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Family Life
RD: When did you realize that acting was what you wanted to do with your life?Witherspoon: Probably not until I was about 19. I was at Stanford and thought I was going to be pre-med. I'd done some commercials beginning when I was 7. I got a role in this movie called Freeway playing this really angry, aggressive, violent young woman who believed wholeheartedly in the truth. I had such satisfaction afterward, and I thought, That's what I want to do.
RD: You ended up leaving Stanford shortly thereafter, right?
Witherspoon: I loved school, but I got this job doing a movie called Twilight with Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon and Gene Hackman. That led to Pleasantville and I started getting busy. Then Ryan and I got married and had a baby and ...
RD: Do you ever think you'd like to go back to school?
Witherspoon: No. I'm just not that kind of person. And you know, life is a constant learning experience. I learn so much with my kids. I read tons of books and study what they're studying. My daughter's six, but still, she learns about marine life and plants. She's fascinated with building habitats for pandas -- in the backyard. She puts her little stuffed animals in the habitat, and then she makes charts that they've been fed.
RD: Did you ever guess you'd be so into being a mother?
Witherspoon: It took me a long time to acclimate myself. I was scared to death. I was 23, got home from the hospital and nobody gave me any instructions. My mother had to go back to work, and I didn't know what to do. I was terrified. The first six months were unbelievably difficult. I didn't sleep. Luckily, I had really good friends.
RD: Did you find the second time to be easier?
Witherspoon: No, just as hard.
RD: What else do you want to do in your life?
Witherspoon: So much. I feel a lot of personal responsibility because of how much I've been blessed. I do work for the Children's Defense Fund, which is Marian Wright Edelman's program. She's just tireless about getting children out of poverty. I do a lot of fund-raising events for them. When we had Legally Blonde Barbie dolls, I gave all my proceeds to them. You can always give more, and I look forward to creating opportunities for young women.
RD: Are you as driven as people say? Are you a perfectionist?
Witherspoon: I don't believe in perfection. I don't think there is such a thing. But the energy of wanting things to be great is a perfectionist energy.
RD: So do you have any desire at some point to do something entirely different?
Witherspoon: No. I kind of really like what I do. But I think about what I'll do when maybe it's not as easy for me to work and have jobs.
RD: Is it hard to juggle two show business careers and two kids?
Witherspoon: Surprisingly, not as difficult as it seems. You have to have sort of a "Things will all work out" attitude. We go everywhere, all four of us, together. It's going to change this year a little because Ava's starting real school. But Ryan and I don't work at the same time, so it's not that hard.
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