Reese Witherspoon, despite being a mother herself, avoided taking on motherhood roles at the start of her career. Reflecting in a recent interview with The New York Times, she discussed her experiences after becoming a mother at 23, revealing the industry’s discouragement toward actresses portraying moms during that time. Witherspoon, who had her daughter Ava in 1999 and son Deacon in 2003 with then-husband Ryan Phillippe, faced challenges balancing her personal life with career expectations.
Industry Pressure and the Stigma Around Playing Moms
Witherspoon recalled the advice she received from people in the entertainment industry, warning her that taking on mother roles would negatively affect her career.
“I was always being told by people in the industry: ‘Don’t play a mom. It’ll make you seem old,’”
she said. She explained the contradiction she felt:
“And I was like, ‘But, I am a mom.’ There was so much about our business that desexualized you, so you couldn’t be a movie star if you played a mom. And thank goodness, that’s sort of going by the wayside.”
She shared how this mindset prevailed especially during her twenties and thirties, when she was cautioned,
“Don’t play a mom. No men will desire you, or nobody will want to go see that movie because nobody wants to see a movie about a mom.”
Balancing Motherhood and Career Ambitions
Becoming a mother early on left Witherspoon navigating unfamiliar territory.
“There was so much I didn’t know,”
she admitted, adding,
“And maybe that naïveté was good, because it’s like, ‘Oh, I’ll just do that and have a career.’”
She faced restrictions on the roles she could accept, explaining,
“There were roles I couldn’t take. I had to have this immediate balance of family and career, being a mom and being a working actress.”
The unexpected success of Legally Blonde added to her anxiety, as she noted,
“That’s why it was also scary when ‘Legally Blonde’ became such a big hit. I wasn’t going to beg for parts; parts were coming to me. And that almost made it scarier, because I wasn’t picking and choosing what I would reach and strive for. It was more like, what will I not do?”
Later Career and Motherhood Roles Embraced
Witherspoon’s career evolved as she embraced motherhood roles on screen. After welcoming her son Tennessee with ex-husband Jim Toth in 2012, she portrayed mothers in films like Home Again and Your Place or Mine, and television series such as Big Little Lies and Little Fires Everywhere. These projects allowed her to bring authenticity to her characters, drawing from her personal life experience.
Motherhood in Hollywood: Off-Screen Realities
Recently, Witherspoon shared insights into managing motherhood behind the scenes, especially while raising three children in Hollywood. In an Instagram post from August, she included several nostalgic images with her children, explaining,
“Someone asked me what raising three kids and building a career in Hollywood looked like… It looked like spending a lot of time in trailers together. It looked like always being on the road together. It looked like my kids constantly giving me career advice!”
She also addressed the hardships involved:
“It looked really hard sometimes. I’d cry working 14 to 17 hours, sometimes all night long and still woke up early for carpool. I was deliriously tired.”
Despite the exhaustion, she emphasized the importance of showing positivity about her work, stating,
“It looked like trying to say something positive about my work when I got home at night, so my kids would know that my work was meaningful to me and could be fun!”
Motherhood’s Impact on Perspective and Priorities
Though the balancing act was arduous, Witherspoon acknowledged how motherhood reshaped her outlook. She described it as giving her
“perspective about what was important in life,”
adding,
“Nothing was better than getting to come home and hug them and hear about their day!”
Her reflections reveal the complex emotions and professional challenges tied to motherhood roles in Hollywood, highlighting the progress made in changing perceptions about women’s roles on screen.
