ACTOR · BORN 1976
Reese Witherspoon
- Born
- 22 March 1976, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
- Known for
- American Psycho (2000), The Simpsons (1989), Friends (1994), Sing (2016)
95 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
19 Facts About Reese Witherspoon's Life and Family
- #006
Her mother Betty holds a doctorate. She studied pediatric nursing, and her father John is a surgeon.
- #007
Reese is her mother's maiden name.
- #010
When she finished filming Devil's Knot (2013), she was eight months pregnant with her son Tennessee.
- #011
She has three children: daughter Ava Phillippe (b. September 9, 1999) and son Deacon Phillippe (b. October 23, 2003) with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, and son Tennessee Toth (b. September 27, 2012) with her husband Jim Toth.
- #019
She is only nine years older than Laura Dern, who played her mother in Wild (2014).
- #021
Reese Witherspoon has English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh and distant Dutch ancestry. She is said to be a relative of the Scotland-born Presbyterian minister John Witherspoon, who attended Haddington Grammar School, received a master's degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1739 and was one of the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence.
- #026
Reese Witherspoon returned to work to begin filming Walk the Line (2005) eight months after giving birth to her son Deacon.
- #030
Reese Witherspoon played Robert Pattinson's mother in Vanity Fair (2004), but her scene was cut from the final version. In Water for Elephants (2011) the two play lovers.
- #032
Reese Witherspoon's daughter Ava Phillippe is named after the grandmother of her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe.
- #036
Reese Witherspoon won the Best Actress Oscar in 2006 for her role as June Carter Cash in Walk the Line (2005). The funny part is that Witherspoon had previously played another member of the Carter family; in a fourth-grade play she portrayed Anne Maybelle Carter (June Carter's mother).
- #038
On March 26, 2011, Reese Witherspoon married Jim Toth in a tent at their ranch in Ojai, California, in front of 120 guests, wearing a custom-designed Monique Lhuillier dress. Eighty white doves were released right after the couple said "I do."
- #043
Witherspoon studied English Literature at Stanford University; she has been on leave from her studies since 1996.
- #048
Her mother and father separated in 1996, when she was 20 years old. They are still close.
- #050
Her bridesmaids included her best friend Heather Rosenfield, her daughter Ava Phillippe and two young nieces.
- #060
As part of the Toy Mountain Campaign, Reese Witherspoon donated many items to Rocky Stone to be given to less fortunate children.
- #063
On December 28, 2010, Reese Witherspoon announced her engagement to her boyfriend Jim Toth, whom she had been dating since February 2010.
- #073
Reese Witherspoon visited her former dorm room at Stanford University and met its current resident. [May 20, 2017].
- #082
She returned to work to begin filming The Good Lie (2014) seven months after giving birth to her son Tennessee.
- #095
Reese Witherspoon is a distant cousin of Daniel Morton.
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