Reese Witherspoon's Reaction to This Fan's 'Legally Blonde' Dissertation Is Priceless

"Is it scented?"

Amy Mackelden's avatar
By
published
in News

Sometimes dreams do come true, and here's the proof—writer Lucy Jayne Ford wrote a 15,000 word dissertation all about Legally Blonde while she was in college, and yesterday she got to give Reese Witherspoon a copy in person. And yes, this is real life.

Ford was about to interview Witherspoon, Oprah, and Mindy Kaling (as one does) about their new movie A Wrinkle in Time. But Ford couldn't pass up an opportunity to tell the real Elle Woods all about that time she wrote thousands of words about the female characters in Legally Blonde. Needless to say, Witherspoon's reaction was priceless:

Accepting the gift, Witherspoon looked visibly moved, and even asked, "Is it scented?" Calling it a "love letter," Ford told Witherspoon, "You can read it, you can burn it, you can clean your windows with it." And even Oprah said, "Wow," so it seems as though the gesture went down pretty well.

Hopefully Witherspoon's excitement about the Legally Blonde dissertation will reignite talks about a third sequel. In January 2017, Witherspoon told E! at the Women in Television dinner at Chateau Marmont that she was ready to consider a third movie about Elle Woods. She said, "I do think it's a good time to do it. I think women need that kind of positivity right now." And she's definitely right.

Above all, this sweet dissertation gesture should provide hope to all pop culture super fans who dream that one day they'll get to meet their idols, too.

Amy Mackelden
Amy Mackelden
Weekend Editor

Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.