Where Legally Blonde cast are now as Raquel Welch dies aged 82 – from star’s boozy police rant to car crash hero
EVERYBODY loved Elle Woods’ transformation from sorority girl to top legal mind in Legally Blonde.
The hit 2001 comedy saw Reese Witherspoon‘s aspiring law student crack the murder of Hayworth Windham, with a cast including Raquel Welch as Windham’s ex-wife.
Fans are mourning the loss of Hollywood star Welch, who passed away on Wednesday following a brief illness at the age of 82.
Leading the tributes, Witherspoon wrote on Twitter: “So sad to hear about Raquel Welch’s passing.
“I loved working with her on Legally Blonde. She was elegant , professional and glamorous beyond belief. Simply stunning.”
Here, we look at what happened to the rest of her co-stars in the original film.
Reese Witherspoon
Witherspoon had already been acting on the big screen for a decade before she landed the lead role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde.
But that was the role that catapulted her into superstardom and her rise has been unstoppable ever since.
She won the Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk The Line (2005).
After separating from Cruel Intentions actor Ryan Phillippe, the father of her first two kids, Witherspoon married talent agent Jim Toth in 2011 and they had a son together a year later.
In 2013, Reese was videoed in an altercation with police after Jim was arrested under suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
She pleaded no contest to a charge of being obstructive and was ordered to pay a $213 fine, according to People.
In a statement after the video went viral, she said: “I clearly had one drink too many and I am deeply embarrassed about the things I said.”
More recently, Reese picked up more awards for the HBO series she produced and starred in, Big Little Lies (2017-2019), and her show Little Fires Everywhere (2020) became the most watched drama on Hulu in the streaming platform’s history.
She also founded a media company, Hello Sunshine, and is now worth an estimated $400million.
Luke Wilson
Luke Wilson has also been busy in the two decades since he played Emmett Richmond, who finally wins Elle’s heart in the end.
He’s most recently been starring in the DC series Stargirl (2020) as the superhero S.T.R.I.P.E.
In 2018, Wilson was in the news when he was involved in a fatal car crash in LA.
A witness to the horror smash called Wilson a “hero” for pulling a 50-year-old woman out of the flaming wreckage of her BMW to safety.
Wilson, the younger brother of Owen Wilson, recently expressed his desire to take part in another Legally Blonde film and speculated on what Elle and Emmett’s life together would be like 20 years on.
“I would say they definitely have a few children and I just think that it’d be really funny if Reese had a little mini-me, a version of herself,” he told Entertainment Tonight.
Selma Blair
Like Witherspoon, Selma Blair had also starred in teen drama Cruel Intentions (1999) before she was cast in Legally Blonde.
She plays Elle’s love rival Vivian Kensington in the courtroom comedy but became a major star with her role as Liz Sherman in the Hellboy franchise.
In 2016, she played Kris Jenner in The People Vs O.J. Simpson and she was nominated for a Grammy for her audiobook narration of The Diary of Anne Frank.
Blair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2018, and she later opened up in a documentary about how she’s adapted to new ways of living called Introducing, Selma Blair.
She began dating fashion designer Jason Bleick in 2010 and had a son with him, Arthur, before the couple split in 2012.
Matthew Davis
Davis played Elle’s love interest Warner Huntington III who thinks she’s not good enough for his serious Harvard Law School ambitions.
Since then, Davis has become best known for playing Alaric Saltzman in The Vampire Diaries (2009-2017).
Last year, he shared his adulation on Twitter at the birth of his first child.
“Ripley Nightingale Davis. Born March 31st 9:51pm. 7lbs, Blond hair Blue eyes Moms beautiful face,” Davis tweeted. “Thank you everyone for all your love and support.”
During a virtual reunion of the Legally Blonde cast, Davis revealed his role in the film led to some grief.
“For years and years people would say ‘You’re that a**hole from Legally Blonde!’” he said.
“I’m here to tell people Matthew Davis is the nicest person,” Witherspoon interjected. “He was just playing a character.”
Victor Garber
Garber memorably played Professor Callahan who creepily tries to seduce Elle in the film.
He was highly praised for his part in Ben Affleck’s Oscar-winning hit Argo (2012).
Garber even officiated Affleck’s wedding to Jennifer Garner in 2005, having formed a close relationship with Garner after playing her character’s father on Alias (2001-2006).
In 2015, Garber married Canadian artist Rainer Andreesen in Tofino on Vancouver Island.
Garber has been outspoken about having Type 1 diabetes and says he hasn’t let the condition get in the way of his professional career – thought it’s not always gone unnoticed.
“I remember once during a shooting of the movie Argo, my Omnipod [insulin pump] kept beeping and the sound man was like, ‘I think that’s from you!'” he told Diabetes Daily.
Jennifer Coolidge
Coolidge’s role as Paulette Bonafonté landed her in one of the most iconic scenes of the film – where Elle teaches her how to do the “bend and snap”.
But she’s probably best known as Stifler’s mom from the American Pie films, a role she began playing in 1999 and most recently performed in 2012.
She starred in 2020’s Promising Young Woman, which was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture and won Best Original Screenplay.
Even her home has been award-winning – she allowed Sophia Ford Coppola to shoot interior scenes for her film Beguiled (2017) in her New Orleans property.
In 2018, Coolidge praised Ariana Grande on Instagram after the pop star performed a forensically accurate impression of her on The Tonight Show.
And earlier this year, she stole the show at the Golden Globes after picking up a gong for her role in the drama White Lotus.
Holland Taylor
Holland Taylor’s character Professor Elspeth Stromwell gives Elle a very memorable pep talk when she says: “If you’re going to let one stupid p***k ruin your life, you’re not the girl I thought you were.”
Since Legally Blonde, Taylor has had a wildly successful TV career, receiving four Emmy nominations for her role as Evelyn Harper on Two and a Half Men (2003-2015) alone.
Since 2015, Taylor has been in a relationship with Ratched star Sarah Paulson.
“If my life choices had to be predicated based on what was expected of me from a community on either side, that’s going to make me feel really straitjacketed, and I don’t want to feel that,” Paulson told the New York Times.
“What I can say absolutely is that I am in love, and that person happens to be Holland Taylor.”
Ali Larter
Larter starred as Elle’s idol-turned-client Brooke Windham, a fitness instructor accused of murdering her husband.
Larter went on to be beloved by horror fans for her roles in the Final Destination and Resident Evil franchises.
She also enjoyed TV fame playing Niki Saunders on Heroes (2006-2010), a person with dissociative identity disorder.
in 2020, Leonard Roberts, who played her on-screen husband in Heroes, wrote an essay in which he “wondered if race was a factor” in the way Larter treated him on set, making particular reference to shooting intimate scenes together.
Larter said she was “saddened” and “heartbroken” by Roberts’ account, which she added “absolutely doesn’t match” her memory of what happened on the show.
Larter is married to How I Met Your Mother actor Hayes MacArthur and they have two kids together.
The couple reportedly bought a $4million home together in Santa Monica in 2017.
Moonie
Superstar Chihuahua Moonie played Elle’s pet dog, Bruiser Woods.
The canine costar reprised the role in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003).
Moonie was even present when Witherspoon was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010.
But the pooch retired from acting in 2014 and passed away two years later aged 18.
“He was a sweet little Chihuahua who was very loved,” Witherspoon wrote on Instagram following news of Moonie’s death.
“I will never forget all the days we spent together … I’m sure his tail is wagging in the sky.”