Laura Jean Reese Witherspoon - this is what Reese Witherspoon was called at birth. Reese was her mother's maiden name. Reese was born March 22, 1976, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Reese is an accomplished star actress. Her father was a military Physician and mother a Registered Nurse, giving Reese a very well traveled childhood.

A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Witherspoon entered Stanford University as a freshmen in 1995. To experience other aspects of the film-making process, she has interned in post-production at Disney and worked in pre-production with Carl Franklin on "Devil in a Blue Dress." She has also participated in the Sundance Institute's June Lab, as the lead in Teresa Connelly's mother/daughter piece "Polish Wedding."

The photogenic Reese Witherspoon began appearing in commercials and taking on modeling jobs at age seven until, at age 11, she won a 10-state talent search and left her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, to accept a significant part in 1991's The Man In The Moon. She was immediately cast in the 1991 TV movie Wildflower, then Desperate Choices: To Save My Child (TV - 1992), Jack the Bear (1993) and SFW (1994). 


The actress won wide recognition for her leading role as Tobey Maguire's oversexed sister, and this recognition -- along with critical respect -- increased the following year with another leading role, in Alexander Payne's acclaimed satire Election. Starring opposite Matthew Broderick, Witherspoon won raves for her hilarious, high-strung portrayal of student council presidential candidate Tracy Flick.

Reese met Ryan Phillippe, her husband now, at her 21st birthday party, and finally became engaged in December 1998. They were married June 5th, 1999, in South Carolina at the Wide Awake Plantation. On September 9th, 1999, Reese gave birth to their daughter, Ava Elizabeth.