Proud to be her daughter! Ava Phillippe paid tribute to her mother, Reese Witherspoon, after the actress was honored for her work.
“Major congratulations to my mama, who received an award today for her leadership in the industry that she cares so deeply about improving,” the 20-year-old wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, December 11. “I’m so grateful to have a mom this thoughtful, passionate, and courageous, and I’m glad other people can recognize how special she is!”
Ava shared a photo of herself and Witherspoon, 43, on the red carpet at The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment event with her brother Deacon and the Morning Show star’s husband, Jim Toth. In another pic, the Oscar winner and her eldest children read her Hollywood Reporter cover story.
The Big Little Lies actress shares Ava and Deacon, 16, with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe. She and Toth, 49 — who tied the knot in March 2011 — are parents of son Tennessee, 7.
Witherspoon raved about the event in an Instagram post of her own on Wednesday. “What an inspiring morning!” she noted. “To be in a room filled with so many passionate, talented women in our business was truly an honor and a thrill! I will never forget the speeches by @stacyabrams @ronanfarrow and @oliviawilde that made me want to work EVEN harder to make our business a more inclusive and representative place. I am humbled by all of the stories I heard.”
She continued: “And I’m so excited for the future of the next generation of change-makers in this world!! Thank you @hollywoodreporter for the Sherry Lansing Leadership award… it is such an incredible honor!”
Witherspoon opened up about her experience of auditioning for Legally Blonde in her cover story. “They thought I was a shrew,” she recalled. “My manager finally called and said, ‘You’ve got to go meet with the studio head because he will not approve you. He thinks you really are your character from Election and that you’re repellent.’ And then I was told to dress sexy.”
The Sweet Home Alabama star pointed out how the tides have turned. “And you’re 23, you have a baby home, you need the money and you’re being told that by people who know what they’re doing,’” she said. “It’s funny to think of all the things we were told to do back then because now you’re thinking, ‘Oh, God, if somebody told my daughter to do that, she’d be like, ‘I really hope you’re joking.’”
