Reese Witherspoon's Daughter Ava Phillippe Has Had A Stunning Transformation

When Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe's daughter Ava Phillippe entered the world in 1999, she instantly developed a close bond with her mom. "I lived away from my mother. My mom had a full-time job as a nurse and I had a baby really young, I was 23 years old, and so I was raising her by myself," Witherspoon recalled on "The View" in 2021. "I don't have any sisters, I don't have any aunts. I was alone in a new city, in Los Angeles, and I literally had no friends," she added. And Witherspoon being constantly around her baby daughter may have influenced Ava's future acting prospects. In addition to her mom and dad being world-famous actors, Phillippe was rubbing shoulders with A-List names before she was even out of diapers.

Baby Phillippe accompanied her mom to work and was on set when Witherspoon guest-starred on "Friends" in 2000. "[Jennifer Aniston] was just the sweetest to me. I'd just had a baby, and I remember her and Courteney [Cox] running to my dressing room going, 'Can we see the baby?'" Witherspoon recalled to People. She added, "I got to put her on the couch in Central Perk, and still have a little picture of her at Central Perk." Clearly, stardom is in Phillippe's bones — and she's had quite the stunning transformation as she's grown up right before our eyes.

One of the first times we saw Ava Phillippe at a big event was as the adorable, super-supportive daughter she is. Phillippe appeared alongside her younger brother, Deacon Phillippe, alongside their mom at her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, and Ava flashed a big smile as she wrapped her arm around the "Legally Blonde" star. The 11-year-old looked adorable in a purple, ruffled dress with black tights and gold sequin ballet flats. To top it off, her mid-length blonde locks cascaded in a curled ponytail over her shoulder.

While giving a speech at her ceremony, Reese Witherspoon joked that her kids kept her humble. She recalled once walking on the stars with her kids on their way to dinner when they asked if she had one yet. Once she said she didn't, she revealed, "They said, 'Well, they better hurry up while you're still alive and can still enjoy it!" She jokingly added, "So thank you so much. My children are here to enjoy it while I'm still alive."

Six years after Ava Phillippe first stepped out to support her mom, she began attending events in her own right. We saw the beauty make her solo red carpet debut in Hollywood for a Chanel No. 5 L'eau fragrance event, and she looked gorgeous in a ribbed, sage green top tucked into long, multi-color shorts and black open-toe heels. Phillippe also showed how she was experimenting with her appearance, as the 17-year-old showcased subtle peach streaks in her shoulder-length blonde hair. The shade gave us faded pastel vibes, which would go on to become one of the 2024 hair color trends you would see everywhere (clearly, Phillippe is ahead of her time).

Five months earlier, Reese Witherspoon opened up about how her daughter was starting to find herself and her style. "She's so much cooler than I am! She's very cutting-edge, and she knows a lot about fashion, and she has her own sense of style, which is amazing," "The Morning Show" actor told Us Weekly. She even admitted to consulting the teen for fashion advice. "We try to kind of confer about new styles. She tells me whether or not I can wear things," she said. But the star wasn't just proud of how the youngster looked, as she gushed to E! News, "She's just a sweetheart. And just a nice young woman who's turned out to have this huge heart and soul, and I'm just so proud of her."

In 2018, Ava Phillippe was the spitting image of her mom at the European premiere of "A Wrinkle In Time," rocking a bob that reminded us of the chic cut Witherspoon wore in the '90s during her stunning hair transformation. The young star was also reaching a huge life milestone. heading to college that fall, attending the University of California, Berkeley, and teaming up with Amazon to share some of the products in her dorm. That wasn't the only reason the budding star will remember 2018, though, as she also made her modeling debut in Rodarte's fall campaign. 

Her portfolio only grew from there, appearing in a campaign for Beyonce's Ivy Park line three years later, and being handpicked by makeup artist Pat McGrath to represent her line's "Bridgerton" collection. "I was like ... Pat McGrath is DMing me? Huh? I have such admiration for her. And for her to even reach out to me or think of me was flattering," Phillippe told People. Discussing her thriving modeling career, she told "Daily Pop," "If I could put it in a word, and it still wouldn't sum it up, it's mind-blowing."

In 2022, Ava Phillippe continued to blossom and opened up about her sexuality. During an Instagram Stories Q&A, Phillippe was asked by a fan (via People), "Do u like boys or girls?" She responded, "I'm attracted to ... people! (Gender is whatever)."

Two years later, she showcased her confidence when she clapped back at body-shaming trolls. In a TikTok video, she wrote, in part, "I saw two different strangers commenting on my body. The first said I should get on [Ozempic] because I'm too fat ... The second accused me of starving myself because I'm too thin ... My weight did not change in the time period between their comments (& it wouldn't be any of their business if it did!)" The star rolled her eyes as she applied lipstick. In the caption, she wrote, "Pretty is as pretty does, babes ... & bodyshaming is simply toxic behavior. #loveyouasyouare." She channeled that unwavering confidence by dying her hair bright orange when attending a Celine fashion show.

Phillippe's career kept thriving when she became the face of Camuto's Wonderbloom fragrance later that year. "We had so much fun and everything was so whimsical and playful [with the campaign]. I've just really enjoyed this journey," Phillippe told People.

Though we've mainly seen Ava Phillippe flex her modeling career, in 2025, she added another string to her bow with her first major acting role. At 25, she appeared in an episode of the ABC drama "Doctor Odyssey" and looked almost unrecognizable after dying her hair in a dark brunette shade. She kept her brown locks when she continued her foray into acting with a role in the indie film "The Sisters of Scott County," which also debuted in 2025.

No matter where life takes this actor and model (who's destined for stardom), her famous parents will always be proudly standing behind her. Especially her mom. "That makes me want to cry, the idea of having a long relationship with adult children," Reese Witherspoon told Interview of the close bond she has with her three kids. "I never expected the kind of relationship that I have with them, but it's so rewarding to be able to have kids that you can process life with a little bit, and they help me understand the complexities of what it means to be a human now," she added. Witherspoon also gave us insight into how close she and her grown-up daughter are on Instagram, commenting on one of Phillippe's 2024 Instagram posts from Tennessee, "All the mom feels when my girl comes home."