Women's Lifestyle June 30, 2026 0 Comments

Lexi Minetree: The Unstoppable Force Redefining Power and Style, Ready to Crush Every Expectation

Ever wonder what it takes to fill the impossibly chic and sharply witty shoes of Elle Woods? I mean, stepping into Reese Witherspoon’s glitter-coated stilettos is no small feat — especially when that iconic character made waves as both a feminist trailblazer and a fashion powerhouse back in the early 2000s. Now, flash forward to 2026, and Elle’s story gets a fresh spin with Lexi Minetree, who, coincidentally, was born just months after Legally Blonde hit the screens. At 25, the same age Reese was when she skyrocketed to fame, Lexi is diving into the bubbly blonde’s high school days in Prime Video’s prequel, Elle, hitting our screens on July 1. It’s like déjà vu with a twist — will Lexi’s Elle charm us all over again? Buckle up, because this isn’t just a rerun; it’s a whole new chapter in pink. LEARN MORE

4 min read

Whoever took over the role of Elle Woods was always going to have big shoes to fill (and a lot of them). In Legally Blonde, Reese Witherspoon crafted the perfect character for the 2000s: a pink-clad, Chihuahua-toting law school student who’s equal parts feminist and fashion icon. The role catapulted then 25-year-old Witherspoon to new levels of fame. And now, Elle Woods is set to do the same for a young actress who was born just months before the original film premiered. Lexi Minetree, also 25, stars in Prime Video’s Elle, a prequel television series that finds the blonde prodigy in the throes of high school, premiering on July 1.

Kimberley French

Lexi Minetree as Elle Woods

Who is Lexi Minetree?

Minetree was born in Atlanta, just three months before Legally Blonde premiered, on April 20, 2001. She told Cosmopolitan recently that she had a “normal upbringing” characterized by playing Pokémon and being a theater kid. During a June appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, though, the actress shared that she’d recently discovered a diary entry confirming a lifelong dream of acting. “It said that I was 10 years old, and I wanted to be an actress,” she said.

Minetree attended the University of Southern California, where she earned a degree from the School of Dramatic Arts. She also trained at the British American Drama Academy, according to the North Atlanta Star, and racked up stage credits, including roles in “No Exit” and “The Cover of Life.”

After graduating in 2024, Minetree moved to New York City. That year, she landed a guest appearance on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, where the SVU team investigates an attack on a group of law students. Minetree’s character, Elodie, is part of this group, and (coincidentally) proclaims at the end of the episode that she’ll be returning to law school. (Minetree is just one among many stars who popped up on the cable classic before catching their big break, including Amanda Seyfried and Timothee Chalamet.) Between 2023 and 2025, Minetree starred in various made-for-television movies, including The Murdaugh Murders and The Paramedic Who Stalked Me. (You could probably skip those.)

Amazon

Lexi Minetree as Elle Woods

What is Elle?

In Legally Blonde, Elle Woods (Witherspoon) starts off with everything. She’s sorority president, about to graduate from college, and expecting an engagement proposal from rich hunk Warner Huntington III. But, of course, Warner instead dumps Elle for being “too blonde” and heads off to Harvard Law School. So Elle sets out to prove him wrong, aces the LSAT, and enrolls in Harvard Law herself, where she eventually becomes a star (and finds true love with the dashing Luke Wilson).

Elle transports us to 1995, six years before the titular blonde protagonist finishes college and heads to law school. Like the original, she lives a life of luxury in Bel Air, shopping and basking in the California sun. Her lavish lifestyle is upended when her parents deliver some devastating news: they’re moving to cloudy, grungy Seattle. There, she finds crowds of flannel-wearing, cynical high schoolers who scoff at her bright and bubbly personality. When Elle tries to fit in by sporting a Nirvana tee customized with pink hearts, one classmate takes her down with “pink isn’t a personality.” I think it’s safe to say Elle is going to prove them wrong.

How does Minetree compare to Witherspoon?

Minetree isn’t just the spitting image of Witherspoon’s Elle Woods; she’s embodied the character since her audition tape. “I [decided] to recreate her Harvard admissions video, where she’s in the hot tub in her pink sequinned bikini instead of writing an admissions letter,” she told Cosmopolitan. Ever since Minetree landed the role, she’s been leaning into her similarities with Witherspoon. For her Tonight Show appearance, she wore the same Marc Jacobs dress that Witherspoon wore to the 2001 premiere of Legally Blonde, and told Fallon that people have always mentioned her similarity to Witherspoon, even when she was a brunette.

“She’s such a bright light,” Witherspoon said of Minetree during her own Tonight Show interview. “We watched 3,000 videos of girls trying out to be Elle Woods, and when I saw her video, it was like a lightning strike. She had my voice down; she had the mannerisms. She held her body a certain way.”

The two Elle Woods appeared together at the world premiere of Elle on June 23 at the SVA Theater in New York City.

How to watch Elle?

The two-episode pilot premieres July 1 on Amazon and is anticipated to be one of the hottest shows of the summer. Amazon, too, seems confident it will be a hit, since Season Two is already wrapped and ready.