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All About "Elle" Actress Lexi Minetree

<div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783306654743elle actress lexi minetree.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Lexi Minetree in <em>Elle</em> | Photos (from left) courtesy of Prime Video, Getty Images for Prime Video, and Jessica Brooks/Prime</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>Bend and snap! There&#x27;s a new &#x27;It&#x27; girl in the scene: <strong>Lexi Minetree</strong>, the star of the newly released <strong>Prime Video</strong> comedy series, <strong><em>Elle</em></strong>. And she&#x27;s pretty and powerful in pink! With the series now gaining popularity, the gorgeous and bubbly actress has piqued the curiosity of many. And we&#x27;re predicting she&#x27;s going to keep making buzz, especially since Prime Video officially renewed the show for a second season in January 2026, well before the first season even premiered on July 1, 2026; production for the second season reportedly wrapped last month.<strong></strong></p><p>In <em>Elle</em>, the prequel to <em><strong>Legally Blonde</strong> </em>starring <strong>Reese Witherspoon</strong>, Lexi portrays the young Elle Woods, who just turned 16, a high school student trying to fit into a new environment as her family moves out of Bel Air and settles into their new home in Seattle. This is Elle&#x27;s pre-Harvard law era, and Lexi perfectly portrays the iconic character famous for her wit, confidence, and, well, her pink wardrobe and her equally stylish chihuahua (which, we now feel, is like a metaphor for her being an underdog in the story—small but terrible <em>and </em>incredible<em></em>). <em>Elle </em>was released in time to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the iconic movie, and the show by<strong> Laura Kittrell </strong>now also credits its original star, Reese, as one of the executive producers.</p><p>On reimagining Elle Woods today, Reese said in an interview with Jimmy Fallon, &quot;It&#x27;s a story of being an underdog and a fish out of water in a place where she doesn&#x27;t feel welcome. And I think everybody has that feeling at one point in their lives, you know? So, I just thought, &#x27;Why not start and make her a character for young women nowadays?... I looked at, you know, what&#x27;s going on with young girls, and I just think they need a better role model. So it was time to bring Elle Woods back.&quot; <em></em></p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783308937663elle on prime video 1.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false">Lexi Minetree (as Elle) with her onscreen parents, Tom Everett Scott (as Wyatt Woods) and June Diane Raphael (as Eva Woods) | Photo: Jessica Brooks/Prime</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><p>With <em>Elle </em>serving us our newest obsession, here are some fun facts about its bright and cheerful star, Lexi Minetree:<em></em></p><div><br/></div><div><strong>She is 25 years old.</strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><p>She was born on April 20, 2001, and interestingly, <em>Legally Blonde </em>was released a few months after, on July 13, 2001. She hails from Atlanta, Georgia. Lexi is a Taurean, and those under the Taurus sign are known for being dependable, hardworking, and grounded. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>She described herself as &quot;a huge nerd growing up.&quot;</strong></div><p>In an interview with <strong>Jimmy Fallon</strong>, her first-ever talk show guesting, she revealed that she was into <em></em>Pokémon and <em></em>Wizard 101 and was a bookworm. &quot;I was a huge reader,&quot; Lexi told Jimmy. &quot;I remember that my fifth-grade teacher called me the absent-minded professor &#x27;cause I was literally never paying attention. I was just always reading a book.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783311203903elle on prime video 2.png" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo: Jessica Brooks/Prime</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>She once wrote in her diary that she wanted to be an actress.</strong></div><p><strong></strong>Lexi shared that just as she was wrapping up shooting <em>Elle</em>&#x27;s season 2, she came across her old diary at home and was touched by something she had written when she was younger. &quot;I saw in the back that it said that I was 10 years old, and I said I wanted to be an actress, and I literally read that just as I was wrapping up season two. So, the fact that I am here now, fulfilling my 10-year-old dream, is just so incredible,&quot; she shared during her <em>The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon </em>appearance, where she wore the exact Marc Jacobs dress that Reese wore during the premiere of <em>Legally Blonde </em>25 years ago.</p><p>Pursuing her passion for acting, Lexi attended the University of Southern California, where she double majored in theater and public relations.<em></em><em></em></p><div><br/></div><div><strong>She debuted as an actress in 2023.</strong></div><p>Lexi began her acting career in 2023 with a starring role in the movie <em><strong>The Paramedic Who Stalked Me</strong></em>. Before her venture into rom-com in <em>Elle</em>, Lexi built her career taking on roles in thriller and horror projects like <em><strong>The Murdaugh Murders</strong></em>, <em></em><em><strong>Crowdsource Murder</strong></em>, <strong><em>My Amish Double Life</em></strong>, and <strong><em>All Alone Together</em></strong>, as well as spy, psychological, and crime dramas like <em><strong>Serov</strong></em><strong></strong>,<strong> </strong><em><strong>Law &amp; Order: SVU</strong></em>, and <strong><em>Broken</em></strong><em>. </em>Her upcoming project is also a horror film titled <em><strong>The Young People</strong>. Elle </em>is like a breath of fresh air in her portfolio. <em></em><em></em><em></em><strong><em></em></strong><em></em><strong></strong><strong></strong><em><strong></strong></em><em></em><em></em><em></em></p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="false" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1429606989213856&amp;set=a.614906550683908&amp;type=3&amp;ref=embed_post" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783311120205725839044_1336810985070695_782453329421892283_n.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" contenteditable="true">Photo collage from HELLO!</span></a></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>She often got random compliments from people saying she looked like Reese Witherspoon.</strong></div><p>And mind you, that was way before she landed the role in <em>Elle</em>! And in fact, Lexi said, even she was a brunette, &quot;random people would come up to me and say, &#x27;You know, you know who you look like?&#x27; You look like Reese Witherspoon.&#x27; And I was, of course, like, &#x27;Thank you very much.&#x27; That is a huge compliment.&quot;</p><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><div><em></em><strong>She bested about 3,000 Elle Woods aspirants to get the role.</strong></div><p>Fun fact: Completely unaware of the audition for <em>Elle</em>, Lexi decided to dye her hair blonde about three months before she learned about the audition. Trying her luck for the iconic role—since many had pointed out her resemblance to Reese Witherspoon, anyway—Lexi recalled, &quot;I remember when I saw the open call, they wanted to do two scenes and a slate. So, like, your name, your height, where you&#x27;re based, and then 30 seconds [on] why you&#x27;d be a good Elle Woods.&quot; </p><div><em></em><em></em></div><p>She could&#x27;ve submitted basic audition materials that met the requirements, but Lexi had a better idea: to recreate Elle Woods&#x27; Harvard admissions video. Providing context to the brilliant idea, she shared, &quot;In the movie, she basically applies to Harvard, and instead of writing an essay, she puts on this sparkly pink bikini, and she goes in the hot tub.&quot; Lexi rephrased the lines and said in the video, &quot;Hi, I&#x27;m gonna tell all of you at Harvard why I&#x27;m gonna make an amazing Elle Woods.&quot; She nailed the audition, obviously.  </p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783312439360elle on prime video 4.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Prime Video</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>She was handpicked by Reese Witherspoon herself to play Elle.</strong></div><p>As one of the executive producers of <em>Elle</em>, Reese was hands-on, too, with the selection of the actress to breathe life into the younger version of her iconic character. &quot;We watched 3,000 videos of girls trying out to be Elle Woods, and when I saw her video, it was like a lightning strike. She had my voice down. She had the mannerisms. She held her body a certain way... There&#x27;s a part in the movie where I have like a little lisp, and she had the lisp, but I was like, &#x27;Oh my god!&#x27;&quot;<em></em></p><p>After seeing how the dress she wore during the <em>Legally Blonde </em>premiere fit Lexi perfectly, <em></em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl_3e4EWIG0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Reese couldn&#x27;t help but exclaim</a>, &quot;It&#x27;s like Cinderella&#x27;s slipper! She was meant to be Elle Woods!&quot; </p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-12" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGBYVZxgEvL/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=1080&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A12%2C%22os%22%3A21265272.5%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-12" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><strong>She said she watched <em>Legally Blonde </em>about <em></em>150 times.</strong><em></em><em></em><em></em></div><p>Exuding the same wit, humor, and confidence of Elle Woods, Lexi told Jimmy Fallon in an interview that she watched <em>Legally Blonde </em>about <em></em>150 times. &quot;I think at one point, I probably could have done a one-woman show of it. Which I won&#x27;t do now. I think that would take up most of the segment,&quot; she said. <em></em></p><div><br/></div><div><strong>She does a really good Jennifer Coolidge impression.</strong></div><p>And because she rewatched the movie many times, Lexi absorbed the personality and vibe of the characters, including Paulette Bonafonté (played by <strong>Jennifer Coolidge</strong>). &quot;I could probably play her in a biopic, too,&quot; she said in jest. </p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="925" height="525" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aefEmFeLm4c?si=Ik9si4Aw8KizFKg0" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div style="text-align:left"><em><strong>Stream </strong></em><em><strong><em>ELLE on Prime Video now!</em></strong></em></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><p><em><strong><em></em></strong><em></em><em></em></em>Lead photos: Courtesy of <strong>Prime Video</strong>, <strong>Getty Images</strong><strong> for Prime Video</strong>, and <strong>Jessica Brooks/Prime</strong><em><em></em><em></em><strong><em></em></strong></em><br/></p>

<p>Pretty and powerful in pink! In a newly released prequel, the 25-year-old American actress breathes new life into Reese Witherspoon's iconic character, Elle Woods, from "Legally Blonde," which marks its 25th anniversary this month. </p>

Pretty and powerful in pink! In a newly released prequel, the 25-year-old American actress breathes new life into Reese Witherspoon's iconic character, Elle Woods, from "Legally Blonde," which marks its 25th anniversary this month.

Who Is Lexi Minetree? Everything You Need to Know About the 'Elle' Star Reese Witherspoon Chose Herself

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Who Is Lexi Minetree? Everything You Need to Know About the 'Elle' Star Reese Witherspoon Chose Herself

Grace Libero

Published July 06, 2026 01:00 PM PHT

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Updated July 06, 2026 01:31 PM PHT

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