Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She made her film debut as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991. In 1996, she appeared in Freeway and starred in Pleasantville in 1998. In 2000, she earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Comedy or Musical nomination for Election.
Witherspoon’s breakthrough role came in 2001 with the box-office hit Legally Blondeand in 2002 she starred in the romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama, which emerged as her biggest live-action commercial success. In 2005, Witherspoon received worldwide attention and praise for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line, which earned her the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award,Screen Actors Guild Award and the Critics Choice Award for Best Actress. Her other films include Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003), Monsters vs. Aliens(2009) and Water for Elephants (2011). In 2014, Witherspoon produced the thrillerGone Girl and garnered praise for portraying Cheryl Strayed in Wild, for which she earned her second Best Actress nomination at the Academy Awards.
She married actor Ryan Phillippe in 1999; the couple separated in 2006 and divorced in 2007. She married talent agent Jim Toth in 2011. Witherspoon owns a production company, Pacific Standard and she is actively involved in children’s and women’s advocacy organizations. She serves on the board of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) and was named Global Ambassador of Avon Products in 2007, serving as honorary chair of the charitable Avon Foundation. In December 2010, Witherspoon received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
