Reese Witherspoon reveals Lexi Minetree cast as young Elle Woods in ‘Legally Blonde’ prequel series

Reese Witherspoon announced Thursday that Lexi Minetree has been cast as young Elle Woods in the Legally Blonde prequel series, Elle.

Witherspoon, who originated the role in the Legally Blonde films released in 2001 and 2003, shared a video to Instagram of her revealing the news to Minetree.

“Your audition tape was amazing, as we talked about, and we had to make a really hard decision the other day,” Witherspoon tells Minetree in the video. “And we wanted to tell you in person, because you’ve just worked really hard, and we just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to audition anymore — because you got the part. You’re Elle Woods.”

Minetree, through tears, asks Witherspoon for a hug and the two embrace before calling Minetree’s mother.

“Y’all sound exactly alike,” Minetree’s mom says after they tell her the news.

“Isn’t it crazy? When I saw her tape I was like, ‘Are we the same person?’ This is so weird,” Witherspoon responds.

In a post on her Instagram page, Minetree wrote that her “brain is going nuts” over the news and went on to thank Witherspoon for “handing me down Elle Woods.”

“I already love her so so much, I promise she’s in good hands,” she added. “P.S. thank you for showing me how amazing I am going to look in the future, soooo looking forward to that.”

Prime Video announced during its upfront presentation in May 2024 that it had ordered a Legally Blonde prequel series, titled Elle, from Witherspoon’s media company, Hello Sunshine.

According to the streamer, the series, which was created by Laura Kittrell, will follow Woods during her high school years “as we learn about the life experiences that shaped her into the iconic young woman we came to know and love in the first Legally Blonde film.”

Witherspoon will also act as an executive producer.