Reese Witherspoon’s name isn’t actually Reese Witherspoon.
Well, sort of.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Reese Witherspoon reveals her real name.
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The actress was in conversation with Big Little Lies co-star Nicole Kidman for Vanity Fair when Kidman asked why she addressed fellow co-star Laura Dern as “Dern”, rather than “Laura”.
Witherspoon was talking about Dern when Kidman quickly interjected.
“I hate how you call her Dern though!” the Aussie actress exclaimed.
“Why?” Witherspoon responded.
“Because it sounds weird!” Kidman said.
That prompted Witherspoon to go into further detail, revealing that her own first name wasn’t actually Reese.
“You know why? Because my name is Laura, and her name is Laura, and it’s confusing to me,” the Legally Blonde star said.
“Oh that’s right,” Kidman responded.
“So I get confused and just call her Dern,” Witherspoon continued.
“We can’t both be Laura.”
Reese’s full name, as it turns out, is Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon.
She took Reese as her “stage” name, deciding it had a better ring to it than Laura Witherspoon.
Kidman seemed to be aware of the fact, but the rest of us? Not so much.
When the interview appeared on Vanity Fair’s Instagram, fans were shaken.
“Reese Witherspoon’s real name is Laura Jeanne and I feel LIED to,” one fan remarked on social media.
“Today I learned Reese Witherspoon is Laura Jean (sic). What is LIFE,” joked another.
“Wait Laura Dern has been Laura’ing longer (Dern is 57, Witherspoon 48), but she’s the one who had to give up her name?” added a third.
“I was today years old when I found out Reese’s real name is Laura lmao,” another follower wrote.
After finally explaining to Kidman why she called Laura “Dern”, Witherspoon went on to say she was initially unsure if Big Little Lies would resonate with audiences.
“’This show is not gonna work’,” she remembered telling Dern in the early days of filming.
“And it frickin’ worked. Who would’ve ever thought?”
In fact, Big Little Lies “worked” so well that it won eight Emmy Awards, was nominated for 21, and a third season is in the works.
The show focuses on a group of wealthy parents living in California as they come to terms with a murder affecting their community.
Witherspoon, Dern and Kidman were joined by Zoe Kravitz and Shailene Woodley in the high-powered cast, which has also featured Meryl Streep, Alexander Skarsgard and Adam Scott.
