In 2001, “Legally Blonde” showed that a woman scorned can become a Harvard ace,
even if only armed with a fashion degree, a cute pooch, and a closet full of pink. But
what has the iconic film's cast been doing since? Let’s take a look.
Much like her character in "Legally Blonde," Reese Witherspoon has been a beacon of determination
and success in Hollywood. While she might have become a romcom regular shortly after
the film's release, she also managed to wow the film world with her depiction of June
Carter Cash in "Walk the Line," earning an Academy Award for her portrayal of the real-life
musician.
When her role options no longer satisfied the actress, she started taking matters into
her own hands and producing films and television series that offered her—and other women—meatier
screen moments. She was celebrated for her starring role in the adaptation of "Wild,"
even earning another trip to the Oscars for it. She was also a driving force behind the
ultra-successful thriller "Gone Girl."
Meanwhile, her work in "Big Little Lies," "Little Fires Everywhere," and "The Morning
Show" have also proved her mettle on the small screen. Thanks to her voracious appetite for
books, Witherspoon has an entire library of stories she intends to see on the big screen.
So, it’s safe to say that her Hollywood hot streak is nowhere near its end.
“I completely agree.”
Although he was a heartthrob in the "Legally Blonde" movies and a few other films, Luke
Wilson, who played Emmett in the legal romcom, has never quite become a regular leading man
in movies. He did enjoy top billing in films like "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" and "Idiocracy,"
but much of his filmography has been filled in with independent movies and supporting
roles that feature him as a likable and relatable nice-guy type. However, he did enjoy a recurring
role in the hit HBO series "Enlightened," and he has made a few headlines for his real-life
heroism along the way as well, pulling a woman out of a smoking car in 2018.
Wilson has admitted that part of the reason he's not an A-lister, despite having a recognizable
name and face and some respectable work under his belt, is that he hasn't been gunning for
the top quite like his peers. He admitted to “Backstage,”
"You can see how people plan a career, which I never really did."
Still, he's had no trouble keeping the lights on and being pleased with his career. He told
Canada's “The Star,”
"I love being an actor who works, that's what makes me happy."
Notably in 2020, Wilson took on the superhero genre by playing character Pat Dugan in The
CW's "Stargirl."
Vivian Kensington is just one of Selma Blair's most memorable roles from the turn of the
millennium, considering her performances in "Cruel Intentions" and "The Sweetest Thing."
Even so, her career started to slow down soon after. Thanks to some personal setbacks, she
had some trouble reclaiming the wholesome image that informed so many of her prior roles.
After starring with Charlie Sheen in TV's "Anger Management," she was let go after engaging
in a dispute with the actor over his work ethic, and it took several years for her to
return to the small screen. She did so with a very small role in "The People vs. O.J.
Simpson: American Crime Story." In 2016, the actress had to publicly apologize after she
was removed from an airplane and carted away on a stretcher following an outburst on her
flight.
Later, however, Blair became something of a figure of the #MeToo movement, as she revealed
she was willing to risk everything to expose the director who'd allegedly sexually assaulted
her, and her screen career started to look up again after she nabbed a central role in
Netflix's sci-fi series "Another Life."
In 2018, she revealed that she'd been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She shared in an
Instagram post,
"I have had symptoms for years but was never taken seriously until I fell down in front
of [a doctor] trying to sort out what I thought was a pinched nerve."
He might not have been "Legally Blonde" fans' favorite guy after delivering such a convincing
performance as the selfish jerk Warner, but Matthew Davis has managed to win over a lot
of audiences in the years since thanks to his TV role as Alaric Saltzman. The character
was introduced in the first season of "The Vampire Diaries" and has been a regular mainstay
of television's vampire drama scene ever since, especially with Davis reprising the role in
the series' spin-off "The Originals" and its follow-up "Legacies."
Outside of that role, however, he has had some trouble getting his standalone small-screen
vehicles into gear. His 2013 series "Cult" was canceled after a single season, and the
2017 ABC drama "Las Reinas," which would've featured Davis as a main player, was not ordered
to series by the network. It's a good thing there's still a lot of vampire-slaying to
do for the actor.
“I’ve been wanting to kill someone all day”
Shortly before her memorable role in "Legally Blonde," Jennifer Coolidge helped bring the
term "MILF" into the mainstream as Stifler's mom in "American Pie." She went on to continue
that role in the film's sequels but found that she was always being typecast as the
buxom blonde in movies. She told “IndieWire,”
"I would say 90 percent of the scripts that show up on my door are women who have had
lots of plastic surgery that are married to rich men. Sort of a trophy wife [...] some
women really do get it all. For me, it is the same thing that happens over and over.
I should change that and maybe write my own thing."
For what it's worth, the television side of the industry had a little more to offer her,
with roles in shows like "Joey," "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," "Gravity Falls,"
and "2 Broke Girls."
Before "Legally Blonde" featured him as the despicable Professor Callahan, Victor Garber
was best known for his work in films like "The First Wives Club" and "Titanic," but
he has since carved out a successful career in television. He has enjoyed recurring roles
on a bevy of series, including "Web Therapy," "Legends of Tomorrow," and "The Orville."
He earned three Emmy nominations for his "Alias” role, and was even recognized for his guest
stint on "Will & Grace."
Despite his success in TV, Garber has still been part of prestigious films like "Argo"
and "Sicario," and he has been busy on the Broadway circuit as well, starring in the
2018 revival of "Hello, Dolly!" to much fanfare. He even made time to appear in the 2020 holiday
movie "Happiest Season." Of his career's variety, he told “Time,”
"Really what interests me is the material, and finding something I think would be fun
to do. I make my choices based on that."
By the time she became the spicy Professor Stromwell in "Legally Blonde," Holland Taylor
was already decades into her career. However, the bulk of her many Primetime Emmy nominations
would come afterwards, as a result of her long stint on CBS's "Two and a Half Men."
Despite starring on the series for more than a decade, however, the actress claims she
doesn't like to be in one place for too long, career-wise. As she told the “Times Colonist,”
"I think variety and change and mixing things up is essential for me because I have a kind
of mild ADD, and I jump from thing to thing."
She's since gone on to star on "Mr. Mercedes" and "Hollywood," but, true to her word, she
has mixed things up a bit over the years, having crafted a political play inspired by
one of her heroes' death. Her name has also made headlines a great deal thanks to her
relationship with fellow TV star Sarah Paulson.
Like many of her fellow "Legally Blonde" alums, Ali Larter turned to television after appearing
in the film as exercise guru-turned-murder suspect Brooke Taylor Windham. After reprising
her role as Clear Rivers in "Final Destination 2," a send-off to her teen drama days, she
starred in multiple roles for the hit NBC series "Heroes." She also starred in the series
"Legends," "Pitch," and "The Rookie," while picking up various film roles, including a
part in "Obsessed," which earned her a Razzie nomination.
After becoming a mother, she found that working on a small-screen set was simply more accommodating
to her new lifestyle, telling “Philadelphia Style,”
"When I'm there, I'm there and I'm present. But as a working mom, I arrive on time, and
the second I wrap I am out of my trailer and on my way home to Teddy."
Jessica Cauffiel was pitch perfect as the goofy sorority girl Margot in "Legally Blonde,"
but she hasn't had much luck in the entertainment business since her role in the iconic film,
despite some early success. After "Legally Blonde," the actress scored small roles in
films like "Stuck on You" and "White Chicks." Before long, however, her filmography took
a backseat when she took on an entirely new role as a mom. As she has shared in some of
her Instagram posts, being a parent has become her biggest priority.
However, Cauffiel, who's remained close to co-star Alanna Ubach, has teased a return
to the realm of comedy, and has confirmed her plans to return for "Legally Blonde 3."
So, prepare to see her break out the old halter tops and spray tan sooner rather than later.
She might have been a little bit ditzy on screen as Serena in "Legally Blonde," but
Alanna Ubach has been utterly savvy about carving out a successful career since the
film's release. Between earning guest roles on prestigious TV shows like "The West Wing"
and "Friday Night Lights," stealing scenes in films like "Waiting..." and "Bombshell,"
and performing on soundtracks like the one for "Coco," she has kept herself very busy
over the years.
Like Cauffiel, she is also, quote, "so jazzed" about returning to "Legally Blonde 3" and
has even pitched a few ideas for the future of her character to “TV Insider,” suggesting,
"Serena was quite the athlete/Laker girl. Maybe she cut an album and is now a judge
on 'American Idol'? Divorced Joseph Pilates' great-great-grandson? Engaged to Jack LaLanne's
great-grandson?"
Hey, anything can happen in La La Land.
After she appeared in the jaw-dropping courtroom scene as the two-faced heiress Chutney in
"Legally Blonde," Linda Cardellini's career really started kicking into hyperdrive. She
starred as Velma in the live-action "Scooby Doo" films, earned a small but compelling
role in "Brokeback Mountain," and became a regular star of "ER."
Things haven't slowed down for her since, as she continued on the TV drama scene with
roles on "Mad Men," which earned her a Primetime Emmy nomination, and "Bloodline." She also
enjoyed the renewed popularity of the now-cult favorite "Freaks and Geeks," and even got
to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "Avengers:
Endgame." She also stars opposite Christina Applegate in Netflix's "Dead to Me."
If her resume seems a bit scattered, that's because Cardellini likes to change things
up pretty regularly. She told “Pretty52,”
"I tried to take as many different turns as I could to make it interesting for myself
and hopefully for everybody watching."
Hey, as long as she's not framing people in court, everything's A-okay.
It's hard to imagine anyone pulling off the creepy-but-kind classmate David Kidney quite
as well as Oz Perkins, who happens to be the son of "Psycho" star Anthony Perkins. But
unfortunately for Perkins, roles like that of Kidney are few and far between. So, after
continuing to earn bit parts in films like "Not Another Teen Movie," the actor started
hatching his own projects as a writer-director. His first script was for 2010's "Removal,"
which he starred in, and he later co-wrote "Cold Comes the Night," which starred Bryan
Cranston, and a few other successful thrillers.
He now goes by his given name, Osgood Perkins, and doesn't seem to be slowing down on his
new career any time soon, as he directed the 2020 horror film “Gretel & Hansel.”
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