Reese Witherspoon Confesses She Was ‘Scared Of Everything’

Earlier this week, Reese Witherspoon appeared on the cover in Harper’s Bazaar. While she may have shown some leg on the cover, her interview within the magazine’s pages was that much more revealing with the Hot Pursuit actress speaking candidly about her career and her personal life.

Ms. Witherspoon was especially open about the flux of emotions that stunned her as she rose to fame in the 90s. She talks about the experience, feeling wiser, braver, and better able to handle her celebrity status now that she’s older.

Legally Blonde‘s Reese Witherspoon Reveals That Everything Terrified Her

Reese, now 39-years-old, reveals that she was unable to enjoy the success that came to her in her 20s. As the three biggest films of her career hit theaters, Witherspoon says she was unable to enjoy any of that success, because of the fear that she felt.

“In my twenties, I was scared of everything. I didn’t know what my career was. I didn’t know why people liked my movies. I was wary of interacting with people.”

Reese says that success began for her at 25 with the release of Legally Blonde, which was followed up by Sweet Home Alabama, when the star was 26-years-old. Walk the Line really established her as a powerful actress and cemented her success, when she was only 29. Even with so many box office hits, the actress confesses that she was still too afraid to enjoy fame.

Ms. Witherspoon admits that her fears really were crippling her and preventing her from enjoying success. She knew she had to find a way to overcome her insecurities and take a firm hold of her life. She needed help, but she never expected to find it so close to home.

Reese Witherspoon Looks Inward To Overcome Her Fears And Pursue A Challenging Career

Reese says her wake up call came around 2011 with an unnamed film role. The actress admits that she had been competing with five other actresses for the role in this movie, which she knew, even then, was a terrible movie. She walked away from the film with the realization that she was too good to lower her professional standards.

From that moment forward, Ms. Witherspoon has been more selective of the films in which she chooses to take part. She’s more selective for herself, but also for Ava, her 16-year-old daughter. Reese says she wants her daughter to be proud of her and of her films.

“I want to get a female perspective on film that would make my daughter understand what it means to be a woman in a different way.”

Soon to be 40, Ms. Witherspoon couldn’t be happier with life and she says she’s really enjoyed getting older. She says that she knows who she is at this age and speaks freely, adding that she’s far more productive than she was in her 20s.

Speaking of age, Reese already has some ideas for her March birthday and they include spending time with her family.

“You know, live music, eating, kids,” Witherspoon told Harper’s Bazaar. “I wanted to hike Machu Picchu. But then I was like, ‘Wait, I did enough hiking last year.’ I’m done with hiking for a minute.”

The Wild actress seems to have found herself with age and now has a more courageous outlook on life. She’ll surely be sn excellent roke model, when Ava decides on a career path of her own.

Reese Witherspoon will next be working on the Alexander Payne comedy, Downsizing. The film, due out in 2017, also stars Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin, and Jason Sudeikis in the story about a man who thinks shrinking himself will make life easier.

[Featured image by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]