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- THEN AND NOW: The cast of 'Legally Blonde' 19 years later
THEN AND NOW: The cast of 'Legally Blonde' 19 years later
Molly Thomson
- It's been 19 years since the beloved film "Legally Blonde" premiered in 2001.
- Reese Witherspoon, who played Elle Woods, has since starred on a number of dramas, like "Big Little Lies" and "Little Fires Everywhere."
- Jennifer Coolidge, Selma Blair, and Holland Taylor have all appeared on multiple TV shows since "Legally Blonde" debuted.
When "Legally Blonde" hit theaters in 2001, audiences quickly fell for Elle Woods, and cheered on her journey from bubbly sorority president to top law student.
The film launched Reese Witherspoon into superstardom, and this remains one of her most memorable roles to date. Much of the cast has also gone on to scoop up a number of impressive accolades in the years since.
Here's what the stars of "Legally Blonde" has been up to in the 19 years since the movie made its debut.
Witherspoon dazzled as Elle Woods.
In 2001, Witherspoon had already been an actress for some time, appearing as a guest star on shows like NBC's "Friends" and starring in "Election" (1999) and "Cruel Intentions" (1999).
She recently starred on a few hit dramas and is busy establishing herself as a noteworthy producer.
Her performance as Elle Woods launched her into superstardom — she booked "Sweet Home Alabama" (2002) and "Walk the Line" (2005) shortly after "Legally Blonde" debuted.
Over a decade later, Witherspoon currently stars in and produces "Big Little Lies," an HBO drama that has won multiple Emmy Awards.
She also started her own production company, Hello Sunshine, and Apple has bought a few of her projects.
The actress also recently starred on the limited Hulu drama "Little Fires Everywhere."
Luke Wilson played Elle Woods' love interest at Harvard Law, Emmett.
Luke Wilson's character, Emmett, will always be remembered with fondness as the man who admired Elle for who she was and who she had the potential to be.
Wilson has still been acting in movies and on TV shows.
The actor booked a number of movie roles after "Legally Blonde" debuted, including "Charlie's Angels" (2000), "The Royal Tenenbaums" (2001), and "Old School" (2003).
Recently, he appeared in "The Goldfinch" (2019) and "The Swing of Things" (2020). He was also on The CW show "Stargirl."
Jennifer Coolidge made fans melt with her crush on the UPS guy.
By the time "Legally Blonde" debuted, Jennifer Coolidge was already known for playing Stifler's mom in "American Pie" (1999).
Her performance as the clumsy-in-love Paulette immediately became one of her more memorable roles.
Coolidge has had more than 50 roles since "Legally Blonde."
Coolidge continues to be a household name, often taking on humorous roles — she's played more than 50 characters since "Legally Blonde" hit theaters.
She starred on the CBS sitcom "2 Broke Girls" for years and worked on movies like "Like a Boss" (2020) and "The Emoji Movie" (2017).
She recently made a cameo in Ariana Grande's music video for "Thank U, Next," which paid homage to "Legally Blonde" and other early aughts films.
Selma Blair played Elle's nemesis-turned-BFF Vivienne Kensington.
Selma Blair starred alongside Witherspoon in "Cruel Intentions" before "Legally Blonde" was ever cast, which could explain why the two actresses play so well off each other.
Blair is still acting.
In recent years, she's been known for her performance as Kris Jenner on FX's "American Crime Story" and her role as Kate on the Fox-FX show "Anger Management."
Recently, Blair appeared on Netflix's sci-fi show "Another Life."
Matthew Davis made a name for himself as Elle's shallow, wealthy boyfriend Warner Huntington III.
Davis started nabbing roles in 2000, and starring in "Legally Blonde" helped kick off his acting career.
Some of his most notable roles have been in dramas.
The actor has appeared in a number of films and on a few TV shows, but his biggest role to date came in 2009 on The CW'S "The Vampire Diaries."
He played fatherly vampire-hunter turned vampire Alaric Saltzman on the show, and also appeared as Alaric on the spin-offs "The Originals" and "Legacies."
Before her role as Brooke, Ali Larter was known for her starring performance in "Varsity Blues" (1999).
Larter starred in high-school football drama "Varsity Blues" a few years before donning Brooke Taylor-Windham's orange jumpsuit.
She is known for her role in the "Resident Evil" franchise.
Shortly after "Legally Blonde" debuted, Larter played Niki Sanders on NBC's "Heroes" for four years.
She played Amelia in the short-lived but well-received Fox television series "Pitch" in 2016.
But Larter is perhaps most famous for starring in the "Resident Evil" franchise, a series of video-game-inspired movies that closed with "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter" in 2016.
Holland Taylor played Elle's wise and harrowing law professor.
Before appearing as Elle's critical but encouraging law professor, Holland Taylor appeared on a range of projects from NBC's "Saved By the Bell: The College Years" to Fox's "Ally McBeal."
She also started her career on the stage, appearing in a number of Broadway productions.
She continues to act both on the stage and the screen.
Taylor famously played Evelyn Harper on the CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men" for over a decade.
Recently, she appeared in films "Gloria Bell" (2018) and "To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You" (2020). Earlier this year, she starred on the Netflix mini-series "Hollywood."
Taylor has also continued to work in theater, even scoring a Tony nomination for her performance in the play "Ann."
Victor Garber padded his resume with his performance as Professor Callahan.
The Canadian actor already had been nominated for a few Emmy awards for his work on ABC's "Alias" when he was cast in "Legally Blonde."
He is a staple of both the big screen and the small screen.
Garber has over 140 acting credits to his name.
He has since appeared on numerous shows, like ABC's "Eli Stone," ABC's "Charlie's Angels," The CW's "The Flash," and Starz's "Power."
In 2018, he returned to his musical theater roots by playing Horace Vandergelder opposite Bernadette Peters in "Hello, Dolly."
Before "Legally Blonde," Linda Cardellini was famous for starring on the show "Freaks and Geeks."
Before playing Chutney in "Legally Blonde," Linda Cardellini was a late-1990s darling, most notably playing the angst-ridden Lindsay Weir on NBC's "Freaks and Geeks."
Cardellini still acts in movies and on television.
Cardellini's career has not slowed down since "Legally Blonde."
Over the years, she's appeared on numbers shows, like AMC's "Mad Men" and Netflix's "Bloodline." She's also acted in a few films, including "Scooby-Doo" (2002), "Kill the Irishman" (2011), and "Green Book" (2018).
The actress is currently starring as Judy Hale on Netflix's "Dead to Me."
Read More:
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