In the late 1990s he emerged as a promising film actress. In 1998 he appeared in films such as : Overnight Delivery and Love in colors. The following year, Witherspoon participated in elections , critically acclaimed , which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress , as well as in the film Sex Games , being nominated for three awards and gaining international fame . The year 2001 marked a turning point in his career with the lead role of Elle Woods in the box office success of Legally Blonde . In 2002 she starred in Sweet Home Alabama, which became one of the biggest commercial successes with his films to date, and in 2003 saw her return as lead actress and executive producer of Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde . In 2005, he received public attention and praise from critics for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in the film Walk the Line , which earned her a Golden Globe Academy Award , a BAFTA Award and the Guild Award actors for best actress in a leading role.
Witherspoon was born at the old Baptist South Hospital (now the Ochsner Baptist Medical Center ) in New Orleans , Louisiana, United States where her parents were living while her father was a student at Tulane University. His father, John Draper Witherspoon , Sr., is an otolaryngologist , born in Georgia, who previously served as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve in the United States. His mother, Mary Elizabeth " Betty " (nee Reese ) was born in Harriman, Tennessee, has a Ph.D. in pediatric nursing and works as a professor of nursing at Vanderbilt University .
Witherspoon claims to be a direct descendant of Scottish , John Witherspoon , signer of the Declaration of Independence of the United States and sixth president of Princeton University . It is also a descendant of John Knox , leader of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland. He lived for four years of his childhood in Wiesbaden ( Germany), because his father worked for the U.S. military in that place. He then returned to America and settled in Nashville, Tennessee with his mother, where he was raised as an Episcopalian .
