Reese Witherspoon Quotes

But like Elle Woods, I do not like to be underestimated.

I got a role in this movie called Freeway playing this really angry, aggressive, violent young woman who believed wholeheartedly in the truth. I had such satisfaction afterward, and I thought, That's what I want to do.

I traveled all over the South looking for factories - to keep production in the South. I wanted to give back to the place and people that raised me.

I don't have a lot of physical comedy instincts. I'm more verbal.

I'm definitely happy with the way my career has gone, the success; but I even feel glad that I've experienced some failure in my life. That gives you perspective and humility about this business; it's good to realize that you're always just one movie away from not being in Vogue anymore.

It's fun chasing boys, especially when you're young, but I think it takes time and life experience to notice the other boys.

If something seems frightening or horrible, I should probably do it.

Is it more fascinating, perplexing, unbelievable that women are entrepreneurs?

I don't want to discount the beautiful work that the fashion houses do, but somehow, just focusing on what you're wearing feels reductive.

There's no bad consequence to loving fully, comma with all your heart. You always gain by giving love.

I mean, really: He called me 33 percent lesbian, which was a gross underestimation of my lesbian-ness.

Growing up in the South, it was very patriarchal. When I applied to Stanford, I was told by a [male] college counselor, "You're never gonna get in, don't bother. They don't want you." I said, "I'm going to try." And I got in! But I wouldn't be the woman I am if I hadn't had that conflict to overcome. It has given me an underdog feeling all my life.

I take the kids to church and Sunday school. They love it. I really think it's important for a child to feel that there are things that are bigger than your life out there.

It was definitely a scary situation and I was frightened for my husband, but that is no excuse. I was disrespectful to the officer who was just doing his job. I have nothing but respect for the police and I'm very sorry for my behavior.

I'm just trying to matter and live a good life and make work that means something to somebody.

I was all of these women. I've been a young mom; I've been a divorcée; I've been a single mom. I've been the working mom versus the nonworking mom.

To be courageous , you have to have an army of people holding you.

I read while the kids play. I can see them from the kitchen window. And I'm a fast reader.

I have a good memory for certain things. And a very short memory for painful things - that's my favorite Martha Stewart quote, by the way.

A [news] magazine printed a [photo-illustration] of me in a ball gown holding a vacuum cleaner, saying I started a company. Last time I checked, I'm not selling vacuums. It was very sexist.

Every day you have to choose and cultivate your own happiness.

There are things in my life that are hard to reconcile, like divorce. Sometimes it is very difficult to make sense of how it could possibly happen. Laying blame is so easy. I don’t have time for hate or negativity in my life. There’s no room for it.

I didn't really understand fashion until I started going to Paris and seeing the ateliers and how hard these people work. It's art.

I was debating whether to do Legally Blonde, and I saw this interview with Gloria Steinem about how important Goldie Hawn's role in Private Benjamin was for women; by the end of the movie, the character socked her fiancé in the face at the altar because he didn't understand who she'd become through her journey. I was like, "I feel like Gloria Steinem told me to do Legally Blonde. That's how Elle Woods is too!"

You can learn a lot about yourself with what youre doing and who youre with on a sunday.

I had parents who believed I could do anything - and I know how that made me feel. I think both my parents, having careers in the medical profession, feel they are helping people on a daily basis, and that was inculcated in me as a value. I had to struggle with giving up the idea of becoming a doctor myself.

I thought I was going to go back to Stanford, and then I got Election. I loved being an actor.

When you finally accept that you're a complete dork, your life gets easier. No sense in trying to be cool.

I have achieved a certain amount of success, and I felt a responsibility to my daughter and to women in this world to create more opportunities for women.

I'm not a politician, She says evenly. If I want to be one, I'll run for office. Susan Sarandon, whom I know and love, is a fantastic actress. It's her right as an American to say whatever she wants. [But] just because you're rich and famous doesn't qualify you to make political statements. I don't put my opinions out there to influence people. You have alot of influence. And sometimes I feel it's undeserved influence.

I'm lucky to find a person to share my life, and the best friend I'll ever have.

Being a Southern person and a blonde, it's not a good combination. Immediately, when people meet you, they think of you as not being smart.

I was surprised when the ultrasound revealed that I was having a girl. I was convinced I was having a boy. And I was completely confounded by the fact that I wasn't in control of the situation; that I was being introduced to a different individual coming into my life.

My sheets are monogrammed, so is my silverware and pretty much everything else I own. My rule is, if it's not moving -- monogram it!

I feel very blessed to have two wonderful, healthy children who keep me completely grounded, sane and throw up on my shoes just before I go to an awards show just so I know to keep it real.

People seem to really enjoy laughing at me.

I like my body so much better after I had kids. Is that a crazy thing to say? I'm more womanly. I feel sexier.

Doing begets more doing. It sounds simple, but I’m a firm believer that action can solve so many worries, and just powering through, no matter what, can give you the confidence you need when you feel like you’ve got nothing to offer.

If more men would see a story of what it was like to be pregnant, and how it felt to be in a place where you had to make a decision about whether to keep a pregnancy, maybe they would feel differently about women's health care.

I don't know what I would have done so many times in my life if I hadn't had my girlfriends.

Exploring female rage on film doesn't frighten me - it might frighten a lot of people in my business, but, gosh, I know a lot about that, from personal experience and friends' experiences.

For our first date, I made Ryan Hamburger Helper, which is basically what I grew up on. I make my own version of it now, with macaroni and cheese and hamburger meat. And the kids - it's their favorite dinner.

As an artist, I feel more strongly than ever that my job on earth is to tell the stories of the invisibles, and women have been invisible on film for a long time.

Many people worry so much about managing their careers, but rarely spend half that much energy managing their LIVES. I want to make my life, not just my job, the best it can be. The rest will work itself out.

My kids make me laugh every day. And they're so supportive. As I get older, they understand those things I worried about - the guilt of being gone - in a way that's so healing for me, when they say, "Mom, we know you love what you do. We love to watch you do what you do."

Costumes, fashion, it's all an expression of self, and the more you push the boundaries - the more that people work at creating alternative ideas - the more it changes people's ideas of beauty.

That said, I'd love to do a musical, either in film or on stage.

Women want to see the truth. They don't want to see some perfect girl.