Denton County Living Well Magazine November/December 2018 | Page 11

R
eese Witherspoon isn’t content resting on her
laurels. She’d be the first to tell you that it’s not a
very Southern thing to do, letting one’s self get too
comfortable based on past success. And, if there’s
one thing the Academy Award-winning actress,
producer, and entrepreneur abides by, it’s her Southern ethos.
In fact, the 42-year-old’s upbringing serves as the inspiration for her latest endeavor,
best selling author. “Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught
Me About Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits,” is Witherspoon’s 300-page literary de-
but. Released in September, the pages brim with Southern-inspired recipes, quirky
anecdotes, vintage family photos, recipes, and Witherspoon’s signature charm.
“My grandmother Dorothea always said that it was a combination of
beauty and strength that made Southern women ‘whiskey in a teacup.’
We may be delicate and ornamental on the outside, she said, but inside
we’re strong and fiery,” Witherspoon has said about the book’s title.
“One thing that really in my mind defines Southern women is that they have
very strong boundaries,” Witherspoon said to National Public Radio to pro-
mote the book. “And there is a warmth there but there’s also a ferocity…
to protect your family, or your friendships, or your husband, or your chil-
dren. There’s definitely an idea of don’t cross the line with me…they always
start with kindness, but really, don’t mess with a Southern woman.”
Petite, perky, blonde, Witherspoon’s all-American beauty and sweet demeanor
have helped her land roles in movies such as Legally Blonde, Election, and Sweet
Home Alabama. Her angelic face, however, belies the intense fire that burns be-
neath Witherspoon’s surface. It was this deep reservoir of emotion that Wither-
spoon tapped to play June Carter Cash, the second wife of hard living country
music singer-songwriter Johnny Cash in the 2005 film Walk the Line. The role
earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress and much critical success.
In Hollywood, one day you’re a hot, young starlet, the next day you’re old news.
Many in the entertainment industry thought Witherspoon’s career was on a downslope
after she followed up her Oscar-winning role with a series of middling films and
went through a high profile divorce from actor Ryan Phillippe. Witherspoon’s not
the kind of woman to fade away because good roles dry up and easy opportuni‑
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