PHOTOSReese Witherspoon, 50, Looks Ageless as She Gushes Over New Elle Woods Lexi Minitree at Premiere: Photos
Reese Witherspoon looked ageless as she gushed about Lexi Minetree.
June 25 2026, Published 3:29 a.m. ET
Reese Witherspoon was all praises for new Elle Woods, Lexi Minetree.
Reese Witherspoon gushed over newcomer Lexi Minetree, who is stepping into the Legally Blonde character's pink high heels.
Witherspoon became visibly emotional in a video posted on Instagram, as she passed on the pink baton to the new Elle Woods.
"I just could not be more proud to pass the baton — or the pink torch — to Lexi Minetree as the new Elle Woods," the actress said of the "disciplined" and "talented young woman."
Reese Witherspoon Got Emotional Talking About Lexi Minetree
Reese Witherspoon said Lexi Minetree's audition tape took her breath away.
At the New York City premiere of the TV series Elle, both Minetree and Witherspoon wore pink ensembles, complemented by their signature blonde locks.
Witherspoon, 50, looked ageless and visually unchanged ever since the 2001 premiere of Legally Blonde, as she appreciated Minetree. The Morning Show star got emotional and said, "I have to tell you, when I saw Lexi Minetree in her video, it stopped me. It took my breath away. She understood — I’m gonna cry again — she’s just such an incredible person."
Lexi Minetree Recreates Elle Woods' Memorable Harvard Admissions Video
Reese Witherspoon told Lexi Minetree the 'massive responsibility' the character was.Reese Witherspoon told Lexi Minetree the 'massive responsibility' of taking on the iconic character.
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Witherspoon recalled Minetree's audition tapes — where she recreated Elle's admission tape scene for Harvard — and praised the young actress for going the extra mile.
The Oscar winner said, "She hadn’t just filmed a tape, she was like, 'I don’t even know if I’m going to get this part, but I’m going to put that extra effort into this.'"
After watching Minetree's audition tape, Witherspoon said she immediately wanted to meet her and arranged a Zoom call.
"So we did a Zoom, and she didn’t know that she basically already had the job," Witherspoon said as she got emotional, "I was like, 'I want you to understand the responsibility of what this means to people. Little girls are gonna come up to you, and it’s like a massive responsibility.'"
Lexi Minetree Had a 15-Minute Morning Ritual to Nail Elle Woods' Voice and Character
Reese Witherspoon jokingly asked Lexi Minetree if they were basically the same person.
Minetree and Witherspoon share an uncanny resemblance, particularly when styled in their pink ensembles. Even the Oscar winner asked her in the now-viral casting announcement video, "Are we the same person?"
Minetree, 25, revealed to People that she followed a 15-minute morning ritual, using warm-ups to perfect not only Elle Woods’ body language but also Witherspoon’s voice.
The new Elle detailed how people must have thought she was "crazy" as she kept muttering lines to herself to nail the voice and the character.
Lexi Minetree Revealed Reese Witherspoon's Piece of Advice
Reese Witherspoon advised Lexi Minetree to take a moment to rest and breathe.
Despite her training, Witherspoon had one piece of advice for Minetree, "She [Witherspoon] told me to make sure to drink water, make sure to rest, to breathe and to take in every moment here because it's such a special opportunity.
"Reese is just such a good role model for people. I feel honored to be compared," the upcoming actress revealed.
