JASON LONDON: Getting to
watch her work was, you know, it started to click in. Like, this kid's pretty special. She's a real sweetheart
and such a nice person and so good at comedy. You could see her going
deeper and deeper and deeper into that character and just
totally forgetting about Reese. That's one thing she does. JIMMY CARTER: She's
a type A personality, but I think that's a good thing. SHARI RHODES: I knew that Reese
could do anything Reese wanted to do. REESE WITHERSPOON:
If you're a fan and you want to come
hang out with me, I'll be right here at
Hollywood and Vine. [music playing] NARRATOR: Every movie generation
has an American sweetheart. Mary Pickford, Debbie
Reynolds, Meg Ryan, and now, Reese Witherspoon. REESE WITHERSPOON: I'm kind of
treated like the girl everybody grew up with because that's
kind of who I am, you know. JIMMY CARTER: She's the
right actor in the right role at the right time. NARRATOR: Reese's father wanted
her to become a neurosurgeon, but she wanted to be like
their Nashville neighbor Dolly Parton. BEVERLY MAHOOD: Reese is exactly
what she idolizes in Dolly, somebody that is real. What you see is what you get. NARRATOR: And what we got is
one of Hollywood's most bankable stars. I really feel like
a lot of my success has come from being
from Nashville, having that sort of
politeness and honesty instilled in me at
such a young age. NARRATOR: As a young girl
growing up in Nashville, Reese Witherspoon dreamed of
being like the stars she was surrounded by. In 1989, her quest
for stardom landed her in front of the
director of the Man in the Moon, Robert Mulligan. The minute her face
came on the screen, they both stood up
and said, that's her. NARRATOR: Reese was only
13 and she was on her way to Hollywood. By the time she
was 20, her films included Fear with Mark
Wahlberg and Freeway with Kiefer Sutherland. Reese's Hollywood dream
was becoming a reality. It's funny because I
just went back to Tennessee and I'm sitting around
with my girlfriend and she was just like, I
just don't understand it. Why you? I said, I don't know. And she goes, I just don't
understand why you made it. I just don't get it. And I said, I'm just as
stumped too, you know. NARRATOR: But there's no mystery
behind Witherspoon's rise to the top. Reese worked hard
and aimed high. What she really
wanted was an Oscar. Any actor that tells you that
they don't care about Oscars or awards, they're
not telling the truth. NARRATOR: And at the
2006 Academy Awards, Reese won the Oscar for
her role as June Carter in Walk the Line. BEVERLY MAHOOD: That was
not an easy roll to take. I think a lot of people might
have backed-- you know, backed down from it and said, I
don't think I can do this. But she's up for the
challenge, and she took it, and she succeeded. NARRATOR: From Oscar glory
to box office defeat, over the last few years, Reese
has experienced the highs and lows of the
acting profession. And somehow, through
it all, she's managed to balance the high
profile career with the demands of motherhood. I think you have to,
like, give up to the fact that you're never going
to totally get it right, but you're never going
to totally get it wrong. So if you just let yourself
off the hook a little bit, it helps, it helps a lot. NARRATOR: That
grounded attitude is the secret to Reese's
success and a direct result of her Southern upbringing. Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon
was born in New Orleans on March 22, 1976. Her father John was a
resident in medical school. Her mother Betty was a nurse. Reese spent the first
four years of her life in Wiesbaden, Germany. John was a Lieutenant Colonel
in the US army reserves, there to fulfill his
Vietnam draft obligation. When he finished his
service, the family moved home to Tennessee. REESE WITHERSPOON: I grew
up in Nashville, Tennessee, which just sort of-- it's a growing city,
but it also has a lot of that sort of Southern
hometown feeling, you know. Very based on Southern
values and very, very much quintessentially Southern city. Girls from the South
are taught to be proper, taught to always
be a lady, they're taught that family comes first,
and their marriages come first. I really feel like
a lot of my success has come from being
from Nashville, having that sort of
politeness and honesty instilled in me at
such a young age. NARRATOR: Reese's father, John,
graduated top of his class at Yale, and became an ear,
nose, and throat surgeon. While her mother Betty
earned six separate degrees and became a
professor of Nursing at Vanderbilt University. Reese adored her mother. REESE WITHERSPOON: I
remember she always wore a bun in her
hair, and I just think she was the most
beautiful woman in the world. NARRATOR: Reese's
earliest American ancestor John Witherspoon
came from Scotland. He was the sixth President
of Princeton University and one of the signatories
of the Declaration of Independence. The family's rich
history made them part of the local Southern gentry. REESE WITHERSPOON:
Either they're, you know, a friend of their family. We know everybody, so everybody
knows us and my family, I mean. NARRATOR: Reese wore
Coke bottle glasses and was the class shrimp. She spent a lot of time
daydreaming and hiding behind the couch
playing with Barbies. She put on plays to
entertain her family and she loved
watching television. REESE WITHERSPOON: I think
I was pretty addicted to Diff'rent Strokes because I
thought that was a pretty cool show. But I grew up more on
'70s and '80s television. NARRATOR: The Witherspoon's
lived in a rambling white bungalow in an upper
middle class Nashville neighborhood. Reese went to school with the
children of several country stars, Emmylou Harris's child,
Minnie Pearl's granddaughter, and Roseanne Cash's daughter. I mean, I went to school with
a lot of really well-to-do kids that-- you know, my parents both
worked and their parents just had lots of money. NARRATOR: Reese loved
doing impressions and would answer the telephone
using different accents. Her parents indulged
her love of performing by letting her appear in
television commercials beginning when she was 7. In 4th grade, she
played country singer June Carter's mother Maybelle
Carter in the school play. Couldn't have been
more normal for her. She had extremely
supportive parents, her mother would take her to
these little acting classes that she wanted to do. NARRATOR: Reese's
father hoped she would become a neurosurgeon. She challenged her with
debates over politics and current events. Her attention to detail
earned her a nickname. My mother used to call me
Little Type A because I was very methodical about things
and I was very studious and getting all my work done. NARRATOR: But once Reese
finished her homework, the A student was
dreaming of stardom. JIMMY CARTER: She wanted
to be like Dolly Parton, she wanted to sing
like Dolly Parton. And you've got to remember,
when she was coming up, Dolly was a little bit past
the country music stuff and was starting
to get into movies and was this bigger than life,
almost like a cartoon character person. And I think Reese saw
maybe she was blonde and she could do that with
some of those funny things and make people laugh. There's nobody that you can
ask or talk to that doesn't know Islands in the Stream. And that was one of
Reese's his favorite songs. At a young age,
she knew that she wanted to be just like Dolly. NARRATOR: Entertaining came
naturally to Reese, who grew up in a family of storytellers. In third grade, she told her
classmates that Willie Nelson was her boyfriend. Country singers were bigger
than movie stars in Nashville. REESE WITHERSPOON: I grew
up in Nashville, Tennessee, so you can't not like
Johnny Cash there. You get in trouble. INTERVIEWER: It's not allowed. They kick you out NARRATOR: Reese's his parents
allowed her to audition for movies while she studied
at the prestigious Harpeth Hall School for Girls in Nashville. RALPH EMERY: A high
school for young ladies who are part of the upper
crust, people with money. That's where she
went to high school. NARRATOR: By the time
she hit high school, Reese was faxing in her
homework for movie sets. A Southern belle
from Nashville was about to get her
big Hollywood break. Laura Jeanne Reese
Witherspoon knew by the time she was seven that
she wanted to be in the movies. She convinced her parents to
let her take acting classes while she was still
in grade school. Her acting coach saw the
potential in Reese right away. TERRI MERRYMAN: The line
was, I feel terrible. That's all it was,
I feel terrible. And I want to see what the
kids bring to that line before they ever get the first
bit of instruction from me. So they're lined up
one after another. Hi, I'm John Smith,
I feel terrible. The next one. Hi, I'm Jane Smith,
I feel terrible. And on and on and,
you know, nothing. Finally, Hi, I'm Reese
Witherspoon, I feel terrible. First time out of the chute. This kid got it. That's what I was looking for. And I knew then
this child had it. NARRATOR: But Reese's parents
still weren't convinced that acting was something their
clever daughter should spend too much time on. TERRI MERRYMAN: The very
last night of class, Reese just did a knockout
job on the little commercial that everyone had to prepare. And Betty came up
to me and said, should Reese continue in this? Does she really have a chance? And I said, absolutely. Go for it. And I told her, as I just
told you, she has it. She has what it takes. NARRATOR: When she
was 13, Reese went to audition for a movie
being shot in Louisiana. Casting director Shari
Rhodes had been searching for an unknown
actress from the South to star in a story of
young love and heartache called the Man in the Moon. Rhodes saw hundreds of
girls in open casting calls across 11 states. The talent search stopped at
Reese's hometown of Nashville, and Rhodes was having trouble
finding the right girl. I told my assistant, I said,
I think there's somebody here. I just know there's
somebody in Nashville. NARRATOR: Reese hadn't heard
about the first audition, but Rhodes decided to
hold a second casting call in Nashville. SHARI RHODES: Reese came
in on that second call. Her daddy brought her. And I know we made her go
wash makeup off of her face because we wanted to see
that freshness, that-- that she had. NARRATOR: Reese's wholesome
look made a big impression on Rhodes. SHARI RHODES: I had
to find a girl just on the cusp of womanhood. In other words, she
couldn't have a bosom. I said, OK, Reese,
now turn to this side so I can confirm how you look. And I said-- it just came out. I said, oh, boy,
you don't have-- and then I stopped. And she turned and looked at me. She knew exactly
what I was thinking. She didn't have a bosom. And it was perfect. NARRATOR: She asked
Reese to read some lines. SHARI RHODES: A friend who was
with me said that he saw her all by herself over in a
corner in a window studying those lines, very focused. And the other girls were
giggling and laughing and embarrassed and she
just rose to the top. I thought we'd found her. NARRATOR: Not long afterward,
Reese was on a plane to Los Angeles for a screen
test with two young hopefuls for the film's other
starring roles. They were wide-eyed, we
stayed at a hotel on the beach, they played on the beach. And the director
watched them a lot and then had them read
the scenes together. NARRATOR: Reese couldn't
understand it when the girl up for the part of her older sister
decided the movie business was not for her. The girl from Mississippi was
16, had a boyfriend who didn't want her to be in the movies. And Reese said,
Shari, she's going, boyfriend, movie,
a boyfriend, movie. And Reese said,
isn't she stupid? I said, well, honey,
you know, some people have to make their choices. So she did. She made the choice to
go back to Mississippi. NARRATOR: Witherspoon
was happy to stay, and signed on as one
of the young stars of the Man in the Moon. Soon after, she
traveled with her mother to Natchitoches, Louisiana
to start shooting. SHARI RHODES: Reese was totally
excited, totally ready for it. Her mother and daddy were
a little more reticent. They didn't know
what this meant. NARRATOR: Reese played Dain
Trant, a 14-year-old girl from the South who falls
in love for the first time. The script called for
the fledgling actress to tackle some
challenging scenes. I think it was the
first time I actually had to kiss a boy was on screen. So that was kind of awkward. Ooh. And I was very nervous. And-- but his name
is Jason London, and it was all about
my character was just excited to kiss a boy
for the first time. I think there's that awkward
discomfort between teenagers in general when it comes
to something like that. SHARI RHODES: That first
kiss, that screen kiss, Roger Ebert put it on his
list of one of the best screen kisses ever. I personally remember her
having a 14-year-old girl breath and me wanting to just
get through the scene and get it done so I didn't have
to be embarrassed anymore. So, that was it. And then watching
the movie later, I realized how special
of a scene it was. It was actually a sweet movie. NARRATOR: Despite
her inexperience, Reese adapted easily to
the long hours and pressure of making a movie. She celebrated her 14th
birthday on the set. Rhodes and the rest of
the crew watched out for the budding
actress when her mother had to return to Nashville. SHARI RHODES: I said,
what is her favorite meal? And they looked at each
other and Reese said, well, I'm a little
embarrassed to tell you. And I said, well, don't be
embarrassed, honey, what is it? She said, Hamburger Helper. And I laughed, but then I cooked
Hamburger Helper for Reese. That's what she wanted. NARRATOR: Reese's co-star, Jason
London, had never acted before and was immediately
impressed by Reese's talent. JASON LONDON: Getting
to watch her work was, you know, it
started to click in, like, this kid's pretty
special, you know. Kid's got something
going on here. In fact, I'm quite
jealous of it. What is it? I want some of that. NARRATOR: When the movie
opened almost two years later, the cast went on a media tour. And London saw many changes
in his teenage co-star. JASON LONDON: There's a
line in the movie that-- that-- that-- she
says, what are your-- what are your hopes and dreams? Something like that. And I said, well, my
dreams are that you-- your boobs will get
bigger and your butt will fill out a little bit more. And she slaps me and that's when
they go into the kiss and all this. And then by two years
later, you know, Reese-- her boobs were getting bigger
and her butt was filling out more and she was-- she
was growing up, you know. And I was starting
to see this, you know, young woman developing. NARRATOR: Reese's first
feature, of The Man in the Moon, was not a big moneymaker. But critics liked the film. She even caught the
attention of Martin Scorsese. It was a time of tremendous
opportunity for young Reese. But she was also about to
experience her first career setback. In 1989, Reese Witherspoon
turned an open audition in her Nashville home town into
a starring role in a Hollywood film. She was just 13 years old. SHARI RHODES: I think some
people are just born again actors. They're-- they have it in
them when they're tiny. NARRATOR: Director Martin
Scorsese heard of her talent and invited Witherspoon to
audition for his upcoming film with Robert De Niro, a
remake of the noir classic Cape Fear. Reese was excited to get the
chance to do another movie, even though she had no idea
who Scorsese and De Niro were. JIMMY CARTER: She was kind
of going on a blind audition. And then someone on a plane,
supposedly, the legend goes, told her what
she was going to do. And she started realizing
what it is and who it was she was going for. NARRATOR: By the time she got
off the plane for her audition, Witherspoon's excitement
had given way to anxiety. She blew the audition and the
part went to Juliette Lewis. But not every
audition was a bust. Producers of the
1993 drama A Far Off Place were so impressed
by Reese's talent, they changed the script
to expand her role. SHARI RHODES: Originally, there
was a strong boy and the girl who followed along behind him. And when they met
Reese, they changed it to a strong girl and the boy
who followed along behind her. NARRATOR: By the time
she hit high school, Witherspoon's busy
acting schedule had her faxing in
homework from film sets. Her parents were supportive
of her acting career, but they insisted Reese
not give up her education. JIMMY CARTER: I think her
parents had enough faith that she was bright enough
that she would do it. She did pretty much get
through with school, and did go off to college. But, I mean, you know, you're
in college and you're in a dorm and you've got movie people
begging you to give you a couple of million
dollars over here. It's hard to finish school when
that kind of cries out there for anybody. NARRATOR: Witherspoon
enrolled in pre-medicine at Stanford University. But acting offers
kept coming her way. She decided to leave
her squeaky clean image behind with her sexy
and startling portrayal of a runaway who gets entangled
with a dangerous Kiefer Sutherland in Freeway. You could see her going
deeper and deeper and deeper into that character and just
totally forgetting about Reese. And that's one thing she does. NARRATOR: Witherspoon loved
her Freeway experience so much, she decided to pursue her dream
of being a career actress. She dropped out of
Stanford after only a year to join Paul Newman, Susan
Sarandon, and Gene Hackman in Twilight. Most parents aren't
too crazy about that. But hers said, OK, you know,
we're here to support you whatever it is that
you want to do, even though I think they were
holding their breath a lot of the time. NARRATOR: Soon after,
Reese threw a party to celebrate her 21st birthday. A young actor named
Ryan Phillippe had come with a friend
for the free beer. The thing about it, and
why I say Southern girl is, they're very forward. When they want to be, when they
see something that they want, they're going to go after it. That's just what they do. And she said to him, you
must be my birthday present. Now that's cool. NARRATOR: The young actors were
instantly taken with each other and spent the rest of
the party together. Reese would tell Interview
Magazine years later that a green cocktail called
a Midori Sour had something to do with it. But there was no denying the
chemistry between the two. Phillippe left LA
the next morning to shoot his next movie, I
Know What You Did Last Summer in North Carolina. And Witherspoon stayed in LA to
shoot Pleasantville with Tobey Maguire. Witherspoon and Phillippe kept
in touch by phone and email. When shooting on
Phillippe's movie wrapped, Reese's Pleasantville
co-star Tobey Maguire convinced her to fly
to North Carolina to surprise her new boyfriend. The pair went on a
three day road trip and fell madly in love. A year later, they were
living together in Los Angeles and Ryan proposed. REESE WITHERSPOON: Oh, yeah. It was very personal and
it was very romantic. And, you know, I
think that's what makes the best proposals
is when they really come from the heart. NARRATOR: They took their
togetherness a step further by signing on for the
same movie, the 1999 psychological thriller
Cruel Intentions. At first, Witherspoon
didn't want to do it. She had just done three
movies back to back and was looking for a break. But Phillippe was
convinced she was perfect for the script about
teenage love and deception. And over dinner at a bistro in
West Hollywood, he and director Roger Kumble talked
Reese into it. Phillippe credited their
offscreen relationship with helping him deliver one of
the most heartfelt performances of his career. RYAN PHILLIPPE: There's this
feeling that she can call me on any BS at any given
second, you know what I mean? I felt like I really had to-- I would be able to
see it in her eyes if she thought I was
doing something fake. NARRATOR: The script called for
Phillippe's character to dump Witherspoon in a crucial scene. It proved to be an emotionally
draining experience for both real life lovers,
which left Reese in tears during filming and Phillippe
vomiting off camera. But in the end, it was worth it. I really enjoyed it. It's sort of nice
collaborating with the person that you feel very close with
because you feel like you can be very open. Just being paid to be
around the person you love is pretty cool too. And she's such a great
actress and she's really a great in the movie The
movie turned out really, really excellent. NARRATOR: Cruel Intentions was
a moneymaker at the box office and paved the way for
another major film role. This time, Witherspoon
would dominate the screen opposite Matthew
Broderick in Election. But along with her
runaway performance came her biggest
career crisis yet. In 1989, Reese Witherspoon was
a rising star in Hollywood. Audiences loved her in the
twisted teenage romance Cruel Intentions, where she played
opposite her real life fiancee Ryan Phillippe. Then she won the role of Tracy
Flick, an ambitious candidate for high school
president in Election. REESE WITHERSPOON: I think
everybody knows someone like that in their life,
whether it be, you know, somebody they work
with or somebody they went to school with. There's just someone always
so endlessly irritating around to bug you. NARRATOR: Witherspoon's
portrayal of the irritating Tracy Flick included a scene
where her character ices her name onto
cupcakes in an attempt to win over the stomachs
and votes of her classmates. I think you got
to look at and say, there's a little bit of
Reese in there, you know. Because I think the
best roles are the ones that are embellishments
upon who they may really be. But she's not mean like that. But I mean, that was
a very meaty role. And I think too many people
believe that's who she was. NARRATOR: Behind the
scenes, the former grade A student was taking her own
notes from her veteran co-star Matthew Broderick. He was so incredibly
professional and not in the least bit
jaded or cynical about it, and still really looked like
he was having a wonderful time. And I think that's sort of the
best lesson I could have gotten from working with
him that, you know, you just have to enjoy yourself. NARRATOR: By the
time Witherspoon was doing interviews to promote
the release of Election, she was pregnant with her first
child with Ryan Phillippe. REESE WITHERSPOON:
Everything's going really well and I'm glad to have a little
break from work right now and be able to concentrate on my
personal life for a little bit. Even watching her
now from knowing her as a child to seeing her
segue into becoming a mother, it just seems so right. She just-- it just makes sense. I don't know, she's just
one of those old souls. I mean, you could tell that
even when she was young. NARRATOR: On June
5, 1999, the couple married in a quiet ceremony on
the banks of a river in South Carolina. They not only faced
the challenges of making a strong
marriage in Hollywood, they were about to
become parents too. They welcomed their daughter,
Ava Elizabeth, a few months after their wedding
on September 9, 1999. I think it will affect
my choices to a point. You try to be a little
more responsible and you know that what you're
putting out into the world now affects, you know, more
than just yourself. It's, you know, you've
got a child to consider. I don't think I could imagine
a better guy than the one I ended up with. I mean, I'm really,
really lucky to have found such an amazing man
and be married to him and have his kid too. Witherspoon loved being
a wife and mother. But before long, she
wanted to work again. She says many producers claim
they wanted to hire her, but the studios
wouldn't let them. She partly blamed the career
slump on the extreme nature of her character in Election,
and said it prevented producers from seeing her in
more bankable roles. JIMMY CARTER: Some of
the folks in the studios, they didn't like her and they
kept her out of some movies, actually, because they saw the
movie Election and they thought that's who she was,
which it really isn't. NARRATOR: Witherspoon accepted
a part in American Psycho and played a recurring TV role
as Jennifer Aniston's younger sister on Friends, while
she searched for a part that would make her more marketable. Witherspoon was convinced
that all she needed was one good script to prove she
could compete with Hollywood's A-list. She told her manager and
agent she would know it when she read. I just go on scripts
so like, you know. If I-- if I can find
some sort of humanity or I feel like I really can
relate to that character, I feel like I know how
to play that character, that's usually when
I try and get a job. NARRATOR: Then along came a role
she could connect with about a fashionista who follows
her boyfriend to law school to win him back. The movie was called
Legally Blonde. SHARI RHODES: You have to have
a sixth sense about how it's going to work. And there have been people
cast in comedic roles that, a month later, they'd
replace the actor with somebody when it just doesn't work. And I'm sure that when he came
across with that character, that they could see how
wonderful it was the same way we could see so many years ago
when she was just a child what she was going to
bring to the screen. NARRATOR: Witherspoon finally
found the role she was looking for in Legally Blonde. She would play Elle Woods,
a fashionista determined to show she not only had
beauty, she also had brains. The role held personal meaning
for the former debutante from the South. She thinks sometimes
she's discriminated against. She's from the
South and people do think you're stupid if
you're from the South, and she'll talk about how women
can always do more than people think they can, and she's
a real champion for that. She wants to be able to go out
there and prove that, you know, we can do it, we're-- we're
who we are, and I am woman, hear me roar. NARRATOR: The movie was made
with an $18 million budget. But it brought in well over
$100 million at the box office, and showed Reese's skills
as a comedic actress and bankable leading lady. She told Interview Magazine,
the role changed her career. JIMMY CARTER: I don't think
her family saw the magic, her husband saw the magic,
maybe her agent saw the magic. But the bottom line is, there
was magic in Legally Blonde. It connected with the audience. It really did make
her a big star. NARRATOR: The Southern
belle from Nashville hit box office gold
with Legally Blonde. Reese Witherspoon was finally
getting the recognition she wanted in Hollywood. And she planned to use it by
forming her own production company and calling the
shots on her future. I've never met an
actress this successful that is not ambitious. It's like being a
salesman or anything else. They're somewhat competitive. She's very ambitious. NARRATOR: Witherspoon's next
role took her to London, where Ryan was also shooting
Gosford Park with Robert Altman. Reese joined the very British
cast of Rupert Everett and Colin Firth in Oscar
Wilde's classic romantic comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest. REESE WITHERSPOON: I could
talk to river all day and all night, so funny,
and so fun to work with. But he's even more fun
offscreen, as you can imagine. He's great. He and Colin we're
just constantly talking and bickering. NARRATOR: Dame Judi Dench
added the crowning touch to Witherspoon's first
British film experience. REESE WITHERSPOON: I was
really excited to work with her and to be able to sort of
do this piece of literature that's, you know, so
steeped in tradition, and everybody loves
this piece in England. You go over there and people
read it in high school. And I was just like, oh,
goodness, this is a big honor. NARRATOR: Witherspoon had
to learn a British accent for her role, while at
the same time husband Philippe was learning a Scottish
accent for Gosford Park. Their two-year-old daughter
Ava was on location with them in London and kept the young
parents busy when they weren't on their respective film sets. She talks a lot about
herself, you know. That's what two-year-olds
think about a lot, themselves. It's all about me, me, me. It's cute. She's just great. She's like my best friend. NARRATOR: Reese's comedic role
in The Importance of Being Earnest strengthened her
growing image with audiences as a funny and likable actress. Working with
Reese was fantastic. She's a real sweetheart
and such a nice person, and so good at Comedy
I think that's like-- it's just one of the things
that she's really good at. NARRATOR: Witherspoon had
proven she was a comedic force to be contended with. She surprised audiences
with her next film role. Sweet Home Alabama
was Reese's first shot at being a romantic lead in
a major Hollywood love story. The role was originally
cast with Charlize Theron. But she dropped out because
of scheduling problems. Reese saw an opportunity to show
yet another side of herself. REESE WITHERSPOON: I consciously
sort of try and mix it up a little bit. It's only interesting
as an actor if you keep, you know, mixing it
up and trying to-- like, I try to challenge
people's ideas of perceptions of what they think
I'm going to do next. But I'm excited, you know. I feel very, very
fortunate to be able to get the opportunities that I do. ANDY TENNANT: She is funny. She's remarkably hilarious. But at the same time, I've
known her as a dramatic actress. And we actually
show another side to her, which is quite
dramatic and quite poignant. And, you know, hopefully,
people will-- will accept her in those, you know, in
those more grown up role. NARRATOR: Sweet Home
Alabama was the first movie to be shot in New York
after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Despite the chaos, Witherspoon
kept her commitment to be on the New York set. She was convinced that the
movie would be a success, and felt a special connection
to the material, which told the story of a girl
from the South who makes it in the big city. I've been going back and
forth, New York and Los Angeles and coming back
home to Nashville, so when I read the
script, I was like, this is very representative
of my own life, you know, in the sense
of moving away and trying to become successful
in a different arena, and then having to come home
and realize who you really are. NARRATOR: Witherspoon
was successfully juggling family life and her career. REESE WITHERSPOON: It's
a lot of scheduling. It's a lot sort of-- sort of balancing. Whenever Ryan works, I
don't work and vise versa. It's, you know-- but it's great
because at the end of the day, when you have an accomplishment
or you get to have sort of exciting experience, you can
have a whole wonderful family to share it with. NARRATOR: Sweet Home
Alabama turned out to be another hit
for Witherspoon. She had proven herself as
a bankable leading actress and was offered a
production deal with MGM. It's fun being a
producer, you know. You get to have a lot of help
sort of organizing and getting things ready. And I'm really good at
organizing things anyway, so it's-- it's good to challenge a
different part of myself. It's about control. They understand if they
develop the project, they're going to develop
something they like and they're not at
the mercy of an agent coming in with whatever
script came through the door that week. NARRATOR: Witherspoon's
popular role as Elle Woods spawned a sequel. And Legally Blonde 2
Red, White, and Blonde, was the first film
made under the banner of her new production
company Type A Films. I think she genuinely
likes what she does. I think she likes
being an actress. I think she likes the concept
of making movies and the stories that go into creating
characters and all that. She likes it and she
does it very well. If that makes her a
type A personality, she's a type A personality, but
I think that's a good thing. You can't do it without
being interested like that. By that point, I
knew that Reese could do anything Reese wanted to do. NARRATOR: Witherspoon finally
had clout in Hollywood as an actress and producer. But as her popularity
grew, so did her problems with the paparazzi. JIMMY CARTER: That
probably drives her more crazy than anything. You want to have the press
looking at you because that's how you get $25 million
paychecks, that somebody is interested enough in you
to watch you walking out of a Starbucks. But I'm sure that of
all people, as private as that girl is,
that makes her crazy. NARRATOR: Witherspoon complained
of being swarmed by paparazzi who tried to force her
off the road in her car, and being harassed when she took
her five-year-old daughter Ava and Ava's friends to Disneyland
for a birthday party. Yeah. They do some scary
things sometimes. NARRATOR: She pressed
charges against one overzealous photographer
and joined forces with Cameron Diaz, Lindsay
Lohan, Halle Berry, and the LAPD to wage war
on aggressive paparazzi. REESE WITHERSPOON: The
most important thing is freedom of speech. It's a very important
part of our country. But there's been some
illegal behavior going on. And that's why myself
and some of my colleagues have gotten together and
talking to law enforcement, and things have
definitely gotten better. NARRATOR: Witherspoon claimed
the behavior of the paparazzi improved as a result
of their efforts. But admitted that the situation
had become so troubling that she considered
moving her family. REESE WITHERSPOON: I think
about those things all the time and think about
living in Los Angeles. It's hard living in LA
because that's where a lot of the paparazi are. So, yeah, we think
about moving and stuff. But it's certainly--
the-- the things I've gained by, you know, being
in this business certainly outweigh all the
bad parts of it. NARRATOR: After the success
of the Legally Blonde movies and Sweet Home
Alabama, Witherspoon was ready to go after the
film industry's highest honor. Reese wanted an Oscar. Reese Witherspoon conquered the
box office with her hot films Legally Blonde and
Sweet Home Alabama. But the ambitious actress
was after Hollywood's highest honor. She wanted to know the
thrill of winning an Oscar. It's a life changing event
because forever you're known as the Oscar winning actress. And to have that on
the front of your name, of course, anybody who
would dare be competitive, anybody in the business would
have to want to have that. NARRATOR: In 2003,
Witherspoon left Los Angeles to do another film on
location in England. During the filming
of Vanity Fair, she was also expecting her
second child with Phillippe, a son to be named Deacon. She called me up, you
know, and said, hey, Mira, I am pregnant. And I was just being
a mother myself. I was just delighted for her. And then I realized, oops,
this is the protagonist of my next movie. And then she said to me before
I could say anything, she said, well, can we start
shooting tomorrow? NARRATOR: Wearing the heavy
period costumes required for the shoot was exhausting
for the pregnant actress. REESE WITHERSPOON: Some of
them were like 30 pounds. Yeah, it was difficult. I
mean, I was tired a lot. But I was lucky to work
with them, two women. The director and the
producer were both mothers so they understood
what it was like to be pregnant and tired and grumpy. NARRATOR: After
filming, Witherspoon took a break to be at home
with her young family. REESE WITHERSPOON: I think you
can't feel all pulled together when you have peanut butter
and jelly stuck to your leg and, you know, spit-up
down your back. The most important thing in my
life is my family and my kids. So as long as they're
good and, you know, I'm capable of going out and
working and stuff, it's just-- they're my main priority. So as long as they're
happy, I'm happy. NARRATOR: Then a project that
featured two country music icons and had been in
development for years caught her interest. Walk The Line was in
preproduction forever. I knew of several actors
that have been considered. And then the studio
wouldn't give them any money to put a no-name in it. So they had to put stars. NARRATOR: Witherspoon
was thrilled to be cast in Walk The Line
as June Carter, the daughter of country legend Maybelle
Carter, who she had portrayed in her school play
almost 20 years earlier. REESE WITHERSPOON: Walk The
Line as the story of Johnny Cash and how he grew up and
became a country singer and how he met this woman,
June Carter, who was from one of the foremost families
in country music, and sort of how they couldn't
be together for 12 years and toured on the road
and sort of like one of those great classic
romantic stories. NARRATOR: Witherspoon tried to
back out of Walk The Line when she discovered director
James Mangold wanted her and co-star Phoenix to sing the
legendary songs of June Carter and Johnny Cash for the film. JIMMY CARTER: She tried
to quit a couple of times. She got seriously into trying
to quit a couple of times, and they wouldn't let her. And then cooler heads
prevailed and she stayed in it. REESE WITHERSPOON: The
same thing was hard. That was like a real challenge. So, I mean, I just felt
lucky that I got through it. And it wasn't until she
heard herself back on a CD after practicing, you know,
all these songs for months, she went, I'm awful. I suck. So-- but here's a girl
that didn't back down from the challenge. She took it and
said, you know what, then I need singing lessons,
and took singing lessons for six months. I think in this
kind of context where the music at that
time was not manufactured, it wasn't computer generated,
it was about storytelling and relating to an
audience, and it wasn't about being pitch
perfect, I think you have to at least
convey some of that. NARRATOR: Luckily for
Witherspoon, her Nashville roots paid off when
her father enlisted one of his famous patients, a TV
personality they loved to watch when Reese was a child, to help
her research her role as June Carter. RALPH EMERY: I was over
to see Dr. Witherspoon. And I had heard that Reese was
doing the movie and, you know, that was the word on
the street that she was going to play June Carter. And I just said to the doctor,
I said, well, how's Reese doing and how's the movie going? And he said, we have a problem. I said, what is it? He said, we can't find any
footage on June Carter. NARRATOR: As a local
celebrity in Nashville, Ralph Emery had met virtually
every country music star and was friends with many of
them, including June Carter Cash. He had also taped
many of the performers for his television show. RALPH EMERY: I found all these
videos from about the time June was around 21 years old up
to the time she was about 65. I set her about 10 or 11 tapes. And she wrote me a little note. And if you don't
mind, I'll read it. "Dear Mr. Emery, I wanted
to thank you for lending me these wonderful June Carter
videos for my research on Walk The Line. They were endlessly
helpful and I really appreciate your consideration of
me, as well as your generosity. It means so much to me. Sincerely, Reese Witherspoon." NARRATOR: Armed with
June Carter tapes, six months of singing lessons,
and a darker hair color, Witherspoon's nerves gave
way to her undeniable talent. I felt more relieved when this
movie was over than I've ever felt in any movie. Because it was-- it
was a lot of pressure. NARRATOR: Walk The Line debuted
at the Toronto Film Festival in the fall of 2005, and
immediately began generating predictions of an Oscar for
Witherspoon's portrayal of June Carter Cash. REESE WITHERSPOON: The pressure
was more on making the movie. And I think, you know,
you never know what you're going to end up with. Every movie is like
a roll of the dice. So I just feel lucky the
movie turned out well and that people are liking it. And everything beyond
that is just like gravy. NARRATOR: In 2006, her
performance in Walk The Line was rewarded with a
Golden Globe and an Oscar. RALPH EMERY: I went to see
Dr. Witherspoon about a week before the Oscars. And I said, you've got a seat? He said, yeah, I got it in. He said, I've got a seat. Felicity Huffman is in
Transamerica, who is also, you know, friends
with Dolly Parton. And only in Dolly
Parton's words could she say, it was like I was
torn between two lovers. But she was very
happy for Reese. I mean, Reese,
she deserved that. She deserved that
one that night. SHARI RHODES: So proud of her. I mean, I don't know how many
other casting directors can say that they found someone
when they were a kid and then they won
the Academy Award. JASON LONDON: There
was definitely not an element of surprise
to her winning an Oscar. For me, it was never a
question of if, but when. NARRATOR: But Witherspoon's
Oscar glory was soon replaced by personal heartache. In October 2006, she announced
her seven year marriage to Phillippe was over. JIMMY CARTER: I don't think
that lifestyle with children, with career, and with just
trying to stay married, is a good recipe for success. And I think they
worked very hard at it, and they did stay married
reasonably long time. But ultimately, it didn't work. Relationships come and go. And you never really
know why they work or why they don't work,
whether they're in the industry or not in the industry. And being that
they're very private, I don't think any
of us really know. NARRATOR: Despite
personal turmoil, Witherspoon's career
continued to climb. In November, Reese
immediately began filming the political
thriller Rendition. A few months later,
tabloids were beginning to report that Reese and
Rendition co-star Jake Gyllenhaal were an item. Although paparazzi
photos said otherwise, both Reese and Jake
denied the rumors. In August 2007, Reese
made headlines again. This time for a more
positive reason. She was named the first
ever Avon Global Ambassador, as well as the spokesperson
for Avon beauty brands. In her new role, Reese
travels the world raising awareness for women's
issues like domestic violence. REESE WITHERSPOON: But
really making a difference and educating women about
domestic violence and, you know-- it's really exciting
to be a part of that. NARRATOR: In October, Reese
had more reason for excitement. Her film Rendition
was being released. And her divorce from
Ryan Phillippe was final. As photographs of her and
Jake continued to surface, Reese tried to focus on work. Rendition was her first
film since winning the Oscar for Walk The Line. But unfortunately, critics
were not impressed. USA Today called her
performance lifeless. Determined to get her
career back on track, Reese returned to comedy. REESE WITHERSPOON:
I just come off Walk The Line and
Rendition, and I was looking to do something funny. And I've been calling Vince
Vaughn agent a lot going, I really want to work with
Vince because he's so talented and I'm such a huge fan. And this movie came up and
we agreed to do it together. NARRATOR: Four
Christmases turned out to be a box office hit. In November of 2008,
her personal life was back in the spotlight,
and it was time for Reese to come clean. After months of rumors
and speculation, Reese finally admitted that
Jake Gyllenhaal was indeed her boyfriend. With the exception of
her role as Susan a.k.a. Ginormica in the animated
adventure Monsters vs Aliens, Reese didn't appear in another
film for the next two years. The break every time
to focus on family. It was during this period
that Reese and Jake ended their relationship. A few months after
their split, rumors swirled that Reese had a new
man in her life, Hollywood agent Jim Toth. There was no denying
this relationship. Thanks to Jim's instant
bond with Reese's children and their frequent
family vacations together, a new couple
got serious fast. They even felt comfortable
appearing in public together. When Reese was honored with
a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in December
2010, Jim was there to support his girlfriend. It was one of Reese's
proudest moments as an actor. REESE WITHERSPOON: Thank you
so much because my children are here to enjoy it
while I'm still alive. NARRATOR: That same month,
Reese returned to the screen in the romantic comedy How
Do You Know, costarring Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd,
and Jack Nicholson. What seemed like an
all-star recipe for success turned out to be a critical
and box office failure. Luckily for Reese, she
had a happy distraction. She was engaged to
boyfriend Jim Toth. As if planning a wedding wasn't
enough to keep a girl busy, the Oscar winning
actress was also working on Water For Elephants
with Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson, This Means
War directed by McG, and four months
later, she somehow made room in her hectic
schedule for a wedding. Reese and Jim said I do in March
at her Ojai Valley California estate. With a new husband and even
more films on the horizon, Reese's future looks bright. She'll produce and star in
"Pharm Girl," about a woman who takes on the
pharmaceutical industry, and a Peggy Lee biopic. From Legally Blonde to Oscar
winning actress and beyond, Reese Witherspoon has
captivated audiences with her honesty and talent. JIMMY CARTER: She is
golden at the box office and there are very, very, very
few people that can say that. That's why she's so
powerful right now. BEVERLY MAHOOD: It was Luke
Wilson that said it best. He said, you know, she's kind
of like the best athletes. They don't mind placing
second, but they really want to be first. And she has that. NARRATOR: Whether she's at
the top or bottom of the box office, Reese has always kept
her head high and priorities straight. She has conducted this
career with such dignity. You've never seen
a picture of Reese with a little too much to drink,
getting in and out of a car, asleep on a bar. You just-- she's got such class. BEVERLY MAHOOD: She
hasn't got caught up in all the hype and the fame. I mean, a lot of people
when they go to Hollywood, I mean, they want to make it,
they want to be successful, and might get caught
up on all that. But she hasn't. You know, it's like
a surprising thing. I think everybody just
sort of didn't expect what happened to me in my life. NARRATOR: The southern
girl with big dreams went from mommy's little
Type A to Hollywood's A-list. I want to thank all
my fans and everyone for making it possible
for me to do what I love to do every day of my life. [music playing]
