I'm Tired Of Seeing Talented Women Playing Thankless Parts
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ|May 2017

Once condemned to rom-com hell, Reese Witherspoon is now one of the most important women in movie-making, revolutionising the way women are treated in Hollywood. She talks about love, loss and the turning point in her career that changed everything.

I'm Tired Of Seeing Talented Women Playing Thankless Parts

Even though she’s long been one of Hollywood’s most beloved and well-respected stars, Reese Witherspoon has struggled to overcome her image as an effervescent southern belle. Best known as a rom-com queen, she felt frustrated and despondent with her career when – despite winning an Oscar for the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line in 2006 – she couldn’t convince the studios to allow her to play the serious parts she craved.

“For a few years, I was a little bit lost as an artist, not being able to find what I wanted to do and making choices that I wasn’t ultimately very happy with,” says Reese. “I wanted to play dynamic women and be part of stories that would allow me to explore all the doubts and anxieties I was facing in my own life and that most women go through.”

Films like the biographical survival drama Wild (2014) and coming-of-age drama Mud (2012) took her in that direction and intensified her ambitions. That led her to produce and star in Big Little Lies, the acclaimed seven part series based on the best-seller by Australian novelist Liane Moriarty now streaming on Sky’s Neon channel. Centred around a trio of mothers in an affluent seaside town along the coast of California, the series offers poignant and often humorous insights into issues that affect women and which are vitally important to Reese, now 41. She was excited to be producing a show with such strong female leads.

“It’s a unique pleasure to be able to come to other women with a piece of material I feel deeply proud of,” she says. “These are the kinds of things that shift consciousness... We need to create more series and movies that treat women in a realistic way and enable female audiences in particular to see themselves and identify with modern, complex female characters.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2017 من Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2017 من Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S WEEKLY NZ مشاهدة الكل
Spotlight on Vitamin D
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Spotlight on Vitamin D

Sunlight is the best source of vitamin D, but safe sun exposure is still essential.

time-read
2 mins  |
May 2024
Coming up roses
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Coming up roses

Driven by a renewed interest in the flower’s power, a rose renaissance is dawning.

time-read
3 mins  |
May 2024
'I was given a 5% chance of survival'
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

'I was given a 5% chance of survival'

When Caroline Laner Breure was hit by a car in an horrific accident on a Spanish holiday with her boyfriend, her body and her dreams were shattered. Somehow she found the will to go on living.

time-read
5 mins  |
May 2024
Time to celebrate our mothers
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Time to celebrate our mothers

Author Kathy Lette gives a heartfelt thank you to her magnificent mum, Val - a baker of fairy cakes with the patience of a saint.

time-read
4 mins  |
May 2024
"I am lucky to be here" ”
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

"I am lucky to be here" ”

Since the day she walked onto the MasterChef Australia set back in 2009, Julie Goodwin has openly shared her life. But in writing a memoir, she had to examine the demons she'd battled privately... until now.

time-read
9 mins  |
May 2024
JAMIE OLIVER at your service
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

JAMIE OLIVER at your service

Returning to the set of MasterChef Australia to help steer a path through grief and spread happiness, the celebrity chef is also at a turning point - he opens up about failure, love, second chances and his endless reservoir of joie de vivre.

time-read
10 mins  |
May 2024
From one mum to another
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

From one mum to another

Princess Catherine's public announcement struck a chord with mum-of-two Jane Gillard. She shares her story of parenting through cancer- and offers hope for the princess and mums navigating their own health journey while raising primary-aged kids.

time-read
4 mins  |
May 2024
The courage of Princess Catherine "You are„, not alone"
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

The courage of Princess Catherine "You are„, not alone"

It was a rare personal address that she shouldn’t have had to make. But with conspiracy theories swirling and the slimmed-down “Firm” under fire, Princess Catherine silenced critics with searing courage and dignity.

time-read
9 mins  |
May 2024
THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE

When Tracy Hall fell for Max Tavita, she fell for a mirage. Max was a false identity created by a con man, and Tracy was the latest in a long line of women whose life savings hed stolen.

time-read
9 mins  |
May 2024
Amother's GIFT
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Amother's GIFT

In December last year, Australia’s first uterus transplant recipient, Kirsty Bryant, gave birth to Henry, a happy, healthy baby boy. The uterus that had made this little miracle possible had been donated by her mother, Michelle. Five months later, their first Mother’s Day since Henry’s birth feels especially precious.

time-read
10 mins  |
May 2024