Images: Elle Magazine

Born in 1976, Reece is two years younger than me. As I've watched and read about her life (in the public eye) over the years, I've always looked at her as a role model of sorts. I can't help but be in awe of how she's juggled such a successful career while having children so young, maintained such a 'normal' lifestyle for her family, and while doing all of that, as she ages she seems to keep looking better and better, yet in a natural non-hollywood kind of way. These recent photos from UK Elle are probably some of the best I've ever seen of her.

I'm far from being the only Reese Witherspoon fan so while reading her recent inerview with Elle Magazine, I thought I'd jot down a few reasons of my own for why I think she's so damn amazing....

Inspirational role model – Juggling a career and motherhood, Reece not only has 2 decades of successful acting under her belt, she’s also juggled motherhood (part of which as a single mum).  She was no overnight success either, prior to her success with the movie ‘Legally Blonde’, she spent 10 years doing random TV soaps.
Hands on mum – Like any working mum she manages to juggle it all. She goes to her kids sporting games and picks them up from school. Unlike many other Hollywood celebs she doesn’t have a nanny or a personal cook either. Although she’s one of Hollywoods highest paid actresses she tries to keep her personal life as normal as possible.
Fit and healthy style icon: She never looks drawn and unnaturally thin like some other celebs. She maintains a realistically healthy and fit looking physic.
Her classic sense of style: Whether she’s wearing jeans and a tailored blazer or something a little more quirky and on trend, she maintains a down-to-earth casual yet polished style that’s easy to emulate.

She doesn’t take herself too seriously: She is down-to-earth and doesn’t mind making fun of herself. She recently, she made a hilarious cameo on Chelsea Handler’s mockumentary based show “After Lately” and her famous quote to other young actresses is  “There’s always going to be somebody younger or sexier. That’s why I like to say, ‘Funny doesn’t sag.’”

Her general outlook on life: She’s said to be proud of her down-to-earth Southern upbringing, and has been quoted as saying that it gave her, “a sense of family and tradition" and taught her about "being conscientious about people's feelings, being polite, being responsible and never taking for granted what you have in your life." This attitude genuinely shows through in all of her interviews.

Her movies: Legally Blonde, Sweet Home Alabama, Walk the Line, Four Holidays, Water for Elephants, the list goes on… She’s just so easy to watch and relate to whether it’s a serious role or watching her make fun of herself, I haven’t seen a movie with her in it that I didn’t like.

She’s also admitted to be addicted to Pinterest – I can relate to her there!
Interesting Facts about Reese:

• Her mother has a Ph.D. in pediatric nursing and her dad is a surgeon. 
• Her first name is actually Laura. Her full name is Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon.
• She majored in English Literature at Stanford University, she has been on-leave from her studies as of 1996. 
• She is the Global Ambassador of Avon Product.
• She named her production company, Type A Films, after her childhood nickname. Type A's first project was 2008's romantic fable 'Penelope,' starring Christina Ricci as a pig-faced girl looking for true love. 
• Reese has a bulldog named Frank Sinatra and a French bulldog named Coco Chanel, who she likes to put pearls on. Frank appeared in the Reese' movie 'Legally Blonde.' 
• She collects antique linens and old embroidery.
• Shoe designer Jimmy Choo made 63 pairs of shoes out of man-made materials for 'Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde,' in order to be animal-friendly. Witherspoon asked to keep all of the shoes and designer clothing she wore in the film.
• "Vanity Fair" director Mira Nair told Reese Witherspoon to get pregnant for her role as a joke because the actress was so slim, but during production, Witherspoon announced she was expecting.
• Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon performed all of the songs in "Walk the Line" themselves and learned to play their instruments (guitar and auto-harp respectively) with no prior experience. 
• Reese has said that her first child Ava, who was born when she was 23, was the first baby she ever held in her life.

Fact source: www.ontheredcarpet.com