Reese Witherspoon says career success linked to having had ‘so much anxiety’

Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon has put her success down to anxiety and said she has been “rewarded” for perfectionism and stresses herself out “in service of my job”.

Reflecting on her acting and producing career, the Legally Blonde actress, 49, said she is “starting to relax into the idea that I’m enough”.

She told Harper’s Bazaar UK: “Those at the beginning of my career were incredibly encouraging, but also gave me a lot of real-world advice about how to behave, how to carry myself, what not to do: not to move to Los Angeles.

“They said, ‘stay in Nashville, be a child for as long as you possibly can’. I was really friendly and bubbly and smiley. People thought I was faking it.

“The perception of being from the South was that I didn’t belong to the coastal-elite communities.

“I wasn’t part of the art world, or the cool-kid club. It was a culture clash. I didn’t understand the sharp elbows and competitive nature of what I did.”

The actress, who was born in Louisiana in March 1976, is known for her roles in Cruel Intentions (1999), American Psycho (2000), and Walk The Line (2005) which won her an Academy Award for best actress.

Witherspoon was a producer on thriller Gone Girl (2014) and adventure drama Wild (2014), which also earned her an Oscar nomination, and she is producing a Legally Blonde prequel series through her media company Hello Sunshine.

She said: “I was probably successful because I had so much anxiety – they go hand in hand.

“I had pressured myself to extreme levels to show up at work in a perfect way.

“We all now know – perfect is not attainable. It’s not sustainable.

“I stressed myself out in service of my job, and it got me really, really far.

“I’m rewarded for my anxiety and perfectionism, but I’m getting older and am starting to relax into the idea that I’m enough.

“I mean, I’ve had an abundance of good fortune, great work opportunities and worked with some of the greatest people on Earth.”

In 2016 Witherspoon co-founded Hello Sunshine, now part of Candle Media, which aims “to shine a light on where women are now and help them chart a new path forward”, according to its website.

She said: “I advocate for storytelling that is inclusive and more reflective of the entire female experience, because it’s been shrouded for hundreds of years.”

Her company also produced Apple TV drama The Morning Show, which has won three Emmys and stars Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston as co-anchors of a news programme.

Reflecting on her 50th birthday next year, Witherspoon added: “I like getting older. I think it’s great to be wiser and understand your place in a business.

“I’ve worked really hard to get to that place… I feel like I’m living my purpose, for sure. I love my job. I love my fans. I’m the captain of my own destiny.”

Witherspoon is to receive the cultural icon award at the Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards on Thursday at Claridge’s.

Read the full interview in the December/January issue of Harper’s Bazaar on sale from November 7.