At 47, Reese Witherspoon beats Hollywood’s biggest stars, such as Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence… According to Forbes, she is now the richest actress in the world with no less than 440 million dollars ( 410 million euros) of personal fortune even though her career is far from being as flamboyant as her sisters. After a flying start with The Revenge of a Blonde and an Oscar for Best Actress in 2006 for Walk The Line, she quickly experiences a crossing of the desert which puts her in the background.
But it was precisely this slump that allowed her to climb back up the slope: tired of seeing roles pass her by, she decided to launch her own production company, first Pacific Standard then Hello Sunshine, centered on the distribution of women’s stories in film and television – an empire that produces the critically acclaimed series Big Littles lies (on HBO) and The Morning Show (on Apple TV).
In 2021, we learn that Hello Sushine will be sold for 900 million dollars to an investment fund, a windfall that Witherspoon recovers in part by selling the majority of its shares. But, far from retiring, the actress retains a stake and a place in the management team, thus continuing to launch projects, activate her network and receive part of the profits. “This agreement will allow us to tell even more entertaining and uplifting stories about the lives of women around the world,” she said in a statement at the time.
In fact, Reese Witherspoon has seen her career rebound in recent years, thanks in particular to the series The Morning Show and her remarkable duet with Jennifer Aniston: season 4 is already on track and the two former friends of Friends would now receive a fee. $20 million a year… When asked about it, Witherspoon defended her salary by explaining that we don’t make a fuss about it when it comes to commenting on those of basketball stars… “Why is it embarrassing ? she noted in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. I guarantee you that these companies are very smart. […] They probably used lawyers and business people to decide on that amount. Because they knew they were going to get more than that in return…”