Whenever Reese Witherspoon does something iconic, fans are legally bound to discuss it. That's especially true when it has to do with one of Witherspoon's best movies ever, Legally Blonde. It’s been over two decades since Elle Woods first captured our hearts in perfect 2000s rom-com fashion, but it feels like it was just yesterday. I wonder if the Morning Show actress felt the same when she recently revisited the hallowed halls of Harvard, giving major academia vibes. She even took the time to chat with a fan, who gushed about her.
The Wild actress’ visit to the prestigious Ivy League school in Cambridge, Massachusetts this past week coincided with one of the biggest annual events in Boston, the Head of the Charles rowing race. For one lucky fan who was in town for the race, athlete Kate Maistrenko, it was the perfect happy coincidence. The two ran into each other at Harvard Business school, and the Ukrainian Olympic rower commemorated the meeting with the following Instagram post:
Kate Maistrenko's smiling face seems to indicate that she was happy to be in the presence of the Hello Sunshine founder. And, honestly, who could blame her? While chatting with People, Maistrenko could not stop gushing about meeting the Sweet Home Alabama actress when she discussed their run-in:
We talked for, like, 10 minutes. It was really, really nice conversation. She wished me all the best with my rowing. She’s a rock star in everything that she does. … I’m a woman in STEM, and I support women in business, so it’s always nice to see somebody who has an influence on the world to make a global impact.
This interaction is both surprising to me and at the same time, not at all. What I find pleasantly refreshing is hearing about a celebrity taking more than a second to genuinely connect with a fan. Those stories always warm my heart, and this one in particular is just so wholesome. I’m also not surprised that the actress in question is Reese Witherspoon and that the student athlete only had nice things to say. The Big Little Lies actress has always seemed down to earth and mindful of the world and industry around her.
Both those qualities reflect in her work and her production company. Despite early struggles, Hello Sunshine now has so many successful projects under its belt that I’ve lost track. Some of its biggest hits include Where The Crawdads Sing, Daisy Jones and the Six, and one of Reese Witherspoon's latest streaming roles, Your Place Or Mine, which is available with a Netflix subscription.
What I love most though is that the company's success gives the A-lister room to pick and choose films important to her, stories about women for women, and adaptations of books from her wildly popular Reese’s Book Club. It’s why she started the company in the first place, to bring forth the movies and TV people both want and need.
What I and others want these days, though, is more Legally Blonde. Don’t you fret, the famous blonde lawyer is on it. While Mindy Kaling's delayed Legally Blonde 3 seems to have taken the back seat, casting for a high school Elle Woods is in full swing. The prequel show to LB -- titled Elle -- was greenlit by Amazon Prime earlier this year so, hopefully, we see the first season appear somewhere on the 2025 TV schedule.
As for Legally Blonde 3, the script is in progress, but it's unclear when production will start. Still, with the Never Have I Ever creator at the helm, the film is sure to be worth the wait and filled with even more quotable moments from our favorite pink lawyer. At present, though, it does my heart well to see Reese Witherspoon showing shades of her character in real life -- both through her proactive attitude and eagerness to connect with students, creatives and others.
If you feel like revisiting Harvard like the Cruel Intentions actress, you can stream her Legally Blonde movies with a Max subscription.
