Table of Contents
Reese Witherspoon is a successful actor, businesswoman and proud mother of three children.
The “Your Place or Mine” star shares her kids with her ex-partners Jim Toth and Ryan Phillippe. The actor is known to fawn over her sons and daughter on her social media accounts and for sharing sweet moments of them together.
Witherspoon was just 23 when she gave birth to her first child, and had her third at 37. Despite the big age difference, the actor said she didn’t change her parenting style.
“I haven’t changed my parenting style since 1999 when I first started becoming a parent, I’m just that kind of person,” Witherspoon told TODAY.com in February. “I asked for a lot of tips from my mom friends and my own mother, Betty.”
“I just did the best I could, because you can’t be perfect, you can just be a good mom,” she continued.
Witherspoon and Phillippe — who met at her 21st birthday, per People, and co-starred in the 1999 drama “Cruel Intentions” — were married from 1999 until 2008. They share Ava and Deacon.
As for Witherspoon and Toth, the pair announced that they would be divorcing in a joint statement shared on March 23. The two expressed that their “biggest priority” was their son, Tennessee, “and our entire family as we navigate this next chapter.”
Here’s everything to know about Witherspoon’s three children.
Ava Elizabeth Phillippe
Witherspoon and Phillippe welcomed their first child together, daughter Ava, on Sep. 9, 1999. Their first-born is currently 23 and a blend of both her parents, with many debating if she looks more like her mom or dad.
The “Walk the Line” actor has touched on being a young mom when she gave birth to Ava.
“I’ve been a mom since 1999. I got pregnant (with daughter Ava) when I was 22. I delivered when I was 23. To be totally honest, it was scary. I was scared. I didn’t know what it was going to do to my job or my career,” Witherspoon said in 2019. “Your entire life will change. Everything you believe, every piece of food you eat, every piece of independence you have.”
Witherspoon, meanwhile, showers her “favorite daughter” with so much love on her Instagram, celebrating her on International Women’s Day, National Daughter Day and, of course, Ava’s birthday.
“Happy Birthday to my favorite daughter, Ava !!” she wrote in September 2022. “Every day that I get to watch you become the most amazing woman is such a gift. Your gigantic heart, generous spirit, and endless creativity inspire me every day. I love you so much.”
Deacon Reese Phillippe
Witherspoon and Phillippe’s family got bigger when they had son Deacon. The now 19-year-old was born on Oct. 23, 2003.
Deacon graduated from high school in June 2022. His parents held a special ceremony for him and shared the experience on their social media.
He is currently attending New York University and studying music, according to his famous father.
Deacon appears to be taking after his parents. The teen made his acting debut in Season Three of “Never Have I Ever” and dropped a mixtape last year.
“I am so proud. He’s about to go to college for music. That’s his primary focus,” Phillippe told Entertainment Tonight last year. “The acting thing he likes to do, and he will do according to what his appetite for it is, but his focus is primarily music.”
Since then, he has been releasing new songs and has an album in the works.
“iN2DEEP is FINALLY out now,” he wrote on March 19, alongside a video of him singing the song. “Wrote this a few months ago to help me get through some feelings I had at the time.”
“One of the things I care about most with my music is that my stories can be moments that people can connect to and find healing in. Whether you have been here emotionally or not, this is just me getting out my thoughts in my dorm room, and I know that someone out there knows they’re not alone because of it,” he continued. “Anyways, hope you guys enjoy, cause this is the second single off of my debut album which is coming very soooon.”
Tennessee James Toth
Witherspoon and Toth welcomed their first child together, and her third, on Sep. 27, 2012.
The actor has mostly kept Tennessee out of the public eye, but will share snippets of her growing boy on her social media every once in a while.
In December 2021, she shared a video of all three of her kids and Toth at the “Sing 2” premiere. The family had previously attended the premiere of the first film back in 2016.
In September, the proud mom celebrated her son’s big birthday milestone.
“Happy 10th Birthday to my wonderful boy, Tennessee!! Your brilliant curiosity and endless energy make me smile every day! I’m so lucky to be your mama. I love you buddy!” she wrote alongside a photo of her boy wearing sunglasses. “Tenn turns 10!”
Fans also saw more of Tennessee during the holidays when she shared a family photo on Christmas day. She also posted a snap of her, her son and Toth helping out at a shelter.
The “Morning Show” star also welcomed in the new year with a photo her with her son and Toth watching the sunset.
“Welcoming 2023 !☀️ Let the sun shine in!” she captioned the beachy pic.
The Oscar winner previously reflected on having kids at a young age.
“I find having little kids is more physical and it’s just really hard on your body. So I am glad that I had kids kind of young,” she said in a video shared on her Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine YouTube page in 2019. “I had one at 23, one at 27 and then again at 37. And, oh, my God, having a baby at 37 was so much harder. This is just me being real. Everybody’s life experience, you have to do when it’s right for you.”
