The rejection that spurred on Reese Witherspoon to become Hollywood’s £366million superwoman

She was an acclaimed Hollywood A-lister with a string of commercial hits – and an Oscar win – to her name.

But as she entered her mid-30s, Reese Witherspoon, like so many actresses before her, found the work drying up and becoming increasingly disheartened by the ‘terrible’ scripts she was being sent.

She later recalled thinking: ‘Oh that’s where we’re at? You’re fighting to be the girlfriend in a dumb comedy? For what?’

So she took the advice of her mother Betty, ‘a strong, smart Southern woman’, who always said ‘If you want something done, honey, do it yourself’ – and founded her own production company to give women better roles. 

Fast-forward a decade and the mother-of-three is now a major industry player and last year was named as the world’s richest actress with a £366 million fortune.

Witherspoon (pictured) is now a major industry player and last year was named as the world’s richest actress with a £366 million fortune

Analysing her remarkable turnaround in You magazine today, industry expert Ian Nathan, former editor of Empire magazine, said: ‘She’s the optimum operator in Hollywood. She’s reached an extraordinary level of producer power. But she still acts and, if anything, her acting is getting better and better.

‘She takes white-bread roles with a sense of reality and adds a little commentary. In the history of Hollywood, many actresses have tried to break through like that, but very few have succeeded.’

The first two projects from Pacific Standard, the company she set up in 2012, were Gone Girl and Wild. 

Analysing Witherspoon’s remarkable turnaround in You magazine today, industry expert Ian Nathan, former editor of Empire magazine, said: ‘She’s the optimum operator in Hollywood.’

Between them they were nominated for three Oscars and made £420 million at the box office. The firm morphed into Hello Sunshine and then made the HBO hit Big Little Lies. 

The company sold for £760 million last year, netting Witherspoon, now 46, £340 million for her share. She also has a successful clothing range, Draper James.

Tom Harrington at Enders Analysis told You magazine: ‘Reese has taken things to another level.

‘She’s doing business deals, producing shows with purpose, expanding internationally and getting almost a billion in investment purely on the strength of her name.’