretation than other big and small screen versions of the character.

Witherspoon's potent on-screen charisma helped fuel her next effort, the more conventional "Just Like Heaven" (2005), a romantic comedy with a "Ghost"-like plot in which she plays a workaholic doctor who finds herself in an ethereal state haunting her home after it's leased to a depressed widower (Mark Ruffalo). Though falling somewhat short on laughs and originality, the film benefited from its appealing leads and scene-stealing supporting players, and its eventually-involving love story. Next the actress was on to a project that offered a greater acting challenge, playing country singer June Carter Cash opposite Joaquin Phoenix's Johnny Cash in director James Mangold's biopic "Walk the Line" (2005). 

Witherspoon was at her best in the role, set within the singers' tortured road to romance, which also required her to convincingly perform her own songs (in Carter's signature country twang), play the autoharp and deliver Carter's trademark wisecracks and one-liners. All the hard work paid off, as Witherspoon earned a Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, as well as the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. She then cruised to an Oscar win for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 78th Annual Academy Awards.

Off-screen Witherspoon was at the center of media and lawmaker attention on issues involving paparazzi in 2005 after she was harassed and detained by the aggressive shutterbugs; The actress failed in her attempt to bring charges against a photographer who she claimed followed her home from a gym visit and boxed in her car and prevented her from entering the gates of her Brentwood home in April 2005, but as a result of a second incident in September of that year another photographer was charged with six misdemeanor counts, including battery (for allegedly shoving a five-year-old child and hitting another on the head with his camera), child endangerment and false imprisonment stemming from his dogged attempts to snap shots of Witherspoon and her daughter Ava at the youngster's sixth birthday outing at Disney's California Adventure theme park. 

The Witherspoon incidents along with other high-profile paparazzi mishaps that year involving such stars as Lindsay Lohan prompted California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other legislators to consider tougher laws governing paparazzi behavior.

• Also Credited As:
  Laura Jean Reese Witherspoon
• Born:
  Laura Jean Reese Witherspoon on 03/22/1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Model, Producer

Family

• Brother: John Witherspoon, Jr. older
• Daughter: Ava Elizabeth Phillippe. born on September 9, 1999; father, Ryan Phillippe
• Father: John Witherspoon. was a lieutenant colonel in the US Army reserves; later became an ear-nose-throat specialist
• Mother: Betty Witherspoon. a Ph.D in pediatric nursing
• Son: Deacon Phillippe. born on October 23, 2003; father, Ryan Phillippe

Significant Others

• Companion: Jake Gyllenhaal. met while co-starring together in the CIA thriller "Rendition"; reportedly dating since March 2007
• Companion: Chris O'Donnell. reportedly dated briefly
• Companion: Jeremy Sisto. dated after working together in the 1992 TV-movie "Desperate Choices"
• Companion: Mark Wahlberg. co-starred in 1996's "Fear"
• Companion: Michael Bomboy. Witherspoon's first high school love

Education

• Stanford University, Stanford, California, English literature
• Harding Academy, Nashville, Tennessee
• Harpeth Hall School, Nashville, Tennessee

Milestones

• 1983 Began acting in local commercials at age seven
• 1991 Film debut in "The Man in the Moon"; also marked first on-screen kiss
• 1991 TV acting debut in Lifetime movie "Wildflower", directed by Diane Keaton
• 1993 Acted in Marshall Herskowitz's "Jack the Bear"
• 1993 Co-starred in CBS miniseries "Return to Lonesome Dove"
• 1993 First starring role, "A Far Off Place"
• 1995 Starred as satirical mini-mart hostage who lets loose a bitchy side in "S.F.W."
• 1996 Played troubled, precocious girl with a dark past for "Freeway", a nihilistic takeoff on "Little Red Riding Hood" that aired on HBO before its theatrical release
• 1996 Starred as the object of Mark Wahlberg's obsession in "Fear"
• 1998 Appeared as the daughter of Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon in Robert Benton's "Twilight", also starring Paul Newman
• 1998 Transported back to the black-and-white world of 1950s television in Gary Ross' "Pleasantville"
• 1999 Acted in "Cruel Intentions", a modern-day spin on "Les Liaisons Dangereuses"; cast as a virginal teenager
• 1999 Co-starred opposite Matthew Broderick in "Election", directed by Alexander Payne
• 1999 Starred alongside Alessandro Nivola and Josh Brolin in "Best Laid Plans"
• 2000 Made two-episode appearance as the kid sister of Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) in the NBC sitcom "Friends"
• 2001 Starred in the surprise hit comedy "Legally Blonde"
• 2002 Played Cecily Cardew in a film remake of "The Importance of Being Earnest"
• 2002 Starred as a Southern girl who remakes herself as a New York socialite but must return home to finalize a divorce in "Sweet Home Alabama"
• 2003 Reprised the role of Elle Woods for "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blond"
• 2004 Starred in the period film "Vanity Fair" directed by Mira Nair
• 2005 Co-starred opposite Joaquin Phoenix, as June Carter Cash in "Walk the Line," the biopic of late country music legend Johnny Cash, directed by James Mangold
• 2006 Witherspoon surpassed Hollywood superstar Julia Roberts to become the highest paid actress of all time; She will earn $29 million for the horror film "Our Family Trouble"
• 2007 Played a pregnant Midwestern woman who discovers that her Egyptian husband is being secretly held by the U.S. government in "Rendition"
• Raised in Nashville, Tennessee

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