Reese Witherspoon Casts Lookalike Lexi Minetree as the New Elle Woods. See Her Respond with the PerfectLegally BlondeLine!

Mar. 15, 2025

Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde; Lexi Minetree, who has been named as the new Elle Woods in the Legally Blonde prequel series.Photo:Tracy Bennett/MGM; Lexi Minetree/Instagram

Tracy Bennett/MGM; Lexi Minetree/Instagram

What, like it’s hard?Reese Witherspoonhas just named the next Elle Woods and did it in a way that had actressLexi Minetreethinking she just hallucinated.Sharing the clip on Instagram on Thursday, Feb. 13, Witherspoon, who originated the role of the headstrong Harvard Law Student in the 2001 filmLegally Blonde, greeted Minetree, 24, who was appropriately clad in a bright pink blouse and pink heels for the moment.“Your audition tape was amazing, as we talked about,” Witherspoon, 48, told Minetree as footage of her recreating Elle Woods’ Harvard submission video played on the screen. “We had to make a really hard decision the other day and we wanted to tell you in person because you just worked really hard.”Lexi Minetree, who has been named as the new Elle Woods in the Legally Blonde prequel series.Lexi Minetree/InstagramThe Oscar winner faked Minetree out with her serious expression before breaking the good news, saying, “We just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to audition anymore because you got the part. You’re Elle Woods!”“Really? Can I hug you please?” Minetree asked Witherspoon before the two Elles embraced in tears.Minetree then called her mom on the phone where Witherspoon marveled at just how similar they appeared to be.“When I saw her tape, I was like, ‘Are we the same person?’ “ she mused.And true to character, Minetree then pumped her fist, shouting, “ME!” just as Elle Woods does in the film when she receives the coveted legal internship.Witherspoon was delighted to share the news online, writing in her caption, “Allow me to introduce you to the new Elle Woods! After watching so many incredible auditions for the new Elle prequel series on @PrimeVideo, we finally found our Elle. And today, I got to break the news myself! Meet @leximinetree 💕🌟💅🏼.”Similarly, Minetree was over the moon praising Witherspoon in her own post, writing, “Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to @reesewitherspoon for handing me down Elle Woods. I already love her so so much, I promise she’s in good hands. P.S. thank you for showing me how amazing I am going to look in the future, soooo looking forward to that:).”Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde (2001).Tracy Bennett/MGMNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.The actress and producer, who runs the Hello Sunshine production company, recently opened up about the inspiration behind the new Prime Video series.“I saw that Wednesday Addams show, I loved it, I watched every single episode,” Witherspoon said onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallonon Jan. 29. “I thought it was amazing. I was like, ‘We should do Elle Woods in high school!’ Because I wanted to see who she was before college, before law school, and I started having all these ideas. And all these amazing writers came up with this great pitch and now Amazon is making a show and it’s calledElle.”As for production,Witherspoon told PEOPLElast month, “I’m really excited. We start in March.”Reese Witherspoon attends “Where The Crawdads Sing” premiere at Museum of Modern Art on July 11, 2022 in New York City.Arturo Holmes/WireImage“It’s so exciting too, to watch these young girls that are so filled with enthusiasm and excitement and completely… There’s so many good ones,” she added. “That’s the hard thing because there’s so many good people to choose from.’Elle, which will stream on Prime Video, was announced last May.“Fans will get to know how Elle Woods navigated her world as a teenager with her distinct personality and ingenuity, in ways that only our beloved Elle could do,” Witherspoon, who is also an executive producer, said in a statement at the time.

What, like it’s hard?

Reese Witherspoonhas just named the next Elle Woods and did it in a way that had actressLexi Minetreethinking she just hallucinated.

Sharing the clip on Instagram on Thursday, Feb. 13, Witherspoon, who originated the role of the headstrong Harvard Law Student in the 2001 filmLegally Blonde, greeted Minetree, 24, who was appropriately clad in a bright pink blouse and pink heels for the moment.

“Your audition tape was amazing, as we talked about,” Witherspoon, 48, told Minetree as footage of her recreating Elle Woods’ Harvard submission video played on the screen. “We had to make a really hard decision the other day and we wanted to tell you in person because you just worked really hard.”

Lexi Minetree, who has been named as the new Elle Woods in the Legally Blonde prequel series.Lexi Minetree/Instagram

Lexi Minetree/Instagram

The Oscar winner faked Minetree out with her serious expression before breaking the good news, saying, “We just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to audition anymore because you got the part. You’re Elle Woods!”

“Really? Can I hug you please?” Minetree asked Witherspoon before the two Elles embraced in tears.

Minetree then called her mom on the phone where Witherspoon marveled at just how similar they appeared to be.

“When I saw her tape, I was like, ‘Are we the same person?’ “ she mused.

And true to character, Minetree then pumped her fist, shouting, “ME!” just as Elle Woods does in the film when she receives the coveted legal internship.

Witherspoon was delighted to share the news online, writing in her caption, “Allow me to introduce you to the new Elle Woods! After watching so many incredible auditions for the new Elle prequel series on @PrimeVideo, we finally found our Elle. And today, I got to break the news myself! Meet @leximinetree 💕🌟💅🏼.”

Similarly, Minetree was over the moon praising Witherspoon in her own post, writing, “Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to @reesewitherspoon for handing me down Elle Woods. I already love her so so much, I promise she’s in good hands. P.S. thank you for showing me how amazing I am going to look in the future, soooo looking forward to that:).”

Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde (2001).Tracy Bennett/MGM

Tracy Bennett/MGM

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The actress and producer, who runs the Hello Sunshine production company, recently opened up about the inspiration behind the new Prime Video series.

“I saw that Wednesday Addams show, I loved it, I watched every single episode,” Witherspoon said onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallonon Jan. 29. “I thought it was amazing. I was like, ‘We should do Elle Woods in high school!’ Because I wanted to see who she was before college, before law school, and I started having all these ideas. And all these amazing writers came up with this great pitch and now Amazon is making a show and it’s calledElle.”As for production,Witherspoon told PEOPLElast month, “I’m really excited. We start in March.”

Reese Witherspoon attends “Where The Crawdads Sing” premiere at Museum of Modern Art on July 11, 2022 in New York City.Arturo Holmes/WireImage

Arturo Holmes/WireImage

“It’s so exciting too, to watch these young girls that are so filled with enthusiasm and excitement and completely… There’s so many good ones,” she added. “That’s the hard thing because there’s so many good people to choose from.’

Elle, which will stream on Prime Video, was announced last May.

“Fans will get to know how Elle Woods navigated her world as a teenager with her distinct personality and ingenuity, in ways that only our beloved Elle could do,” Witherspoon, who is also an executive producer, said in a statement at the time.

source: people.com