Yes, Reese Witherspoon Has Visited Oprah’s Vegetable Garden
Sometimes I just wake up in the morning and wish I were Reese Witherspoon. (Obviously, I should get some more realistic goals.) The actress and producer is ultra-talented, always impeccably dressed, and utterly charming. The characters she plays—whether it’s the determined Elle Woods in classic rom-com Legally Blonde or the nosy, passionate Madeline Mackenzie in Emmy-sweeping HBO series Big Little Lies—radiate with a fierce energy and warm wit, which no doubt stem from the woman herself.
You might also know that Witherspoon is an entertaining aficionado, and the creator of lifestyle brand Draper James, so it’s no surprise that Crate & Barrel tapped her to be their newest ambassador. ELLE.com sat down with Witherspoon to talk holiday entertaining tips, whiskey cocktails, and what Oprah’s garden is really like. (Yes, Witherspoon has been there—and yes, she might have sneaked something out.)
Draper James is doing a collaboration with Crate & Barrel in the new year. What can we expect to see from that?
Well, three years ago, I started Draper James, just to give people a window into what it means to be a Southern woman, and into Southern entertaining. I grew up with my grandma entertaining every Sunday night, she would cook this big dinner, and sometimes it was just family and sometimes it was a big party. So I wanted to show people what that’s like: It’s a lot of friendliness, grace, and charm. This collaboration with Crate and Barrel will involve their beautiful products, which have such timeless style. They’re beautifully made and high quality. So we’ll just be infusing that with some Southern charm.
There’s a lot of that Southern warmth in Draper James items—some of the items have the cutest slogans or sayings printed on them.
Oh, then you’re going to be really excited. You just hold on, sister!
Is there one in the range that will be particularly you?
Crate and Barrel Announces Partnership with Reese Witherspoon
Global home furnishings retailer Crate and Barrel has announced it is working with entrepreneur, Academy Award-winning actress and critically acclaimed producer Reese Witherspoon as the brand’s newest ambassador. The ongoing partnership, which will also incorporate Witherspoon’s own lifestyle and fashion brand Draper James, kicks off today with the launch of Crate and Barrel’s holiday advertising campaign.
As someone who has expressed a longtime love of design and entertaining personally and, most recently, via the creation of Draper James in 2015, Reese Witherspoon was a natural partner for the brand. Both Reese and Crate and Barrel exude timelessness infused with modernity through everything they do and create, resulting in the perfect synergy for a collaboration.
“We are honored to work with Reese, who expresses so many of the best qualities of our brand—style, warmth, and optimism,” said Crate and Barrel President Steve Woodward. “Reese has shown the world she has an eye for design, and we’re thrilled for her to showcase that as an ambassador for the company. Reese truly brings the unique Crate and Barrel experience and spirit to life.”
The holiday campaign, “Make This Season Merry and Just Right,” features Reese entertaining friends and family at home, accompanied by her favorite products from Crate and Barrel. The campaign – created by Crate and Barrel’s Agency of Record Preacher – includes several national TV spots and placements across multiple digital and social platforms that will air through the end of the year.
This holiday season, Crate and Barrel will also highlight select gifts from Draper James, both in stores and online at crateandbarrel.com. As a part of their longer-term relationship, Crate and Barrel and Draper James will release co-designed collections for Spring and Summer 2018 and beyond.
Reese has been very busy in the past few days promoting Home Again, so there are lots of updates to come. To start with, here are scans from the new issue of Glamour magazine, and an interview in an issue of OK UK last month.
The Real Story Behind Reese Witherspoon’s Return to Romantic Comedies
When the trailer dropped for Home Again, Reese Witherspoon’s newest movie, there was a palpable buzz around Hollywood and among her loyal cadre of fans. Timing was part of it—it’s the first project since the actress’ beloved turn in Big Little Lies. The sneak peek into the flick dropped just weeks before the Emmy nominations made official what everyone was expecting: That Lies was a critical darling in addition to taking over pop culture for much of 2017.
But Home Again also marks a ground-breaking transition for Witherspoon: It’s her return to romantic comedies after a five year hiatus.
She has become a staple in more serious awards material, what with her turns in films like Wild, and her slight retreat into behind-the-camera work (she produced Gone Girl and Big Little Lies), that her start in the industry begs reminding. When Witherspoon broke out onto the scene it was her quirkiness and affability that won over fans and critics (and studio executives). Romantic comedies were here bread and butter, their one-liners her legacy. Quotes like “You have a baby…in a bar” and “Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands” were synonymous with Reese.
One wonders what it would take to get Reese back to her old stomping ground after all this time. (And all that success). It’s easy to imagine that the A-lister is pitched movies endlessly, that she’s turned down countless roles that instead went to other actresses. Was it that she simply missed romantic comedies after all this time, and wanted to return to her roots? Not really.
Was it that she wanted to take a little mental break, to tear herself away from the crumbling marriages and murders of Monterrey? Sort of. As Witherspoon told E! News, there is something desirable about heading to the movies to feel good.
“There’s a lot of hard stuff to process out in the world right now,” said the actress. “I think it’s nice when a movie just makes you feel great, when it’s about family, love, togetherness and romance.”
But really, her motivation was more altruistic and, frankly, straightforward.
Reese graces the cover of the new October issue of US Glamour magazine, and inside she writes an article for the magazine about empowering women in Hollywood and promoting women’s rights. She touches on some of her female-driven projects including Wild and Big Little Lies, as well as A Wrinkle In Time, her children’s response to her producing work, and her goals with Hello Sunshine. It’s a really good read, and you can find the full article here. The article is accompanied by a fun and fantastic new photoshoot – find that, in HQ, in our Gallery!
Reese Witherspoon Knows Rom-Coms Need an Image Makeover
Romantic-comedy heroines can seldom have it all. They’re either professionally successful and unlucky in love, or great with the kids and unfulfilled at work or in the bedroom.
But in “Home Again,” a comedy due Sept. 8, Reese Witherspoon is a walking empowerment meme, complete with a wardrobe of pristine white blazers: she’s a newly separated 40-year-old, the mother of two precocious girls who starts a promising career as an interior decorator and shacks up with a hot 27-year-old.
“It never would have even crossed my mind that she couldn’t be all those things,” the writer-director Hallie Meyers-Shyer said, adding, “That wasn’t my experience growing up.”
Ms. Meyers-Shyer, 30, is the daughter of two filmmakers: Nancy Meyers (“It’s Complicated”) and Charles Shyer (“Baby Boom”). She spent her formative years on movie sets, before making her directing debut with “Home Again.” (Nancy Meyers served as executive producer.)
“In certain ways, Hallie knows more about the movie business than I do,” Ms. Witherspoon said.
Ms. Witherspoon, 41, has lately taken a big leap as a filmmaker herself, starting a production company to focus on projects led by women, with hits like “Wild,” “Gone Girl” and, earlier this year, the HBO mini-series “Big Little Lies,” about mothers in wealthy Monterey, Calif., that starred Ms. Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, among others. (A follow-up is being discussed with Liane Moriarty, the author of the novel on which it’s based, Ms. Witherspoon said.)
Speaking by phone from her Los Angeles home — and pausing briefly to greet Tennessee, the youngest of her three children — she spoke passionately about the changing roles for women on screen and how she wants to be a part of that change. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
Last night Reese attended the Los Angeles premiere of her new romantic comedy Home Again. She walked the red carpet with her daughter Ava, and posed with her director Hallie Meyers-Shyer, producer Nancy Meyers, and co-stars Lake Bell, Lola Flanery, Jon Rudnitsky, and Eden Grace Redfield. Reese wore a simple but striking red dress by Roland Mouret, with Christian Louboutin shoes. On the red carpet Reese chatted about what attracted her to the role, why she loves romantic comedies, her daughter Ava, her Emmy nomination, and her upcoming project with Jennifer Aniston. Reese looks so beautiful, and I love seeing her and Ava together! We have the first batch of HQ photos in our Gallery for you, and further down this post are some video interviews from the red carpet. This post will be updated with more coverage in the next few days too…
Reese is gracing the cover of the September issue of Southern Living magazine! In the interview she talks about Draper James and her influences for this brand, her family life, and briefly about Big Little Lies and some of her favourite actresses work on screen. The interview is accompanied by a beautiful, laid back photoshoot showcasing items from Draper James.
Read the article and watch behind the scenes videos within this post, and find the photoshoot in our Gallery. We’ll have scans for you asap…
Reese Witherspoon’s Southern Charm
The Nashville native opens up to Julia Reed about family, her favorite hometown foods, and the Southern women who have inspired her every step of the way
What did you do for Mother’s Day?
We had lots of people over for lunch, including Laura Dern [Witherspoon’s close friend and costar in Wild and Big Little Lies] and her mom, [actress] Diane Ladd, who has become friends with my mom. It’s pretty cute—they really love each other and talk all the time. They’re even planning on taking a road trip together!
In my family, we say, “It doesn’t have to be true to be told.” At lunch, my mom was telling a story about when I moved out here and how she found my apartment and paid for it. I said, “Mom, you know none of that’s true, right?” I found my own apartment, and she did not do any of it! But most of the time, I don’t even bother to interrupt…I think there’s nothing better than a Southern person as they age. The stories get better and better and less and less true.
You often visit Nashville, where you’ve said you’re “so much more relaxed.” But Nashville is not nearly as relaxed—or sleepy— as it was when you were growing up there. How has it changed?
Lately, Nashville has experienced a lot more commerce, a lot of growth, and a lot of new ideas, which is awesome. And you can’t throw a rock without hitting some new culinary surprise. I like Hattie B’s Hot Chicken. Edley’s Bar-B-Que has great fried okra, one of my favorite foods. City House and Rolf and Daughters are really good, and Josephine is great for brunch. Five Daughters Bakery has the best doughnuts, and if we want a meat ’n’ three, we go to Swett’s Restaurant.
The Morning Show (2019) Seasons 1 & 2 available now on AppleTV+
Season 3 coming in 2023 Role: Bradley Jackson Genre: Apple TV+ Series - Drama News / Info / Photos / Official Site
Your Place Or Mine (2023) On Netflix now Role: Debbie Genre: Romantic comedy News / Info / Photos / Official Site
Legally Blonde 3 (202?) In production Role: Elle Woods Genre: Comedy News / Info / Photos / Official Site
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The Morning Show (2019)
