One of my all-time favorite movies is Legally Blonde. If someone held me hostage and told me I had to quote the entire movie to live, I’d be freed in a heartbeat.
Okay, while that may be a bit of an exaggeration, I do love this movie, from the moment I first watched it to now, years later, and it got me wondering about where the cast of this iconic comedy is today, from Reese Witherspoon all the way down to Linda Cardellini. With Legally Blonde 3 in the works, let’s take a look at where the Legally Blonde cast is today, more than twenty years later.
Reese Witherspoon (Elle Woods)
Reese Witherspoon was the perfect Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. I don’t think anyone could have played the role better. Understandably, Witherspoon’s career has taken off even more since her appearance in the classic.
Witherspoon has appeared in many of her best movies, that have done well both critically and financially, since Legally Blonde 2. This includes the funny romantic comedy, Sweet Home Alabama, the critically acclaimed Walk the Line (for which she won an Academy Award), Mud, Inherent Vice, and more. She’s also stepped into voice-acting, including a performance in Sing, and reprising her role in the Sing 2 cast.
She’s also had a successful career in television, with leading roles in shows such as the HBO original, Big Little Lies, the Apple TV+ series, The Morning Show, and the Hulu original series, Little Fires Everywhere, all of which were received very well and earned her several nominations. She’s also actively working on the Legally Blonde 3 script with writer Mindy Kaling, so it won’t be long before we see her return as Elle Woods!
Luke Wilson (Emmett Richmond)
Emmett was the perfect love interest in Legally Blonde, and he was played by the talented Luke Wilson. Since his appearance, besides reappearing in Legally Blonde 2, he’s been in plenty of big movies. They include the comedy, Old School, the Anchorman series alongside Will Ferrell, The Skeleton Twins, High Voltage, Zombieland: Double Tap, All the Bright Places, and more.
Wilson has also had success on TV. He played Levi Callow on Enlightened for a few years, Bill on Roadies, and recently, took on the role of Pat Dugan/S.T.R.I.P.E. on the CW’s Stargirl. I can’t wait to see what he does next.
Selma Blair (Vivian Kensington)
I’m pretty sure at first we all hated Vivian, but slowly, she started to grow on us in Legally Blonde. Vivian was played by Selma Blair, who has had success in both film and TV. Some of her biggest hits have been the Hellboy movies, directed by Guillermo del Toro, as Liz Sherman, the After franchise, The Sweetest Thing, and more.
On television, she’s had some huge roles on comedies such as Kath and Kim, Anger Management, Another Life, and more. She’s also had several recurring roles on series like Lost in Space on Netflix, Heathers, Out There, and more. She even played Kris Jenner in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, really showing off her dramatic skills.
Matthew Davis (Warner Huntington III)
Let’s all say it - Warner was one of the biggest jerks in cinema history, and he was played by Matthew Davis. Since his role in Legally Blonde, Davis has mainly kept his talents on television. While he has appeared in movies like Into the Sun, S. Darko and more, his biggest role thus far has been as a part of The Vampire Diaries universe.
For several years, he has played Alaric Saltzman. The character first appeared on The Vampire Diaries, and then on The Originals, and is currently on Legacies. He’s also had a main role on the show What About Brian, as well as recurring roles on shows like Damages, Cult, and even CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Victor Garber (Professor Callahan)
There’s also that professor who seems like he's a good guy, but it turns out he's completely not, and that was the disgusting Professor Callahan, played by the (not disgusting) Victor Garber. He's been active in both movies and TV for some time.
Garber has appeared in films like Milk, Take Me Home, Argo, Sicario, the Hulu original movie, Happiest Season, and more. On television, he portrayed Jack Bristow in Alias for several years, Oliver Roth on ReGenesis, Jordan Wethersby on Eli Stone, Simon Stern in Power, Martin Stein in The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, Admiral Halsey in The Orville, and had several guest roles that are too numerous to put here.
Jennifer Coolidge (Paulette Bonafonte)
Raise your hands if Paulette was one of your favorite characters (*raises hand). Truly, a legend, and only a legend would be played by the legendary Jennifer Coolidge. Since her role in Legally Blonde, Coolidge has been at the top of her game, appearing in hilarious movies and amazing TV shows.
Some of her biggest hits besides Legally Blonde 2 have been A Cinderella Story, Mascots, For Your Consideration, Promising Young Woman, the Netflix original movie, Single All the Way, and as part of the American Pie cast. And, from what Reese Witherspoon told The Hollywood Reporter, she’s also set to come back in Legally Blonde 3.
Coolidge has had some major roles on TV shows, like the sitcom Joey, the drama The Secret Life of the American Teenager, and 2 Broke Girls. As of 2021, she was a part of The White Lotus cast, which has been brought back as an anthology series for HBO. She’s also had a pretty great career in voice-acting, with some of her highlights being the Disney Channel original shows Fish Hooks and Gravity Falls.
Holland Taylor (Professor Elspeth Stromwell)
Another character that I think we all grew to like, Professor Stromwell was a tough-as-nails professor who truly cared about her students succeeding, and that included Elle Woods. Holland Taylor, who played the professor in Legally Blonde, is another actress who has been in the business for a while.
Taylor’s appeared in a couple of the Spy-Kids films, as well as other big hits like Bombshell, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, Bill & Ted Face the Music, The Stand In, and many others.
On television, you might have seen her in the hit sitcom, Two and a Half Men, where she played Evelyn Harper for the series’ full run. She also voiced Ruth Orwell in Electric City, played Ida Silver on Mr. Mercedes, portrayed Ellen Kincaid in Hollywood, played Professor Joan Hambling on The Chair, and has a recurring role on The Morning Show. Alongside all these big roles, she’s had plenty of guest appearances, as well.
Ali Larter (Brooke Taylor-Windham)
Next up, we have Brooke, who was the main client (and former sorority sister) that Elle was defending in Legally Blonde. Brooke was played by Ali Larter, who has appeared in a variety of movies and TV shows. Some of her biggest hits include The Resident Evil franchise as Claire Redfield, Obsessed, Lovesick, and others.
Her biggest role thus far was playing the characters Niki/Jessica/Gina Sanders on the NBC hit, Heroes. After that, she would have main roles in shows like Legends and Pitch, as well as guest spots on many other TV programs. She’s also had a recurring role in the police procedural series, The Rookie, playing Dr. Grace Sawyer.
Jessica Cauffiel (Margot)
Margot was one of Elle’s best friends in Legally Blonde, and she was played by Jessica Cauffiel. After appearing in the comedy and its sequel, Cauffiel had some appearances in other memorable comedies, like White Chicks and Hoot.
She also had recurring roles on The Drew Carey Show and My Name is Earl. While she did take a break from acting for a bit to focus on producing and writing for a little while, like for the documentary, Master, hopefully she can return as Margot in Legally Blonde 3.
Alanna Ubach (Serena McGuire)
The second half of Elle's best friends in Legally Blonde was Serena, who was played by Alanna Ubach. The actress has appeared in a number of movies, including Meet the Fockers, Bad Teacher, the Netflix film To the Bone, the Pixar animated movie, Coco (as Mama Imelda), Bombshell, and more, though a big focus has been television and her voice work.
Since 2001, Ubach has worked on several animated shows, such as Team Supremo, Ozzy & Drix, Brandy & Mr. Whiskers, Higglytown Heroes, El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, Pound Puppies, Mad, Monsters at Work, and more. She’s also appeared on shows such as Euphoria, The West Wing, Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce, Californication, and many more.
Francesca P. Roberts (Judge Marina R. Bickford)
While Judge Marina wasn’t in Legally Blonde for long, she made an impact with her character and attitude in the court battle. The judge was played by Francesca P. Roberts, who has had a great career in television since her appearance in Legally Blonde.
She’s appeared on shows like Empire, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Shameless, Law & Order: LA, Boston Legal, Big Shots, Judging Amy, Grey’s Anatomy, and many others. She has appeared in smaller films, but TV is where it’s really at for Roberts.
Oz Perkins (David Kidney)
David is another one of those characters where you never quite forget this face and personality, and his interactions with Elle were always the best in Legally Blonde. Oz Perkins portrayed David in Legally Blonde, and has been active in the movie and TV industry both on and off the screen.
Some of his acting roles have included the movies La Cucina, Secretary, Electric Slide, and others. His TV roles are mainly guest roles on shows like the recently rebooted The Twilight Zone, October Road, Alias, and more. He has, however, directed and produced many fun thriller and horror movies, like Gretel & Hansel, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House and more.
Linda Cardellini (Chutney Windham)
Last but not least, we have the perm queen herself, Chutney Windham, played by Linda Cardellini, a queen of Hollywood, in my opinion. Since her appearance, Cardellini has appeared in films like the Scooby-Doo franchise as Velma, the Avengers franchise as Laura Barton, Brokeback Mountain, Green Book, the Daddy’s Home series, A Simple Favor alongside Blake Lively, The Curse of La Llorona, Capone, and many others.
Cardellini has worked on a variety of shows, both live-action and animated. With voice roles, she’s had main parts in shows like Regular Show, Gravity Falls, Sanjay and Craig, and more. One of her biggest on-screen roles was in ER, where she played Samantha Taggart. She had a recurring role as Abby Day on New Girl, played Meg Rayburn on Bloodline, and currently plays Judy Hale on Netflix's Dead to Me.
Recently, she also appeared as Laura Barton again recently, but this time in the Hawkeye TV series on Disney+.
All these stars, and so much to watch. Now, if only Legally Blonde 3 could come out soon, I’d be happy.
