Reese Witherspoon announces Lexi Minetree is young Elle Woods in Legally Blonde prequel series
Reese Witherspoon has revealed that Lexi Minetree (right) will be the next Elle Woods in the cast of the Legally Blonde prequel. (Getty/@leximinetree)
Reese Witherspoon has found her young Elle Woods in Lexi Minetree, who has been cast in the upcoming Legally Blonde prequel series.
On Thursday (13 February), the You’re Cordially Invited star took to Instagram to share that the search for her mini-me was now over, as Minetree had landed the role in the cast of the upcoming Prime Video series. Of course, Witherspoon originally played Elle Woods in the hit 2001 romantic comedy, Legally Blonde, and its 2003 sequel Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde.
Witherspoon posted a video telling The Murdaugh Murders star that she would be cast as everyone’s favourite (and best-dressed) Harvard Law alumna. “Your audition tape was amazing, as we talked about, and we had to make a really hard decision the other day,” she began telling the actress.
“And we wanted to tell you in person, because you’ve just worked really hard, and we just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to audition anymore — because you got the part. You’re Elle Woods.”
A teary-eyed Minetree asked Witherspoon for a hug, before calling her mum to tell her the news. “Y’all sound exactly alike,” Minetree’s mother told Witherspoon.
“Isn’t it crazy? When I saw her tape I was like, ‘Are we the same person?’ This is so weird,” Witherspoon responded.
Minetree also announced the news on her personal Instagram page, telling her followers that her “brain is going nuts”. She thanked Witherspoon for “handing me down Elle Woods”.
“I already love her so so much, I promise she’s in good hands,” Minetree wrote. “P.S. thank you for showing me how amazing I am going to look in the future, soooo looking forward to that.”
Witherspoon previously announced the series at Amazon’s 2024 upfront presentation. She appeared on stage at the event with her Chihuahua sidekick Bruiser – where she performed the iconic “bend and snap”.
The series is an origin story of the iconic character and is aptly titled, Elle. The official synopsis reads: “Elle follows Elle Woods in high school as we learn about the life experiences that shaped her into the iconic young woman we came to know and love in the first Legally Blonde film.”
Elle is set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video, but a release date is yet to be announced.
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