""I was always being told by people in the industry: 'Don't play a mom. It'll make you seem old,' she said. "And I was like, 'But, I am a mom.' There was so much about our business that desexualized you, so you couldn't be a movie star if you played a mom. And thank goodness, that's sort of going by the wayside.""
""There were roles I couldn't take. I had to have this immediate balance of family and career, being a mom and being a working actress. "That's why it was also scary when 'Legally Blonde' became such a big hit," she said. "I wasn't going to beg for parts; parts were coming to me. And that almost made it scarier, because I wasn't picking and choosing what I would reach and strive for.""
Reese Witherspoon became a mother at 23 and welcomed daughter Ava in 1999 and son Deacon in 2003. Industry figures advised her not to play mothers, arguing such roles made actresses seem old and desexualized, which could reduce audience interest. Early motherhood required immediate balancing of family and career and led her to decline certain roles. The success of Legally Blonde increased pressure as more parts arrived without filtering, making career choices feel riskier. Witherspoon notes that attitudes toward actresses playing mothers are shifting and the idea that moms cannot be movie stars is fading.
Read at TODAY.com
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