Art imitates life!
As you may be aware, Reese Witherspoon is starring as Elena Richardson in the recently-released Hulu series, Little Fires Everywhere, adapted from a novel of the same name. In a new interview with Emmy magazine, the Legally Blonde star explained how reading the book by Celeste Ng reminded her of parenting her eldest child, Ava Phillippe, and encouraged her to dig deeper:
“It’s so difficult to articulate what motherhood means and there are so many passages in the novel that did. [One passage was about] training yourself to live on the smell of an apple alone, when what you really wanted was to devour it, to sink your teeth into it and consume it, seeds, core and all.”
Related: Reese Hilariously Enlists Help Of Son Deacon To Learn TikTok Dances
The 20-year-old followed in her momma’s footsteps and is currently attending Stanford University, but it definitely wasn’t easy for Reese to let her daughter go:
“It’s such a vivid way to describe the loss of your children as they grow up. My daughter was applying for college back then, so it hit me like an arrow in the heart.”
Family clearly runs deep for Miz Witherspoon, who also shared she channeled her own mother Dr. Betty Witherspoon for her character:
“I don’t know why it never occurred to us until we were almost into production. I was like, ‘I’m playing [my mother] Betty!'”
The momma of three has previously spoken about her parenting style, and it’s safe to say she keeps it real! The 44-year-old explained to Fast Company in 2018:
“I feel like I’m constantly counteracting pressure from the parents who want to make the lives of their kids golden and magical at all moments! Guess what, kids? You’re going to be disappointed and uncomfortable once in a while.”
The Hello Sunshine media company founder spoke about one incident in particular, reminding us all that things aren’t always “golden and magical,” no matter how it looks from the outside. Referencing an old incident with her doppelgänger, the actress found her daughter crying in bed after a junior varsity basketball game where she didn’t score a single basket. It was at that moment that she decided some tough love was the best approach:
“I said, ‘Aves, maybe you’re bad at basketball.’ She thought that was mean. I said, ‘Mean or true? ‘Cause, guess what? Your mom’s bad at basketball, too.'”
Moms and dads out there, can U relate to what Reese had to say?? Sound OFF (below) in the comments and share!!
[Image via Apega/WENN.]
