{"id":2037931,"date":"2025-09-20T22:50:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T22:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2037931"},"modified":"2025-09-20T22:50:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T22:50:09","slug":"reese-witherspoon-shares-challenges-as-a-young-mom-in-hollywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/reese-witherspoon-shares-challenges-as-a-young-mom-in-hollywood\/","title":{"rendered":"Reese Witherspoon Shares Challenges as a Young Mom in Hollywood"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Reese Witherspoon<\/strong><\/a> is opening up about what life was like as a young mom in Hollywood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are parts of it that are private and personal and I don\u2019t really want to talk about, but I will talk about having kids at a young age,\u201d Witherspoon, 49, said during the Saturday, September 20, episode of \u201cThe Interview\u201d podcast<\/a> from The New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was so much I didn\u2019t know,\u201d she continued of her experience being a young parent. \u201cAnd maybe that na\u00efvet\u00e9 was good, because it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, I\u2019ll just do that and have a career.\u2019 And I did have a few people say to me, \u2018This is going to be really hard on your career.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued, \u201cThere were roles I couldn\u2019t take. I had to have this immediate balance of family and career, being a mom and being a working actress. That\u2019s why it was also scary when Legally Blonde<\/em><\/a> became such a big hit. I wasn\u2019t going to beg for parts; parts were coming to me. And that almost made it scarier, because I wasn\u2019t picking and choosing what I would reach and strive for. It was more like, what will I not<\/em> do?\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Reese Witherspoon ‘Said No’ to ‘Formative’ Mark Wahlberg Sex Scene<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tReese Witherspoon said filming her sex scene with Mark Wahlberg in the 1996 movie Fear was a \u201cnot a particularly great experience.\u201d \u201cI didn\u2019t have control over it,\u201d Witherspoon, 47, told\u00a0Harper\u2019s Bazaar\u00a0in a cover story published on Wednesday, July 12. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t explicit in the script that that\u2019s what was going to happen, so that [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Witherspoon was just 23 years old when she gave birth to her first child, Ava, in September 1999, whom she shares with her now ex-husband, Ryan Phillippe<\/strong><\/a>. The pair \u2014 who said \u201cI do\u201d in June 1999 when the actress was six months pregnant \u2014 went on to welcome son Deacon in October 2003 before they eventually called it quits in June 2008. (The actress also shares son Tennessee Toth with her ex, Jim Toth<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what the most ironic part was? I was always being told by people in the industry: \u2018Don\u2019t play a mom. It\u2019ll make you seem old.\u2019 And I was like, \u2018But, I am a mom,\u2019\u201d Witherspoon continued. \u201cThere was so much about our business that desexualized you, so you couldn\u2019t be a movie star if you played a mom. And thank goodness, that\u2019s sort of going by the wayside.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe<\/span> Eric Ford\/Online USA)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She added, \u201cBut that was a big part of when I was in my 20s and 30s: Don\u2019t play a mom. No men will desire you, or nobody will want to go see that movie because nobody wants to see a movie about a mom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Witherspoon credits her close friend, fellow actress Jennifer Aniston<\/strong><\/a>, for helping her navigate those early years as a working mom in the entertainment industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I got a little bit older, Jennifer Aniston was really helpful for me, navigating personal life and tabloid curiosity and also shutting out all the noise,\u201d she explained. \u201cWe played sisters on Friends<\/em><\/a>. I remember I brought my baby, Ava. Ava was only 3 months old when I was on Friends<\/em> in 1999. And I remember Courtney [Cox]<\/strong><\/a> and Jen coming to my dressing room and knocking on the door and going, \u2018We heard you have a baby!\u2019 I was like: \u2018I do. I have a baby!\u2019 They were like: \u2018Can we see it? Oh, my god, this is so cool.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued, \u201cAnd I just remember them being so kind about it. That kindness opened a door for me to ask Jennifer a lot of questions when I went through breakups or a really public divorce, and she was just always very generous with advice and care.\u201d<\/p>\n

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