Reese Witherspoon
Biography
Reese Witherspoon, an American actress and producer, made her screen debut as a teenager in The Man in the Moon (1991). She broke through in 1999 with Cruel Intentions and as Tracy Flick in Election. She drew wider notice for playing Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (2001) and its sequel, and for Sweet Home Alabama (2002). She won the Best Actress Academy Award for Walk the Line (2005), then earned a second Academy Award nomination for Wild (2014), which she also produced. Her later work has been mainly in television, where she produced and starred in Big Little Lies, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series, as well as The Morning Show and Little Fires Everywhere. She also produced film versions of Gone Girl and Where the Crawdads Sing, and voiced a role in Sing (2016).
50years old
Turns 51 on March 22in 131 days
- Born New Orleans
- Star sign: AriesThe sign runs March 21 to April 19
- Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (birth name)Also credited as Laura Witherspoon, Reese and Riz Uizerspun
Movie Career
- Films
- 48
- Career span
- 34 years1991 to 2025
Genres
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Getting ready for a role
Witherspoon did her own vocals in the film, and the songs had to be sung before a live audience. She worried so much about performing that she asked her lawyer to end the contract, then spent six months learning to sing with vocal coach Roger Love.
A change of course
After Election, Witherspoon struggled to find work because she was typecast as shrewish, and said she was always the second choice in auditions.
Behind the camera
Witherspoon founded Pacific Standard in 2012 to make projects with strong female leads, and through it produced Gone Girl and starred in Wild.
A first
Witherspoon hosted Saturday Night Live on September 29, 2001. That episode was the first one broadcast after the September 11 attacks.
Beyond film
For Michael Bublé's 2013 album To Be Loved, Witherspoon sang a cover of "Somethin' Stupid," the classic duet by Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra.
Reese Witherspoon movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Garth Jennings directed two of these films. Six actors appear in three of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Meryl Streep's page
Paul Rudd's page
Kiefer Sutherland's page
Joaquin Phoenix's page
Alanna Ubach's page
Box office
What Reese Witherspoon's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$3.3 billion
35 of the 48 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 48 films: 35 worldwide figure; 3 us gross only; 7 never in cinemas; 1 streaming, short cinema run; 2 figure not found.
- 35Worldwide figure
- 3US gross only
- 7Never in cinemas
- 1Streaming, short cinema run
- 2Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 68% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$634M19.1% of the total
- 2$408M12.3% of the total
- 3$382M11.5% of the total
- 4$187M5.6% of the total
- 5$181M5.5% of the total
- 6$164M5.0% of the total
- 7$157M4.7% of the total
- 8$142M4.3% of the total
$1.1 billionfrom the other 27 films with a worldwide figure, 32% of the total
Awards
Seven awards and honors from 1997 to 2006, four of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | |||
| 2006 | Best Actress | Walk the Line | Won |
| Golden Globes | |||
| 2006 | Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Walk the Line | Won |
| BAFTA | |||
| 2006 | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Walk the Line | Won |
| SAG Awards | |||
| 2006 | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role | Walk the Line | Won |
| Other honors | |||
| 1997 | Sitges Film Festival Best Actress award | Freeway | Won |
| Jupiter Awards | Won | ||
| Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame | Honored | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.