In "Legally Blonde," Reese Witherspoon plays Elle Woods. Elle is a fashionable California sorority student whose boyfriend, Warner Huntington III, ends their relationship because he wants a more conventionally serious partner. Determined to win him back, she applies to Harvard Law School and is unexpectedly admitted.
The 2001 film was adapted from Amanda Brown's novel and directed by Robert Luketic. Elle's character combines a glamorous image with strong academic ability, persistence, and legal instincts. Her success challenges the assumption that appearance and intelligence are opposites.
A common mix-up is confusing Elle with Vivian Kensington, Warner's new fiancée, or Paulette Bonafonté, Elle's friend and confidante. Brooke Taylor Windham is another important character in the film, but she is the murder defendant whose case helps Elle demonstrate her courtroom skills. Witherspoon returned as Elle in the 2003 sequel, "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde," and the character also became the central figure in a Broadway musical.