Reese Witherspoon Popular Books
Reese Witherspoon Biography & Facts
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2006 and 2015, and Forbes listed her among the World's 100 Most Powerful Women in 2019 and 2021. In 2021, Forbes named her the world's highest earning actress, and in 2023, she was named one of the richest women in America with an estimated net worth of $440 million. Witherspoon began her career as a teenager, making her screen debut in The Man in the Moon (1991). She drew attention in 1996 with her performances in the cult films, Freeway and Fear. Her breakthrough came in 1999 with a supporting role in Cruel Intentions, and for her portrayal of Tracy Flick in the black comedy Election. She gained wider recognition for playing Elle Woods in the comedy Legally Blonde (2001) and its 2003 sequel, and for starring in the romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama (2002). She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for portraying June Carter Cash in the musical biopic Walk the Line (2005). Following a career downturn, during which her sole box-office success was the romantic drama Water for Elephants (2011), Witherspoon made a comeback by producing and starring as Cheryl Strayed in the drama Wild (2014), which earned her a second Academy Award nomination. She has since worked primarily in television, producing and starring in several female-led literary adaptations under her company Hello Sunshine. These include the HBO drama series Big Little Lies (2017–2019), the Apple TV+ drama series The Morning Show (2019–present), and the Hulu miniseries Little Fires Everywhere (2020). For the first of these, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series. She has also produced the film adaptations Gone Girl (2014) and Where the Crawdads Sing (2022), and the miniseries adaptation Daisy Jones & the Six (2023). Witherspoon also owns Reese's Book Club and a clothing company, Draper James. She is involved in children's and women's advocacy organizations. She serves on the board of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) and was named Global Ambassador of Avon Products in 2007, serving as honorary chair of the charitable Avon Foundation dedicated to women's causes. Early life and education Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon was born on March 22, 1976, at Southern Baptist Hospital, in New Orleans, Louisiana, while her father, John Draper Witherspoon, was a student at Tulane University medical school. Her father was born in Georgia and served as a lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve. He was in private practice as an otolaryngologist until 2012. Her mother, Mary Elizabeth "Betty" (née Reese) Witherspoon, is from Harriman, Tennessee. She was a professor of nursing at Vanderbilt University and had a PhD in pediatric nursing. Reese Witherspoon has claimed descent from Scottish-born John Witherspoon, who signed the United States Declaration of Independence. However, this claim has not been verified by the Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence genealogists. Her parents are still legally married, although they separated in 1996. Witherspoon was raised an Episcopalian, and has said she is proud of the "definitive Southern upbringing" she received. She has said it gave her "a sense of family and tradition" and taught her about "being conscientious about people's feelings, being polite, being responsible and never taking for granted what you have in your life". At age seven, she was selected as a model for a florist's television advertisements, which motivated her to take acting lessons. At age 11, she took first place in the Ten-State Talent Fair. She received high grades in school, loved reading, and considered herself "a big dork who read loads of books". On mentioning her love for books, she said, "I get crazy in a bookstore. It makes my heart beat hard because I want to buy everything." She has been described as a "multi-achiever" and was nicknamed "Little Type A" by her parents. She attended middle school at Harding Academy and graduated from the all-girls' Harpeth Hall School in Nashville, during which time she was a cheerleader. She later attended Stanford University as an English literature major, but left prior to completing her studies to pursue an acting career. Career 1991–2000: Early work and breakthrough Witherspoon attended an open casting call in 1991 for The Man in the Moon, intending to audition for a bit part; but instead was cast for the lead role of Dani Trant, a 14-year-old country girl who falls in love for the first time with her 17-year-old neighbor. The film takes place in her native State of Louisiana. According to The Guardian, her performance made an early impression. Film critic Roger Ebert commented, "Her first kiss is one of the most perfect little scenes I've ever seen in a movie." For her role, Witherspoon was nominated for a Young Artist Award, in the category of Best Young Actress. Later that year, she made her television debut role in Wildflower with Patricia Arquette. In 1992, Witherspoon appeared in the television film Desperate Choices: To Save My Child, portraying a critically ill young girl. In 1993, Witherspoon played a young wife, Nonnie Parker, in the CBS miniseries Return to Lonesome Dove, appeared in the Disney film A Far Off Place, and had a minor role in Jack the Bear, which garnered her the Young Artist Award for Best Youth Actress Co-star. The next year, she had another leading role as Wendy Pfister in the 1994 film S.F.W., directed by Jefery Levy. In 1996, Witherspoon starred in two major films: the thriller Fear alongside Mark Wahlberg, as Nicole Walker, a teenager who starts dating a man with obsessive tendencies, and the black-comedy thriller Freeway, alongside Kiefer Sutherland and Brooke Shields, in which she played Vanessa Lutz; a poor girl living in Los Angeles who encounters a serial killer on the way to her grandmother's home in Stockton. The film received positive reviews from critics; San Francisco Chronicle's Mick LaSalle wrote, "Witherspoon, who does a Texas accent, is dazzling, utterly believable in one extreme situation after the other." Witherspoon's performance won her the Best Actress Award at the Cognac Police Film Festival and helped establish her as a rising star. The production of the film also gave her significant acting experience; she said "Once I overcame the hurdle of that movie – which scared me to death – I felt like I could try anything." In 1998, Witherspoon had major roles in three films: Overnight Delivery, Pleasantville and Twilight. In Pleasantville, she starred with Tobey Maguire in a tale about 1990s teenage siblings who are magically transported into the setting of a 1950s television series. She portrayed Jennifer, the sister of Maguire's character who is mainl.... Discover the Reese Witherspoon popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Reese Witherspoon books.
Best Seller Reese Witherspoon Books of 2024
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The Light We Lost
Jill SantopoloThe New York Times Bestseller and A Reese’s Book Club Pick “This love story between Lucy & Gabe spans decades and continents as two starcrossed lovers try to return ...
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The Last Time I Saw You
Liv Constantine“Thrilling. . . . a mustread!” Mary Kubica “Masterful.” Wendy Walker “I couldn’t put it down.” Joseph FinderIn a world of wealth and privilege, a killer...
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The Last Mrs. Parrish
Liv ConstantineA REESE WITHERSPOON HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK NATIONAL BESTSELLER MORE THAN ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD!“Will keep you up. In a ‘can’t put it down’ way. It’s ‘The Talented Mr. Ri...
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The Library Book
Susan OrleanA REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICKA WASHINGTON POST TOP 10 BOOK OF THE YEAR A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2018“A constant pleasu...
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One Perfect Couple
Ruth WareHarkening to Agatha Christie’s classic And Then There Were None, this hightension and ingenious thriller follows five couples trapped on a stormswept island as a killer stalks amon...
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The Woman in Cabin 10
Ruth WareINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF IN A DARK, DARK WOOD Featured in TheSkimm An Entertainment Weekly “Summer Must List” Pick A New York Post “Summer...
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Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Gabrielle ZevinNEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER Sam and Sadietwo college friends, often in love, but never loversbecome creative partners in a dazzling and intricately imagined world of video game des...
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The Lying Game
Ruth WareINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER! “So many questions...Until the very last page! Needless to say, I could not put this book down!” Reese Withersp...
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The Last Thing He Told Me
Laura DaveDon’t miss the #1 New York Times bestselling blockbuster and Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick that’s sold 3 million copies strongnow an Apple TV+ limited series starring Jennifer G...
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Three Wishes
Liane Moriarty“Moriarty’s first novel, written with wisdom, humor, and sincerity, is an honest look at sisters who have a bond stronger than anything life throws their way.” BooklistT...
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The It Girl
Ruth WareINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe #1 New York Times bestselling author of the “claustrophobic spinetingler” (People) One by One returns with an unputdownable mystery following a...
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The Giver of Stars
Jojo Moyes#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK “A great narrative about personal strength and really captures how books bring communities together.” Reese Wit...
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Whisper Network
Chandler BakerAN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!“Honest, timely, and completely thrilling.” Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine book pick)“Part pageturning thriller, part sm...
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Romantic Comedy
Curtis SittenfeldNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK A comedy writer thinks she’s sworn off love, until a dreamy pop star flips the script on all her assumptionsa “smart, sophi...
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After You
Jojo MoyesFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Giver of Stars and the forthcoming Someone Else's Shoes, discover the love story that captured over 20 million hearts in Me Before...
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The Henna Artist
Alka JoshiA NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLERA REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK"Captivated me from the first chapter to the final page."Reese WitherspoonVivid and compelling in its...
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Tiny Beautiful Things
Cheryl StrayedNOW A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK An anniversary edition of the bestselling collection of "Dear Sugar" advice columns written by the au...
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One by One
Ruth WareThis instant New York Times bestseller and “claustrophobic spinetingler” (People) from Ruth Ware follows a group of employees trapped on a snowcovered mountain.Getting snowed in at...
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The Secrets We Kept
Lara PrescottNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A thrilling tale of secretaries turned spies, of love and duty, and of sacrificeinspired by the true story of the CIA plot to infiltrate the hearts and m...
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We Were Never Here
Andrea BartzNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK “This book is every suspense lover’s dream and it kept me up way too late turning pages. . . . A novel with crazy twists and...
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The Other Woman
Sandie JonesTHE REESE WITHERSPOON X HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER"One of the most twisted and entertaining plots."Reese Witherspoon"Whiplashinducing."New York Tim...
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The Turn of the Key
Ruth WareINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A superb suspense writer…Brava, Ruth Ware. I daresay even Henry James would be impressed.” Maureen Corrigan, author of So We Read On “This approp...
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Eight Hundred Grapes
Laura DaveFROM THE AUTHOR OF THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME?Heralded as “impossible to put down” (Elle), and named a Best Book of the Summer by Glamour, Good Hous...
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Untamed
Glennon Doyle#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER OVER TWO MILLION COPIES SOLD! “Packed with incredible insight about what it means to be a woman today.”Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club Pick)In he...
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In Five Years
Rebecca SerleA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA Good Morning America, FabFitFun, and Marie Claire Book Club Pick“In Five Years is as clever as it is moving, the rare readinonesitting novel you won’t ...
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The Death of Mrs. Westaway
Ruth WareA “perfectly executed suspense tale very much in the mode of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca” (The Washington Post) from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Woo...
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The Favorite Sister
Jessica KnollFrom the author of Luckiest Girl Alivenow a Netflix filmcomes the “engrossing” (People) New York Times bestseller starring two sisters who join the cast of a reality TV series…and ...
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Yellowface
R. F. KuangINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK“Hard to put down, harder to forget.” Stephen King, #1 New York Times bestselling authorWhite l...
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All the Missing Girls
Megan MirandaA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A New York Times Book Review “Editors’ Choice” Entertainment Weekly Thriller RoundUp The Wall Street Journal 5 Killer Books Hollywood Reporter Hot S...
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Seven Days in June
Tia WilliamsThe instant New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon book club pick is "a heady combination of book love and betweenthesheets love.” (Ruth Ware)“Tia Williams’s book is ...
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Such a Fun Age
Kiley ReidA Best Book of the Year: The Washington Post Chicago Tribune NPR Vogue Elle Real Simple InStyle Good Housek...
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Something in the Water
Catherine Steadman#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK “A psychological thriller that captivated me from page one. What unfolds makes for a wild, pageturning ride! It’s the per...
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One Day in December
Josie Silver#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Get ready to be swept up in a whirlwind romance. It absolutely charmed me.”Reese Witherspoon (A Reese’s Book Club Pick) “The perfect book to get lost...
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Everything I Never Told You
Celeste NgA New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Winner of the Alex Award and the Massachusetts Book Award Named...
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Daughter of Mine
Megan MirandaAn Instant New York Times Bestseller A USA TODAY BestsellerHer father was the town detective. Her mother its most notorious criminal. Now the secrets of Mirror Lake are coming to t...
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The Last House Guest
Megan MirandaA Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick and New York Times bestsellerA year after a summer guest dies under suspicious circumstances, her best friend lives under a clou...
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Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
Balli Kaur JaswalReese Witherspoon’s Book Club PickA lively, sexy, and thoughtprovoking EastmeetsWest story about community, friendship, and women’s lives at all agesa spicy and alluring mix of Tog...
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Next Year in Havana
Chanel CleetonA HELLO SUNSHINE x REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK“A beautiful novel that's full of forbidden passions, family secrets and a lot of courage and sacrifice.”Reese WitherspoonAfter t...
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The Sanatorium
Sarah PearseREESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK"An eerie, atmospheric novel that had me completely on the edge of my seat." Reese WitherspoonYou won't want to leave. . . until you can't.Halfhidden by fores...
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The Alice Network
Kate QuinnFeaturing an exclusive excerpt from Kate Quinn's next incredible historical novel, THE HUNTRESSNEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY BESTSELLER#1 GLOBE AND MAIL HISTORICAL FICTION BESTSEL...
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The Proposal
Jasmine GuilloryTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick“There is so much to relate to and throughout the novel, there is a sharp feminist edge. Loved this ...
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The Cactus
Sarah HaywoodA Reese's Book Club Pick and New York Times Bestseller“Fans of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine will love The Cactus.” Red magazineAn unforgettable love story that shows so...
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Where the Crawdads Sing
Delia OwensNOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTUREThe #1 New York Times bestselling worldwide sensation with more than 18 million copies sold, hailed by The New York Times Book Review as “a painfully beau...
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Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Gail Honeyman#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND THE PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick“Beautifully written and incredibly funny, Eleanor Oliphant Is Compl...
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The Club
Ellery LloydA REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICKINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“Are you ready for the roller coaster ride that is The Club? . . . A beautifully written, densely plotted murder mystery th...
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One Italian Summer
Rebecca SerleINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERIn this “magical trip worth taking” (Associated Press), the New York Times bestselling author of In Five Years returns with a powerful novel about ...
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Luckiest Girl Alive
Jessica KnollNOW A NETFLIX FILM STARRING MILA KUNIS Fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train will thrill at this “perfect pageturner” (People)that Reese Witherspoon describes as “one of thos...
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First Lie Wins
Ashley ElstonREESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK | #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “This fastpaced read has everything you could want in a thriller: secret identities, a mysterious boss and a cat & mo...