Celebrate Reese Witherspoon’s birthday amid her transition from actress to producer with 'Hello Sunshine'

A very happy birthday for actress-turned-producer Reese Witherspoon, who celebrates her 47th birthday today, no doubt in the loving company of her three children, Ava, Deacon and Tennessee. Birthday’s this time of year for mum’s such as Witherspoon are a double celebration, given how close it is to Mother’s Day - which Witherspoon also celebrated as a mum herself and with her own mother, Betty Reese.

Those of a certain age will recall the prolific number of roles Witherspoon performed in during our teenage years; as the know-it-all spoiled brat Tracy Flick in Election, Annette Hargrove in Cruel Intentions (where she met future husband, Ryan Philippe) and Elle Woods in the Legally Blonde series. It all culminated in her receiving the Best Actress Academy Award for 2005’s Walk The Line, portraying the wife of late country singer, Johnny Cash (played by Joaquin Phoenix.)

But as the years have gone by, so has the prolific nature of Reese Witherspoon appearing on our screens. Is this another example of Hollywood turning their noses up at older female leads? Actually, Reese’s voluntary withdrawal from being in front of the camera has more to do with her new role as a producer - one that she has taken to with great aplomb.

Witherspoon’s first foray into producing films dates back to the new millennium; in 2000, she founded production company Type A Films, which she merged with Bruna Papandrea's Make Movies banner to create a new production company entitled Pacific Standard in 2012. Those early works garnered Oscar nominations for the fledgling production company that ultimately transformed into Hello Sunshine in 2016.

The formation of Hello Sunshine, an amalgamation of Pacific Standard, Otter Media, with Sarah Harden became a joint venture focused on telling female-driven stories on film, TV and digital platforms. Which, if you cast your eye below, you’ll see has already been incredibly successful with a clutch of programmes that have already gathered virality online.

Wild (2014)

The first film from Witherspoon’s production company, while under the name Pacific Standard, was based on the book by Cheryl Strayed; Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. 

Witherspoon lent her acting chops to the film also, which sees her play the author who undertook a solo backpacking trip on the Pacific Crest Trail in 1995 after numerous personal issues had left her life in shambles. The debut work from the production company earned two Oscar nominations; a Best Actress nod for Witherspoon and a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Laura Dern.

Gone Girl (2014)

The other movie produced by Pacific Standard released that year also earned an Oscar nod for actress Rosamund Pike; Gone Girl, directed by David Fincher and starring Pike alongside Ben Affleck and Neil Patrick Harris. Though it also failed to win an award from the Academy that year, it was a critical darling, appearing on many critics end of year lists in 2014, and demonstrating Witherspoon’s production company would be a movie powerhouse early on in its life.

Big Little Lies (2017)

Witherspoon’s first production foray into the world of television could not have received a bigger platform if she tried; Big Little Lies was picked up by HBO in 2017 and boasted an all-star cast of Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Adam Scott and Laura Dern once again.

The series has received critical acclaim, particularly for its writing, directing, acting, production values, cinematography and soundtrack. The first season received 16 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won eight, including Outstanding Limited Series, a directing award for Jean-Marc Vallée, and acting awards for Kidman, Alexander Skarsgård and Laura Dern. The trio also won Golden Globe Awards in addition to a Best Miniseries or Television Film win for the series. Kidman and Skarsgård also received Screen Actors Guild Awards for their performances.

The Morning Show (2019)

Under the new Hello Sunshine production banner, Witherspoon joined up with Apple’s new streaming service, AppleTV+, to produce and star in the television series The Morning Show. The series, which drew influences from Brian Stelter's 2013 book Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV, examines the characters and culture behind a network broadcast morning news program. After allegations of sexual misconduct, the male co-anchor of the program is forced off the show. 

The show was a Friends reunion between Witherspoon and Jennifer Anniston, the lead actress in the drama; many fans will recall that Reese Witherspoon played the younger sister of Jennifer Anniston’s Rachel character - Jill Greene.

It was another critical darling, with actor Billy Crudup winning the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards. 

Daisy Jones & The Six (2023)

Currently the streaming series du jour for social media users, Amazon Prime Video’s musical drama is based around the Los Angeles music scene of the late 1970s, charting the rise and fall of the fictional titular rock band through a documentary-style series of interviews with the members and footage of concerts and recording sessions. 

The show, a starring vehicle for Riley Keogh, has transitioned from the screen to Spotify, with Atlantic Records releasing the album Aurora, recorded by the fictional Daisy Jones. Lead vocals were performed by Keough and fellow cast member Sam Claflin, while the album also brought in the musical talents of Marcus Mumford and Phoebe Bridgers.