LEGALLY RICH: The secret behind Reese Witherspoon's glittering $400M fortune
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Reese Witherspoon faced the "don't call us—we'll call you" situation that every Hollywood actress dreads when she was still in her 30s. Although she won an Oscar for her stirring portrayal of country artist Johnny Cash's spirited second wife June Carter in 'Walk The Line' and received praise for her charm and impeccable comic timing in movies such as 'Sweet Home Alabama', her phone hardly ever rang with offers.
It was an agonizing time. She recalled meeting a financial advisor who advised her to start saving immediately because there were chances she would be making significantly less money in her 40s, which added to her stress. Fast forward today, she is not only one of Hollywood's most powerful figures on and off the screen – starring in and producing blockbusters such as 'Wild' and immensely popular TV shows such as 'Big Little Lies' and 'The Morning Show' – but is also among the most savvy businesswomen in the industry.
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Reese Witherspoon sells 'Hello Sunshine' for $900M
The 47-year-old actress made a fortune because millions of women relied on her for guidance on everything from home decor to what books to read. She made an estimated $400M when she sold 'Hello Sunshine', the production business she co-founded in 2016, to a media company backed by the private equity fund Blackstone Group Inc. for reportedly $900M.
In an industry that is infamous for being unfriendly, never has anyone said a bad thing about Witherspoon. When describing the qualities of the actress, Sue Enquist, who is among America's foremost athletic trainers who prepared Witherspoon for her part as a former Olympic softball player in the 2010 film 'How Do You Know', sang praises about the actress.
'She has this unwavering desire to be better every day'
Enquist told The Daily Mail that despite the fact that she was just an inch over 5ft, she possesses "the same performance and character skills possessed by perennial Olympic and world champions—strong character and high standards." She said, "I can find a thousand people who can win once. But there are very few people who can win and win again over time and are sustainable champions. Reese is one of those people. She has this unwavering desire to be better every day."
When she was asked to train Witherspoon, a no-nonsense Enquist initially asked if the actress, known for her quirky charm, would be up for such a mammoth task. "She came to it with no skill or experience and really went for it," Enquist said, adding, "She could have done an OK job and the cameras would have made her look good, no matter what. But that wasn't good enough for Reese."
According to Witherspoon, when times were tough, she recalled the guidance Enquist provided while they were shooting, "You're allowed to have one bad innings, but you're not allowed to have seven. So give yourself a minute to feel rotten, and then move on." Her remarkable strength and resilience came to the fore again when she announced the end of her marriage to Jim Toth, a former top agent at the Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood.
