Reese Witherspoon's Fantastic Career In Pictures
1 / 10
'Man in the Moon'
Reese was only 15-years-old when she landed her first role of "Dani Trant" in hit 1991 film Man in the Moon! She played a 14-year-old tomboy who falls in love for the first time with her 17-year-old neighbor. For her part, Reese was nominated for a Best Young Actress Award, and the role would lead to more success than she ever could have imagined at 15!
2 / 10
'Fear'
In this 1996 thriller, Reese played teenager "Nicole Walker" alongside actor Mark Wahlberg! The 1990s really cemented Reese's career for her with other hits including the thriller film Freeway, alongside Brooke Shields and Kiefer Sutherland, and Pleasantville, alongside Tobey Maguire.
3 / 10
'Election'
Reese Witherspoon's most career-defining role came with 1999's Election. Reese plays ambitious high school student "Tracy Flick" alongside Matthew Broderick. The role would win her a Best Actress Award from the National Society of Film Critics and the Online Film Critics Society and was even nominated for a Golden Globe!
4 / 10
'Legally Blonde'
Perhaps her most noteworthy appearance of the new millennium came in the form of character "Elle Woods" in the hit films Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde! Audiences just couldn't get enough of Reese's ambitious and upbeat character, and Reese received critical acclaim and an MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance!
5 / 10
'Sweet Home Alabama'
In 2002, Reese would star as lead character "Melanie Carmichael" in box-office hit Sweet Home Alabama alongside Patrick Dempsey and Josh Lucas! Critics gave high praise to Witherspoon for her performance, some even going so far to suggest the movie would have been a flop without her!
6 / 10
'Walk the Line'
Reese's success in early films would lead to her being chosen to play country legend "June Carter Cash" in 2005's country classic Walk the Line with Joaquin Phoenix as the late "Johnny Cash". For the film she needed to perform all her vocals in front of a live audience, which made her very nervous! But, yet again, Reese blew audiences away and showed us that not only could she act but she also has a voice to be reckoned with!
7 / 10
'Water for Elephants'
After a brief career downturn, Reese came back full force in 2011's hit film Water for Elephants! In the film, based off of the 2006 novel of the same name, she plays the beautiful 1930s circus performer "Marlena" who is stuck in an abusive marriage with Christoph Waltz's character, but is latter saved by the handsome circus vet played by Robert Pattinson.
8 / 10
'Gone Girl'
Although not a star of this 2014 hit film, Reese Witherspoon is the woman who got the project started and there would not have been a successful film without her! In 2012, Reese had started her own production company, Pacific Standard, in the aim of creating more films centered around strong female leads. Gillian Flynn's 2012 best-seller, Gone Girl, caught the eye of Reese and the rest is history!
9 / 10
'Wild'
While Gone Girl was being filmed, Reese was also starring in another film adaptation of a strong female led novel, Wild. While the film is mostly a one character plot about a woman finding herself on the Pacific Crest Trail, Reese was praised for one of her best performances and even earned an Academy Award nomination for her role!
10 / 10
'Big Little Lies'
After a successful career in film, Reese Witherspoon has more recently become the star of some great television series! In addition to starring in the two season TV adaptation of bestselling novel, 'Big Little Lies', Reese also helped to co-produce the series alongside co-star Nicole Kidman! Reese currently produces and stars in another successful TV series, Apple TV+'s 'The Morning Show', and her latest miniseries, 'Little Fires Everywhere', was released on Hulu in 2020! After over 30 successful years, the star is showing no signs of stopping!