While Reese Witherspoon has accepted her fair share of honors—including an Oscar and a Golden Globe—she asked for a little help when it came time to prepare for Glamour's 25th annual Women of the Year Awards.
On the red carpet at the black-tie event yesterday, the 39-year-old mom of three told E! News that 16-year-old daughter Ava Phillippe provided some feedback while Witherspoon was repeatedly reviewing her remarks for the evening.
"They've had to listen to my speech over and over and over again because I practice through my audience and my daughter helped me tweak my speech," the actress divulged. "She's a very beautiful writer, so she was like 'Mom, I don't like how it ends.' She was very helpful."
While the mother and daughter are so much alike in the looks department, there are certain things they still can't agree on. Ava may have offered constructive criticism on Witherspoon's speech, but there's one activity of mom's she simply can't get behind.
"She doesn't like my hash-tagging," Witherspoon revealed. (So it turns out celebs can embarrass their kids as much as any parent can.)
And when the spotlight beckoned, Witherspoon confidently took the podium Monday night to discuss the evolution of her new production company, Pacific Standard, and what inspired her to develop it after decades in front of the camera. Hint: her focus involved empowering women.
"I dread reading scripts that have no women involved in their creation because inevitably I get to that part where the girl turns to the guy, and she says, 'What do we do now?!' Do you know any woman in any crisis situation who has absolutely no idea what to do? I mean, don't they tell people in crisis, even children, 'If you're in trouble, talk to a woman,'" she said during her speech. "It's ridiculous that a woman wouldn't know what to do."
So, she sought out to transform the industry, knowing full well that female-driven films were an untapped value in more ways than one.
"Films with women at the center are not a public service project," she declared."They are a big-time, bottom-line-enhancing, money-making commodity."
Witherspoon proved herself right. For its first two projects alone, Gone Girl and Wild, the new company garnered three Oscar nominations and a half-a-billion dollar profit. The Oscar winner and her business partner are now in the process of developing more films and television shows featuring women from virtually every walk of life.
"Like Elle Woods, I do not like to be underestimated," she invoked the Legally Blonde heroine that turned her into a household name.
Thanks to Witherspoon's ambitious spirit, she followed through with a business venture some wouldn't even consider.
"I believe ambition is not a dirty word. It's just believing in yourself and your abilities," she continued. "Imagine this: What would happen if we were all brave enough to be a little bit more ambitious? I think the world would change."
We don't know what Ava changed about her mom's speech ending, but it came to a perfect conclusion. Now, we just have to sit and patiently wait for her to produce Amy Schumer's biopic.
"Amy, I'll have to play your grandmother in the movie (by Hollywood standards), and you'll probably have to play your own mother," Witherspoon joked.
With the producer-actress-businesswoman at the helm of Hollywood's female-driven film world, we doubt those ancient standards will be around for much longer.