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REESE WITHERSPOON BIOGRAPHY |
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Laura Jean Reese Witherspoon was born on March
22, 1976 in Baton Rouge, 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 would later become 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 biggest role to date 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.
In 2002, she had a follow-up hit with Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
which went on to gross over $100 million dollars at the box
office.
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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