Reese Witherspoon Was ‘Frustrated and Angry’ With Her Career. So She Pivoted. | The Interview

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Reese Witherspoon booked her first big Hollywood movie when she was 14 years old. More than 30 years later, she’s an entertainment-industry powerhouse. But Witherspoon says it’s taken her a long time to become the woman she is now, surviving fame at a young age, an abusive relationship and becoming fodder for the paparazzi. On “The Interview,” Witherspoon talks to host Lulu Garcia-Navarro about her career pivot into being a media mogul. Read the conversation on NYTimes.com: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/magazine/reese-witherspoon-interview.html “The Interview” features conversations with the world’s most fascinating people. Each week, co-hosts David Marchese and Lulu Garcia-Navarro talk to compelling, influential figures in culture, politics, business, sports and beyond — illuminating who they are, why they do what they do and how they impact the rest of us. Subscribe to “The Interview”: https://www.youtube.com/@theinterviewpodcast Subscribe to New York Times audio: https://bit.ly/3Qz3GZu Download the New York Times app: https://bit.ly/4gZdoip #theinterview Chapters: 00:09 About Reese Witherspoon, from “Election” to “Legally Blonde” to her production company Hello Sunshine 01:13 Witherspoon’s new thriller “Gone Before Goodbye” written with Harlan Coben 04:09 “The Morning Show” Season 4 and the need for “gender balance” 06:41 Power vs. leadership and Shonda Rhimes 09:09 Witherspoon’s early years including “The Man in the Moon” and going to Stanford 14:04 Surviving an abusive early relationship 16:30 Being a young mom after “Pleasantville,” “Election” and “Cruel Intentions” 20:20 How Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Garner helped Witherspoon through her divorce from Ryan Phillippe and the paparazzi frenzy (and how she relates to Britney Spears) 24:57 Why Witherspoon embraced social media and what fans of “Legally Blonde” ask 26:39 After her Oscar, getting “frustrated and angry” led to a new career 30:46 Gen Z, AI and the future of the entertainment industry 32:25 From breaking even on HBO’s “Big Little Lies” to Hello Sunshine’s nearly billion-dollar acquisition by Candle Media 37:26 Witherspoon responds to Candle Media’s CEO 40:22 Balancing motherhood, work and the pressure to be a “perfect mom” 44:55 Sending your kids to college and what “nepo baby” means 48:06 What’s next for Witherspoon’s acting career