What The Cast Of Legally Blonde Looks Like Today

Much like her character in "Legally Blonde," Reese Witherspoon has been a beacon of determination and success in Hollywood. While she might have become a rom-com regular shortly after the film's release, she also managed to wow the film world with her depiction of June Carter Cash in "Walk the Line," earning an Academy Award for her portrayal of the real-life musician. 

When her role options no longer satisfied the actress, she started taking matters into her own hands and producing films and television series that offered her (and other women) meatier screen moments. She was celebrated for her starring role in the adaptation of "Wild," even earning another trip to the Oscars for it, and she was a driving force behind the ultra-successful thriller "Gone Girl." Meanwhile, her work in "Big Little Lies," "Little Fires Everywhere," and "The Morning Show" have also proven her mettle on the small screen. Thanks to her voracious appetite for books, Witherspoon has an entire library of stories she intends to see on the big screen, so her Hollywood hot streak is nowhere near its end.

Vivian Kensington is just one of Selma Blair's most memorable roles from the turn of the millennium (count her roles in "Cruel Intentions" and "The Sweetest Thing" among her others), but her career started to slow down soon after. Thanks to some personal setbacks, she had some trouble reclaiming the wholesome image that informed so many of her prior roles. After starring with Charlie Sheen in TV's "Anger Management," for example, she was let go after engaging in a dispute with the actor over his work ethic, and it took several years for her to return to the small screen with a very small role in "The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story." In 2016, the actress had to publicly apologize after she was removed from an airplane and carted away on a stretcher following an outburst on her flight. 

Later, however, Blair became something of a figure of the #MeToo movement, as she revealed she was willing to risk everything to expose the director who'd allegedly sexually assaulted her, and her screen career started to look up again after she nabbed a central role in Netflix's sci-fi series "Another Life."

In 2018, she revealed that she'd been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. "I have had symptoms for years but was never taken seriously until I fell down in front of [a doctor] trying to sort out what I thought was a pinched nerve," she shared in an Instagram post.

Shortly before she became everyone's favorite beautician Paulette in "Legally Blonde," Jennifer Coolidge helped bring the term "MILF" into the mainstream as Stifler's mom in "American Pie." She went on to continue that role in the film's sequels but found that she was being typecast as the buxom blonde in movies. She told IndieWire, "I would say 90 percent of the scripts that show up on my door are women who have had lots of plastic surgery that are married to rich men — sort of a trophy wife."

She added, "Some women really do get it all. For me, it is the same thing that happens over and over. I should change that and maybe write my own thing." For what it's worth, the television side of the industry had a little more to offer her, with roles in shows like "Joey," "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," "Gravity Falls," and "2 Broke Girls."

By the time she became the spicy Professor Stromwell in "Legally Blonde," Holland Taylor was already decades into her career. However, the bulk of her many Primetime Emmy nominations would come afterwards, as a result of her long stint on CBS's "Two and a Half Men." Despite starring on the series for more than a decade, however, the actress claims she doesn't like to be in one place for too long, career-wise. As she told the Times Colonist, "I think variety and change and mixing things up is essential for me because I have a kind of mild ADD and I jump from thing to thing." 

She's since gone on to star on "Mr. Mercedes" and "Hollywood," but, true to her word, she has mixed things up a bit over the years, having crafted a political play inspired by one of her heroes' death. Her name has also made headlines a great deal thanks to her relationship with fellow TV star Sarah Paulson. 

Jessica Cauffiel was pitch perfect as the goofy sorority girl Margot in "Legally Blonde," but she hasn't had much luck in the entertainment business since her role in the iconic film, despite some early success. After "Legally Blonde," the actress scored small roles in films like "Stuck on You" and "White Chicks" and enjoyed brief recurring roles in series like "The Drew Carey Show" and "My Name Is Earl." Before long, however, her filmography took a backseat when she took on an entirely new role as a mom. As she has shared in some of her Instagram posts, being a parent has become her biggest priority. 

However, Cauffiel, who's remained close to co-star Alanna Ubach, has teased a return to the realm of comedy, and has confirmed her plans to return for "Legally Blonde 3." So, prepare to see her break out the old halter tops and spray tan sooner rather than later.

After she appeared in the jaw-dropping courtroom scene as the two-faced heiress Chutney in "Legally Blonde," Linda Cardellini's career really started kicking into hyperdrive. She starred as Velma in the live-action "Scooby Doo" films, earned a small but compelling role in "Brokeback Mountain," and became a regular star of "ER." Things haven't slowed down for her since, as she continued on the TV drama scene with roles on "Mad Men" (which earned her a Primetime Emmy nomination) and "Bloodline," and she's also enjoyed a bounty of voice work in shows like "Sanjay and Craig" and "Robot Chicken." She also enjoyed the renewed popularity of the now-cult favorite "Freaks and Geeks" and even got to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "Avengers: Endgame." She also stars opposite Christina Applegate in Netflix's "Dead to Me."

If her resume seems a bit scattered, that's because Cardellini likes to change things up pretty regularly. She told Pretty52, "I tried to take as many different turns as I could to make it interesting for myself and hopefully for everybody watching." Hey, as long as she's not framing people in court, everything's a-okay.

She may have only appeared briefly as the activist student Enid in "Legally Blonde," but Meredith Scott Lynn's career has hardly been a flash in the pan. She has also been a fixture of the TV scene, with guest roles in shows like "Roswell," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," and "American Horror Story: Murder House." She also starred in the TV movie "Menendez: Blood Brothers," and her most consistent work was her long-lasting role as Anne Milbauer in "Days of Our Lives." 

Acting isn't her only interest, however. In 2017, Lynn committed her time to traveling around the United States to champion education on issues like gun violence and healthcare as the founder and CEO of Write Brain Books. As she told Business View Magazine, the work has been very fulfilling to her when acting has been slow. "For an actor, unless you have a full-time gig, you need to create your days. Make a meaningful life," she explained. "That entrepreneurial spirit of 'keep going, keep creating, stay busy and be of service' is how I stayed happy and productive when the acting jobs were few and far between."

It probably wasn't too much of a stretch for Raquel Welch to become the fancy Mrs. Windham Vandermark in "Legally Blonde" because the lady is absolutely a living legend. She was already several decades into her career before she donned her stunning wardrobe for the film, but she continued steadily working for years afterwards. She's appeared in shows like "American Family," "Welcome to the Captain," and "Date My Dad," along with films like "House of Versace" and "How to Be a Latin Lover." 

Even in her 70s, the actress had no plans of slowing down or escaping her image as a sexpot. The actress, who turned 80 in 2020, told Express in 2018, "It is nice to be noticed. I think it is much better than not being noticed." She added, "I'm not fussy and don't go to great lengths to try to preserve what I have. As long as I still look like Raquel Welch, I'm happy. As long as people are still interested in me, then I'll carry on working."