After an open casting call went out in September 2024, up-and-coming actress Lexi Minetree was personally selected to play a young Elle Woods in Elle, the new Legally Blonde prequel series on Prime Video. As Elle executive producer Lauren Neustadter told ELLE in a first look at the series, “We got thousands of tapes, and casting director David Rubin and his team went through every single tape. And Lexi just stood out. The minute that we saw her, we felt it. It was a very magical thing.”Minetree’s casting was officially announced by Reese Witherspoon herself, who originated the role of Elle in the 2001 film, and was shared in a video on her Instagram in which she personally delivered the news to Minetree.View full post on InstagramWitherspoon has expressed her enthusiasm for the project, revealing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that she was inspired to develop the series after watching the success of Wednesday on Netflix. “I saw that Wednesday Addams show, I loved it, I watched every single episode,” Witherspoon said. “I was like, ‘We should do Elle Woods in high school!’ Because I wanted to see who she was before college, before law school, and I started having all these ideas.”She also discussed how watching all the auditions for the role of young Elle made it “a really hard decision” to pick the right actress for the part—but they finally found her.Below, get to know Minetree as she bends and snaps her way onto screens around the world.Minetree is a rising talent.Minetree (pronounced “Min-eh-tree”) is relatively new to the entertainment industry, with Elle marking her first major lead role. However, she has already built a resume with appearances in television projects such as Law & Order: SVU, The Murdaugh Murders, Crowdsource Murder, and The Paramedic Who Stalked Me.She was born in Atlanta and graduated from the University of Southern California.Both Minetree and Witherspoon were born in the South, with the former growing up in Atlanta. She later pursued her passion for acting at the University of Southern California, where she double-majored in theater and public relations. She graduated in May 2024.TheStewartofNY//Getty ImagesShe’s a natural brunette.Despite playing one of the most iconic blondes in Hollywood, Minetree herself is a natural brunette. She told ELLE that, growing up, she would earn frequent double-takes from “random strangers” who would “come up to me and [go], ‘You remind me of Reese Witherspoon.’” Those similarities ultimately led her to dye her hair even before she’d earned the part of Elle Woods.As she later told The New York Times, she intentionally dyed her hair blonde before auditions began. “My P.R. brain kicked in,” she said. “If they looked me up, I wanted them to see Elle. I didn’t want to give them a single reason” to pass.Minetree’s role as Elle Woods was the result of a nationwide search.Minetree secured the role of Elle Woods through a competitive audition process. Witherspoon and her production company, Hello Sunshine, conducted an extensive search to find the perfect actress to embody the younger version of the iconic character. Witherspoon, who’s also an executive producer on Elle, has spoken about how challenging it was to select just one actress among the many talented performers who auditioned. However, Minetree stood out, with Witherspoon remarking that their similarities were almost uncanny. “When I saw her tape, I was like, ‘Are we the same person?’” Witherspoon joked when speaking to Minetree’s mom during their video call.Minetree’s audition tape was a play on Elle Woods’s own Harvard admissions video essay from Legally Blonde. “My mom helped me film it,” Minetree told ELLE. “I edited it myself; I wrote the script. It was a whole production. And I was like, ‘I don’t know if casting will ever see this, but if they do, I think they might pause.’”All the same, Minetree still reacted skeptically when Witherspoon surprised her with the casting news. “Really? Can I hug you please?” she asked, before embracing the Oscar-winning actress. True to character, she then pumped her fist and shouted, “ME!”—a nod to Elle Woods’s reaction when securing her legal internship in the original film.On Instagram, Minetree expressed her excitement, writing, “Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to @reesewitherspoon for handing me down Elle Woods. I already love her so so much, I promise she’s in good hands. P.S. thank you for showing me how amazing I am going to look in the future, soooo looking forward to that:).”Minetree’s press tour has been full of Elle Woods fashion references.Minetree has continued channeling Elle Woods throughout Elle’s 2026 press tour, flaunting a series of pink looks inspired by both the character and Witherspoon’s original portrayal. For the Elle U.K. premiere on July 1, she wore a vibrant strapless fuchsia gown that recreated the Stella McCartney dress Witherspoon wore to the 2014 Met Gala. Styled by Molly Dickson, the look featured coordinating pink jewelry, a softly textured updo, and glossy makeup.Jo Hale//Getty ImagesThroughout the press tour, Minetree has also worn Witherspoon’s Marc Jacobs dress from the 2001 Legally Blonde premiere, along with vintage Prada, archival Dolce & Gabbana, a custom Betsey Johnson gown for the New York premiere, and a pale pink Vivienne Westwood corseted dress.