Legally Blonde cast: Where are they now?

Reese Witherspoon (Elle Woods)

Witherspoon had already built up an impressive list of credits when she starred in Legally Blonde as Elle Woods. She made her film debut as a teenager in 1991's A Man in the Moon and had major roles in 1998's Pleasantville and 1999's Election. It was Legally Blonde, however, that launched her as a superstar and cemented her leading status. Witherspoon took Hollywood by storm over the course of the 2000s, starring in the 2002 rom-com Sweet Home Alabama; a 2003 Legally Blonde sequel; 2004's adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's Vanity Fair; and 2005's Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line, with a performance that won her an Oscar for Best Actress.

In 2012, she and Bruna Papandrea launched Pacific Standard films, through which Witherspoon has produced a number of projects — mostly female-driven literary adaptations — including 2014's Wild, for which she received her second Oscar nomination for Best Actress. In 2016, she took full ownership of the company, which is now called Hello Sunshine.

Witherspoon has gone on to lead and produce TV projects like Big Little Lies, Little Fires Everywhere, and The Morning Show, and has appeared in films like A Wrinkle in Time (2018) and Your Place or Mine (2023). The actress is also set to reprise Elle Woods for a third Legally Blonde installment, as well as Tracy Flick for an Election sequel.

Luke Wilson (Emmett Richmond)

Wilson made his film debut in Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket in 1996, reteamed with the director for 1998's Rushmore, and also appeared in such films as 2000's My Dog Skip and Charlie's Angels before he played lovable lawyer Emmett in Legally Blonde. He appeared that same year in another Anderson project, The Royal Tenenbaums, and in addition to starring in films like Old School (2003), Alex & Emma (2003), and Idiocracy (2006) in the 2000s, Wilson had a recurring role as Kelso's older brother on That '70s Show from 2002 to 2005 and starred on Enlightened from 2011 to 2013.

The Texas-born actor continued to work on the big screen, appearing in The Goldfinch (2019), All the Bright Places (2020), The Cleaner (2021), and Miranda's Victim (2023), and landed roles on series Roadies and Stargirl.

Jennifer Coolidge (Paulette Bonafonté)

Coolidge had collected a variety of credits in the '90s and was best known for playing Stifler's mom in 1999's American Pie when she appeared as Paulette, Elle's manicurist friend, in Legally Blonde. The hilarious character actress, who is a regular in Christopher Guest's mockumentaries like Best in Show (2000) and A Mighty Wind (2003), has built up a huge résumé in film and on TV since, including roles in A Cinderella Story (2004), Click (2006), and all of the American Pie sequels (2001–2012).

Since 2012, she has starred on series 2 Broke Girls, The White Lotus — for which she won an Emmy and Golden Globe for her role as Tanya — and The Watcher, and has made scene-stealing appearances in the films Like a Boss (2020), Single All the Way (2021), and Shotgun Wedding (2022). Coolidge is also "on board" for Legally Blonde 3, as Witherspoon said there would be no sequel without her.

Matthew Davis (Warner Huntington III)

Davis played Elle's image-obsessed boyfriend Warner soon after his film debut in 2000's Tigerland.

Since Legally Blonde, he has completed some films roles, but worked mostly on television as a lead actor on What About Brian from 2006 to 2007 and with recurring roles on Damages and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, among other series. He played Alaric Saltzman on The Vampire Diaries from 2009 to 2017, and reprised the role on the series' spin-off Legacies from 2018 to 2022.

Selma Blair (Vivian Kensington)

Though she had a few small parts over the course of the late-'90s, Blair's breakthrough came in 1999, when she starred in Cruel Intentions (along with Witherspoon). That was two years before she played Elle Woods' archnemesis-turned-BFF in Legally Blonde, and she quickly became busy after, appearing in such films as 2002's raunchy rom-com The Sweetest Thing, the Hellboy superhero franchise (2004–2008), and a string of indies in the late-2000s. In 2016 she played Kris Jenner in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, and popped up in the films Ordinary World (2016), Mothers and Daughters (2016), and Mom and Dad (2017).

In 2018, the actress opened up about her MS diagnosis. Since then, she has earned credits for two films in the After series (2019–2020), Netflix's Another Life, and Far More (2021); wrote her 2022 memoir, Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up; and competed on Dancing With the Stars in 2022, which she had to leave mid-season due to health complications.

Victor Garber (Professor Callahan)

Garber is a prolific film, TV, and stage actor who had already built an impressive résumé when he signed on to Legally Blonde as the brilliant but sleazy Professor Callahan.

Since then, his film roles have included Tuck Everlasting (2002), Milk (2008), Argo (2012), Rebel in the Rye (2017), and Happiest Season (2020). On television, Garber has racked up a multitude of credits, including his lead roles as Jack Bristow on Alias from 2001 to 2006 and as Harry Svensson on Family Law from 2021 to 2022. He joined the Arrowverse in 2015, playing Dr. Martin Stein on DC's Legends of Tomorrow and The Flash, and had recurring roles on Power — as well the sequel spin-off series Power Book II: Ghost — and The Orville.

Ali Larter (Brooke Taylor Windham)

Larter was a model before she got her first major role, in 1999's Varsity Blues. Soon after, she starred as Clear Rivers in 2000's Final Destination.

Since playing an accused murderer and Elle's Delta Nu sister in Legally Blonde, she has appeared in Final Destination 2 (2003), Obsessed (2009), three Resident Evil films — Extinction (2007), Afterlife (2011), and The Final Chapter (2017) — and The Last Victim (2021). On television, she had roles on Heroes from 2006 to 2010; Legends in 2014; and The Rookie from 2019 to 2020.

Holland Taylor (Professor Stromwell)

Taylor had an impressive film, TV, and stage résumé before she played Professor Stromwell.

Since kicking Elle out of her class and giving her some much-needed words of encouragement at the beauty salon in Legally Blonde, Taylor has had roles in Disney's two animated Cinderella sequels; the second and third Spy Kids films; and 2008's Baby Mama. On screen, Taylor had main roles as Judge Roberta Kittleson on The Practice, for which she won an Emmy in 1999; Evelyn Harper on Two and a Half Men, for which she was nominated for an Emmy four times; and Ida Silver on Mr. Mercedes. She has also earned credits for Hollywood, The Stand In (2020), The Chair, and The Morning Show.

Jessica Cauffiel (Margot)

Cauffiel played Elle's sorority sister Margot (whose lucky scrunchie was surely responsible for Elle's success at Harvard).

After Legally Blonde, Cauffiel had stints on The Drew Carey Show and My Name Is Earl, as well as roles in the films White Chicks (2004), Guess Who (2005), and Hoot (2006). Her latest onscreen gigs were in 2009, appearing in a short and TV film.

Alanna Ubach (Serena McGuire)

Since playing Elle's fellow Delta Nu Serena (whose hair is so now) in Legally Blonde, Ubach has had roles in Meet the Fockers (2004), Waiting… (2005), Bad Teacher (2011), and Bombshell (2019). She has been very active on TV, where she has had roles on Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, Filthy Rich, Euphoria, and The Flight Attendant. Ubach has also done voiceover work for projects like Coco (2017), Monsters at Work, Puppy Dog Pals, among others.

Linda Cardellini (Chutney)

Before she played the perm-loving Chutney in Legally Blonde, Cardellini was most known for her TV work, starring on the beloved but short-lived Freaks and Geeks and having a short but memorable arc on Boy Meets World.

Post-Blonde, she starred as Velma in the live-action Scooby-Doo films (2002–2004) and appeared in Brokeback Mountain (2005), Welcome to Me (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), The Curse of La Llorona (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). On television, she had main or recurring roles on ER, Mad Men, Bloodline, Regular Show, Dead to Me, and Hawkeye.

Raquel Welch (Mrs. Windham Vandermark)

Welch played Mrs. Windham Vandermark, the murder victim's ex-wife, in Legally Blonde. A legendary sex symbol for her deerskin-bikini-clad appearance in 1966's One Million B.C., Welch was highly prolific in the '60s and '70s — and won a Golden Globe for her performance in The Three Musketeers in 1975 — but took on fewer roles in subsequent decades.

After Legally Blonde, she appeared on the series American Family, Welcome to the Captain, and Date My Dad, as well as TV movies House of Versace (2013) and The Ultimate Legacy (2015) and the 2017 film How to Be a Latin Lover.

Welch died at 82 from a brief illness on Feb. 15, 2023.