The Legally Blonde prequel series Elle began in September 2024. Earlier in the week, the process had reportedly been narrowed down to a few finalists, including young actors Lexi Minetree and Madison Wolfe.

On her official Instagram , Reese Witherspoon shared a video announcing that the part of Elle Woods in Elle has gone to Lexi Minetree. In the video, which features a caption celebrating that "we finally found our Elle," Witherspoon sits down with Minetree while both are dressed in pink. Witherspoon shares that "we had to make a really hard decision" while an overlay shows footage from Minetree's audition tape, which is a recreation of Elle Woods' video application to Harvard from the original movie.

While Witherspoon at first makes it seem like she may be delivering a rejection, she eventually says, "you don't have to audition anymore, because you got the part." Minetree responds by crying, hugging Witherspoon, and calling her mom in the joyous video. See the post below:

Minetree also shared the video to her own Instagram , with a caption profusely thanking "my family, friends, and reps who believe in me and my silly lil dreams," as well as Amazon MGM Studios, Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine, and everyone involved in the audition process. She also thanked her hairdresser who helped her dye her hair, saying, "Don’t worry Amazon, I won’t be changing from blonde ANYTIME soon!" See her post below:

What This Means For Elle

Lexi Minetree's Legally Blonde Role Is Huge

Andrew Spach whispering into the ear of Lexi Minetree in The Paramedic Who Stalked Me

This casting announcement for the prequel to the iconic Reese Witherspoon movie highlights just how similar Lexi Minetree is to the original Elle Woods star. In addition to having them both wear Elle's signature color and showing how Minetree's audition tape deftly mimics an original Legally Blonde scene, the video showcasing the duo together reveals how their voices and bubbly personalities also match one another more or less perfectly.

[Lexi Minetree's career began] with a lead role in the 2023 Lifetime movie The Paramedic Who Stalked Me.

The role of Elle Woods promises to be a starmaking turn for Minetree, who only has a few credits to her name outside of short films. All five credits are from the past two years, beginning with a lead role in the 2023 Lifetime movie The Paramedic Who Stalked Me. She followed this with roles in the Tubi original The Murdagh Murders, Lifetime's Crowdsource Murder, and the Soviet historical drama Serov. She also ed the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit cast for an episode of the long-running procedural drama in 2024.

Our Take On The Elle Casting Announcement

More Updates Will Probably Come Soon

Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods looking excited in a store in Legally Blonde

The fact that the lead role of Elle has finally been cast likely means that the wheels will start turning much more quickly on pre-production for the series. The prequel is currently set to hit Prime Video by the end of 2025, so it seems highly likely that more casting announcements will come soon. Now that the title role has been secured, it will also be easier for potential actors to perform chemistry tests with Minetree to make sure she can be surrounded by the best ensemble possible.

Source: Reese Witherspoon/Instagram & Lexi Minetree/Instagram