Reese Witherspoon is trying to do it all — what, like it’s hard? When she’s not on the set of The Morning Show with Jennifer Aniston or championing new novels for Reese’s Book Club, the 50-year-old actor is prioritizing travel, and Wells Fargo is making that much easier by collaborating with her on a new globe-spanning ad campaign.
“I was like-minded with Wells Fargo about how to engage people in a thoughtful way around saving for really important things in your life, like experiences,” she tells Bustle. “So the Autograph Journey card was born out of this idea that you can maximize these moments in your life if you have a financial partner on your side. It’s given me an opportunity to actually travel with purpose.”
After going across the pond to London for her first ad, Witherspoon’s latest commercial was her chance to live out an Emily in Paris fantasy. She headed to the French capital with director Taika Waititi to explore museum oddities, go lawn-bowling in the Luxembourg Gardens, and sample cuisine along the Left Bank.
“We’ve been friends for quite a while, but when this opportunity came up, we both jumped at it because we come up with the same kind of nutty scenarios,” she says. “It was really just us running around and having the best time and eating the best food.”
Witherspoon is channeling this sense of adventure into her Legally Blonde prequel series, Elle, premiering in July on Prime Video, in which the high school version of her iconic lawyer, Elle Woods (Lexi Minetree), gets a major culture shock when forced to travel beyond her comfort zone.
“It’s her junior year of high school, and her father gets transferred to Seattle,” she teases. “Sunshine and vibrant colors are traded for rain and grunge, and it’s such a mismatch. It’s really fun to see Elle Woods as this fish out of water in 1990s grunge-era Seattle.”
Below, Witherspoon tells her biggest travel stories, opens up about that long-awaited Legally Blonde sequel, and previews the next season of The Morning Show.
You’re ringing in the 25th anniversary of Legally Blonde this year with Elle this summer. In 2001, did you think that this movie would have such longevity and leave such an impact?
I had no idea. We worked really hard on the messaging. I was determined to make sure it was a story about a woman that wasn’t about her romantic relationships. It was about how she worked hard to accomplish something very difficult on her own terms, and no relationship would define her early 20s like that.
Did you learn anything new about Elle Woods while making this show?
It was actually a great exercise in going back through the original two Legally Blonde movies and finding the jokes that really resonated, the specificity of character, like Elle Woods and her dog are both Gemini and vegetarians, and all the little details of what she wore, and how she likes Prada.
Is Legally Blonde 3 still something that could happen in the future?
Absolutely. It’s a whole world that we want to build with this character. Not dissimilar to what happened with Barbie two summers ago, there’s a feeling that women want to rally around these characters that were part of their childhood and celebrate the idea that Elle Woods is more than the color pink. She’s part of your identity of self-worth and accomplishment.
You’re currently filming the new season of The Morning Show. What will keep us on the edge of our seats?
It’s so good. I was returning from being detained overseas as a journalist in prison, so Bradley Jackson is coming back from a really harrowing experience she’s [still] dealing with. Jennifer [Aniston]’s character is thriving, but she has to navigate this really complex career structure and people trying to sublimate her.
You have so many amazing new cast members. How do you guys go about welcoming all the newbies to the set?
We have Reneé Rapp this year, plus Jeff Daniels and Sean Hayes. We always make sure everybody goes and says hi on the first day, and that they have their favorite flowers, candles, or whatever else is there. Also, snacks are really important. Jen and I like to plan a different snack truck every week so we can treat people. You’d be surprised how far a handmade pretzel will go.
You do such great work with Reese’s Book Club. Do you have any favorites to read while traveling?
I try to read books set in locations I’m going to, so I get a feeling of what religion is like there, what the history is. I’m really interested in art and architecture too, so I read a lot of historical fiction.
Do you recall the best trip you’ve ever been on?
I went to Florence for the first time last year. I got to go to the Uffizi Museum and eat all the wonderful food. The Duomo was lit up at night in the most beautiful way, and I was overwhelmed by how romantic that city is. That was really special because I’ve traveled so much of my life, but there are all these little gaps in my experiences.
Can you recall your messiest or most annoying travel experience?
It was in the eighth grade on our group camping trip, where you had to wash your clothes in the river and shower in a lake. It is not for me.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
