Reese Witherspoon admitted that she does not know what gay means until she already moved to LA. She grew up in Nashville, Tennessee.
Speaking with Variety, she said that she was quite green on the aspect of sexuality, in that she did not really understand the concept because no one spoke to her about it. None in the family discussed what homosexuality was and she had to eventually learn about it from someone else.
She said her parents and grandparents never really did explain and when her grandma once brought it up, she told Reese that it was rare.
She said, “Homosexuality is very rare, Reese. That’s not a thing that happens very often.”
The line stuck with her so she incorporated into the script of “Little Fires Everywhere,” a Hulu series where is part of. She plays Elena Richardson and found it was a good opportunity to add that line into the script. She is also the producer of the show.
This is not the first time she talked about her Southern upbringing She reflected about it back in 2006, when she appeared on Chelsea Handler’s show. According to her, being born and raised in the South was both a blessing and a curse.
“I grew up, obviously, in the South and there is amazing, wonderful connectivity,” Witherspoon said. But the actress had qualms about how people usually use the Bible to show their intolerance of people they deem different or justify their hate.
It did not affect her though.
Despite coming from a small town in the South and the limiting beliefs of her neighbors growing up, this did not stop her from being successful. Right now, not only is she a huge Hollywood star who had made her mark for the past 30 years, she is also the producer of several buzz-worthy shows, such as “Gone Girl” and “Big Little Lies,” apart from “Little Fires Everywhere” and many more.
These movies, given the positive feedback, should have cemented her status as a producer. But that did not happen immediately.
It was not easy reaching her status, especially on being a legitimate producer who people bank on and trust. She said it took her three successes first before she was considered a “real producer.” Even after the first two successful films, “Gone Girl” and “Wild,” her company was still not making enough. The company was always in danger of closing too.
She said it was hard work in doing more audience engagement and social media promotions that propelled her company forward.
Now she said all these works had been fulfilling for her. Working on "Big Little Lies" in particular with Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, and other talented artists, was a dream come true to her.