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Funny Girl
Funny, blonde and whip-smart -- what more do you need to make it in Hollywood? Would you believe ordinary? Not everyday ordinary, but wise, kind and down- to-earth ordinary. Loves to cook and takes her kids to Sunday school ordinary. That's Reese Witherspoon. What's uncommon about her is that she's all that and one of the most bankable female stars in the movies, not far behind Julia Roberts.Witherspoon, the daughter of a physician and a pediatric nurse, is also deeply driven. The one-time cheerleader and debutante left her hometown, Nashville, at age 18 to attend Stanford, but dropped out when her acting career took off. At 29, she has 21 film roles to her credit, among them the ingeniously goofy Gen X heroine Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. The working mom also has a 6-year-old daughter, Ava, and a 23-month-old son, Deacon, with her husband, actor Ryan Phillippe, and a home life that could be straight out of suburbia.
On the eve of the release of Just Like Heaven, in which the fresh-faced actress strikes up something of an otherworldly romance, Reader's Digest shared a few laughs with Witherspoon. Humor, after all, is what she says she does best.
RD: You've described yourself as being sort of dorky when you were a kid ...
Witherspoon: I wore big Coke-bottle glasses, and I was the shrimp of the class, the last to develop, which is so hard as a girl.
RD: But you've said that because you were funny, you were able to use humor ...
Witherspoon: ... to make friends. Yeah, I wasn't like the most popular girl, but I was definitely friendly and outgoing.
RD: Were your parents funny?
Witherspoon: My mother is very funny and laughs all the time. And she made me feel funny, because everything I ever said was funny to her. So that builds your confidence.
RD: What kinds of things would you do to make her laugh?
Witherspoon: I was always doing impressions. I remember I used to do this whole routine where I would answer my telephone with different accents, and my mother and father thought it was hysterical.
RD: You've been compared to Lucille Ball, Carole Lombard, Judy Holliday, Goldie Hawn. Which one's the closest fit, do you think?
Witherspoon: That's a very generous, kind list. I don't even think I can touch the soles of any of those people's shoes. But lately I've been really thinking about careers. And I've been thinking I like Tom Hanks. I love that he can do so many things. I think he's incredibly smart and accessible.
RD: Do you think you're smart?
Witherspoon: I'm so stupid in some ways. Sometimes I don't get the most obvious jokes. But I think I'm savvy. Like with comedy. I'm not intellectual. My dad is. He uses words that no one can possibly understand nor care to look up. I'm more emotionally intelligent. I can intuit people's behavior and their feelings. That's what I do for a living.
RD: Do you want people to look back and say, "She was really funny"?
Witherspoon: It's so important to me. I mean, you play to your strengths. And to me, that's one of the only things I've got.
RD: Oh, come on.
Witherspoon: I'm really serious. I mean, if I'm going to make it in this business, I'm not going to make it on being sexy. It's just not who I am. It's better to focus on what you're good at. Celebrate yourself, but know that playing the Kathleen Turner character in Body Heat -- it's just not going to happen for me.
RD: After Legally Blonde, you became something of a role model for girls. Do you see yourself that way?
Witherspoon: Absolutely. I've got a daughter. I try to think, What kind of person would I want to look up to if I was 12 or 13? It's important to have respect for yourself. Don't throw your intellect away because it's popular now to be physical and beautiful. Honestly, there's such a movement in that direction right now, and I don't really understand it. I try not to get on my soapbox about everything, but it's just hard for me. I think about how many people had to work hard to get the vote for women, to get women into college, get women better jobs -- for equality. Some of those people who seem to be throwing away their intellect should think more about how they are re-creating an old image of inferiority.
RD: Speaking of historic movements, I heard that one of your ancestors was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Witherspoon: Oh, yeah. My father is John Witherspoon, and the signer of the Declaration of Independence is John Witherspoon. He came over from Scotland in the 1760s and lived in what is now New Jersey, and he served the Revolutionary effort. He also was the sixth president of Princeton, a pretty accomplished guy.
RD: The drive to achieve seems to run in the family.
Witherspoon: My dad's an ear, nose and throat surgeon. He works extremely hard. And my mom's a pediatric nurse who is completely driven. She has six degrees, and she taught me about taking care of yourself and that it's important to have a sense of independence. She was a great example of being self-made.
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