Where Legally Blonde cast are now as Raquel Welch dies aged 82 – from star’s boozy police rant to car crash hero

EVERYONE loved Elle Woods’ transformation from college girl to top lawyer in Legally Blonde.

In the hit 2001 comedy, Reese Witherspoon’s aspiring law student cracked the Hayworth Windham murder, with a cast that also included Raquel Welch as Windham’s ex-wife.

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Fans are mourning the loss of Hollywood star Welch, who passed away on Wednesday at the age of 82 after a short illness.

Witherspoon led the tributes, writing on Twitter: “So sad to hear of Raquel Welch’s death.

“I loved working with her on Legally Blonde. She was incredibly elegant, professional and glamorous. Just breathtaking.”

Here we look at what happened to the other of her co-stars in the original film.

Reese Witherspoon

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Witherspoon had been on the big screen for a decade before landing the lead role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde.

But it was the role that catapulted her to superstardom, and her rise has been unstoppable ever since.

She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk The Line (2005).

After splitting from Cruel Intentions actor Ryan Phillippe, the father of her first two children, Witherspoon married talent agent Jim Toth in 2011 and they had a son together a year later.

In 2013, Reece was filmed engaging in an altercation with police after Jim was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.

She pleaded no disability charges and was fined $213, according to People.

In a statement after the video went viral, she said, “I’ve clearly had one drink too many and I’m deeply embarrassed for what I said.”

More recently, Reece received further awards for the HBO series Big Little Lies (2017-2019), which she produced and starred in, and her show Little Fires Everywhere (2020) became Hulu’s most-watched drama in history the streaming platform.

She also founded a media company, Hello Sunshine, and is now worth an estimated $400 million.

Luke Wilson

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Luke Wilson has also been busy in the two decades since he played Emmett Richmond, who eventually wins Elle’s heart.

Most recently, he played the superhero STRIPE in the DC series Stargirl (2020).

In 2018, Wilson was in the news when he was involved in a fatal car accident in LA.

A witness to the horror hit called Wilson a “hero” for rescuing a 50-year-old woman from the burning wreckage of her BMW.

Wilson, Owen Wilson’s younger brother, recently expressed his desire to be in another Legally Blonde movie and speculated on what life together for Elle and Emmett would be like 20 years later.

“I would say they definitely have some kids and I think it would be really fun if Reese had a little mini-me, a version of himself,” he told Entertainment Tonight.

Selma Blair

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Like Witherspoon, Selma Blair starred in the teen drama Cruel Intentions (1999) before being cast in Legally Blonde.

She plays Elle’s love rival Vivian Kensington in the courtroom comedy, but rose to stardom with her role as Liz Sherman in the Hellboy franchise.

In 2016, she played Kris Jenner in The People Vs OJ Simpson and was nominated for a Grammy for her audiobook short story of The Diary of Anne Frank.

Blair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2018, and later opened up about how she adapted to new ways of life in a documentary called Introducing, Selma Blair.

She began dating fashion designer Jason Bleick in 2010 and had a son, Arthur, with him before the couple split in 2012.

Matthew Davis

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Davis played Elle’s love interest Warner Huntington III, who believes she isn’t good enough for his serious aspirations at Harvard Law School.

Since then, Davis has been best known for his role as Alaric Saltzman on The Vampire Diaries (2009-2017).

Last year he shared his praise on Twitter at the birth of his first child.

“Ripley Nightingale Davis. Born March 31 at 9:51 p.m. 7 pounds, blonde hair, blue eyes, mom’s beautiful face,” Davis tweeted. “Thank you all for all your love and support.”

During a virtual reunion of the Legally Blonde cast last year, Davis revealed that his role in the film led to some sadness.

“For years people were like, ‘You’re Legally Blonde’s asshole!'” he said.

“I’m here to tell people Matthew Davis is the nicest person,” Witherspoon interjected. “He was just playing a role.”

Victor Garber

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Garber memorably played Professor Callahan, who sinisterly attempts to seduce Elle in the film.

He received critical acclaim for his role in Ben Affleck’s Oscar-winning hit Argo (2012).

Garber even orchestrated Affleck’s marriage to Jennifer Garner in 2005, having developed a close relationship with Garner after playing her character’s father in Alias ​​(2001-2006).

In 2015, Garber married Canadian artist Rainer Andreesen in Tofino on Vancouver Island.

Garber has been open about having type 1 diabetes and says he didn’t let the disease interfere with his professional career — he thought it didn’t always go unnoticed.

“I remember shooting the film Argo, my omnipod [insulin pump] kept beeping and the sound engineer said, ‘I think that’s from you!'” he told Diabetes Daily.

Jennifer Coolidge

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Coolidge’s role as Paulette Bonafonté landed her in one of the most iconic scenes in the film – where Elle teaches her how to “bend and snap.”

But she’s probably best known as Stifler’s mother from the American Pie films, a role she began playing in 1999 and last appeared in 2012.

She starred in Promising Young Woman in 2020, which was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.

Even her home won awards — she allowed Sophia Ford Coppola to shoot interior scenes for her film Beguiled (2017) at her New Orleans estate.

In 2018, Coolidge praised Ariana Grande on Instagram after the pop star gave a forensically accurate impression of her on The Tonight Show.

And earlier this year, she stole the show at the Golden Globes after getting a gong for her role in the drama White Lotus.

HollandTaylor

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Holland Taylor’s character, Professor Elspeth Stromwell, gives Elle a very memorable pep talk when she says, “If you let a stupid p***k ruin your life, you’re not the girl I thought you were.”

Since Legally Blonde, Taylor has enjoyed a hugely successful television career, earning four Emmy nominations for her role as Evelyn Harper in Two and a Half Men (2003-2015).

And she was still being tapped for gongs last year, earning her eighth Emmy nomination for her role as Ellen Kincaid on the Netflix miniseries Hollywood.

Taylor has been dating Ratched star Sarah Paulson since 2015.

“If my life choices had to be made based on what’s expected of me by a community on either side, I really do feel like I’m in a straitjacket, and I don’t want to feel that,” Paulson told the New York Times.

“What I can absolutely say is that I’m in love and that person happens to be Holland Taylor.”

Ali Larter

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Larter starred as Elle’s idol Brooke Windham, a fitness trainer accused of murdering her husband.

Larter was loved by horror fans for her roles in the Final Destination and Resident Evil franchises.

She also enjoyed television fame as Niki Saunders on Heroes (2006-2010), a person with dissociative identity disorder.

Last December, Leonard Roberts, who played her on-screen husband in Heroes, wrote an essay in which he “wondered if race was a factor in the way Larter treated him on set,” he said particularly related to shooting intimate scenes together.

Larter said she was “sad” and “heartbroken” by Roberts’ account, which is “absolutely inconsistent” with her recollection of the events on the show.

Larter is married to How I Met Your Mother actor Hayes MacArthur and they have two children together.

The couple reportedly bought a $4 million home in Santa Monica together in 2017.

moonie

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Superstar Chihuahua Moonie played Elle’s dog, Bruiser Woods.

The canine co-star reprized the role in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003).

Moonie was even there when Witherspoon received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010.

But the pooch retired from acting in 2014 and died two years later at the age of 18.

“He was a sweet little Chihuahua who was loved very much,” Witherspoon wrote on Instagram following news of Moonie’s death.

“I’ll never forget all the days we spent together… I’m sure his tail is wagging in the sky.”