Lexi Minetree shares Elle Woods advice Reese Witherspoon gave her for Legally Blonde prequel

It’s not every day that you take on the mantle of an iconic 2000s character that shaped the cultural landscape of cinema, but that was what happened to 23-year-old Lexi Minetree when she was cast as Elle Woods in the Legally Blonde prequel, Elle.

Now 25, Minetree finds herself following in the footsteps of actor Reese Witherspoon, revisiting the iconic character during her teenage years at high school as she navigates those relatable struggles, passions and relationships.

Minetree told Radio Times that Witherspoon gave her some sweet advice about playing the role, referencing an iconic line from the first film in her message of goodwill.

“Well, she sent me this Instagram DM one day,” Minetree recalled, “and I remember it was a specific scene from the movie, the one after she wins the trial and Warner goes up to her and goes, ‘Pooh Bear, I’ve made a mistake, it was you the whole time’ and she very politely turns him down.

“And what Reese told me was, Elle’s never the bully. She never goes low, even when it’s with people who did her wrong or were mean to her. She always takes the high road, but she always stands up for herself too. She doesn’t let people walk on her.

“I feel like that’s what Elle Woods is all about, being able to walk that line of being a good person, but one who also has integrity with themselves and doesn’t let other people take advantage of that kindness,” she adds.

Since her first (now viral) audition, it was clear that Minetree was the perfect choice to play Elle. Channelling her mannerisms, voice and enthusiasm, while never leaning into directly mimicking Witherspoon’s performance from the films, she perfects a delicate balance.

When asked if it was difficult to forge her own spin on the character that she knew so well or if it came naturally, she replied: “Kind of both. I feel like I always had a natural inclination of understanding Elle in a way that not every character comes to you as easily. I saw a lot of myself in her. I also think Reese gave me such an amazing blueprint to take from and to be inspired by.

“I really worked hard to get her voice and her mannerisms down so they were so ingrained in my body. I didn’t have to think about it when I was on set. I don’t know, like, I just tried to envision, like, what would this character be like in high school? And what would be different and what would be the same? And also just have fun with it.

“It’s a fun show,” she continued, “I think when people watch it, they’ll see, like, how silly it is. There are moments with heart and that are very grounded, but there’s also lots of moments that we’re just being goofballs and that’s why I think I just tried to bring that fun to set.”

The series serves Elle with another ‘fish out of water’ experience as her dad uproots her sunny, pink-perfect life in California to the ever-grey Seattle, which some viewers speculated might be similar to the Harvard storyline from the film.

Yet, the series works to lay out the foundations of Elle Woods as a girl, before she became the all-confident, pink-clad lawyer we know and love today.

“The thing about Elle is she really only exists as a fish out of water that’s where you have to see her be Elle Woods,” Minetree explains, “If she’s not a fish out of water, she’s not Elle. You can see that in the second movie where she goes to DC on Bruiser’s behalf, you know, and she’s in another situation.

“So, to me, it’s so fun to see her in Seattle during this time because she is so different. In terms of how she’s different than in the movie, since she’s in high school, you get to see someone who’s a little bit more unsure of herself than in the movie because in the movie, she’s very confident and everyone else is catching up to her and since she’s a high schooler, she’s got a little bit more trepidation. She’s figuring out who she is. You get to see a lot of, ‘Who am I versus my parents?’

“Because a lot of times when we’re growing up, we idolise our parents and we see them as perfect people and then one day you kind of realise, ‘Oh my gosh, like, they’re human beings just like me and they’re infallible and they can make mistakes too and do I agree with everything that they do?’ I think it really goes into a whole new depth with this character and I think that especially June and Tom who play my parents in it, they do such a good job at like expanding that world.”

For Minetree the series really “encapsulates overcoming all the doubt I might have felt you know, especially someone who decided to pursue the safest of all careers out there.”

She continued: “I’ve had many moments of doubt and feeling like maybe I’m not good enough, or maybe this isn’t meant for me, this isn’t my path and even when I booked this role, I had moments of that, of like, am I doing this right? Am I doing this character justice? And I can leave without any regret because I did everything I possibly could. I did my very, very best with the skills that I had, and I put my whole heart into it and I really love this character, and I hope she resonates with people.”

Elle premiered on Prime Video on 1 July 2026. Sign up for a 30-day free trial of Prime Video and pay £8.99 a month after that.

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