Reese Witherspoon fans react to ‘stunning’ resemblance to daughter Ava with throwback to first photoshoot

Reese Witherspoon shared a throwback to her first ever photoshoot and fans say the resemblance to her daughter is uncanny.

Before she became known for her iconic roles in Legally Blonde and Sweet Home Alabama, the Oscar winner appeared in a photoshoot for Seventeen magazine when she was just 15 years old. The photoshoot featured a young Witherspoon posing alongside her co-star, Emily Warfield, ahead of the release of their 1991 film, The Man in the Moon – Witherspoon’s first movie role.

“Throwback to my very first photo shoot ever for Seventeen magazine,” the 46-year-old actor captioned her post on Sunday. In the image, Witherspoon was bundled up in a wool sweater over a denim button-up shirt, and sported a blue Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap.

“I can’t believe I found this photo,” Witherspoon continued. “I remember thinking I was going to pass out from excitement, because all I ever wanted was to be in Seventeen magazine.”

The Morning Show star also added some words of wisdom to her Instagram caption: “I had no idea where this journey would take me. A reminder to keep going because you never know what’s next!”

Friends and fans of Witherspoon gushed over her throwback post in the comments section.

“Look at that FACE,” commented Goop CEO Gwyneth Paltrow, along with a single red heart emoji.

“I loved this movie sooooo much!!!” recalled actor America Ferrera, while Still Alice star Julianne Moore simply wrote, “Oh my goodness.”

Unsurprisingly, fans couldn’t resist drawing comparisons to Witherspoon’s daughter, Ava Phillippe. Witherspoon – who shares daughter Ava, 23, and son Deacon, 18, with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe – has often been described as her daughter’s twin, despite the fact that she doesn’t see the resemblance as much. She also shares her 10-year-old son, Tennessee, with husband Jim Toth.

“Omg your daughter is your twin,” said one fan.

Another fan said: “The resemblance is just stunning.”

“Such a wonderful movie! You look exactly like your daughter here,” a third person wrote.

One user claimed they “thought this was your daughter” in Witherspoon’s post, while someone else asked: “This isn’t Ava? Sheesh.”

Earlier this month, Reese Witherspoon appeared on Today with Hoda & Jenna and discussed her relationship with her two eldest children. When co-hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb pointed out the resemblance between Witherspoon and her daughter, calling them “twins”, Witherspoon admitted that the two of them don’t necessarily feel the same way.

“You think so? You see it? [Ava] and I don’t see it that much,” she said.

While Witherspoon may not always see the resemblance between herself and her daughter, that doesn’t mean she won’t welcome the comparisons. During an interview with Gayle King for InStyle’s December 2021 issue, the Big Little Lies star said she “loves” when fans mistake her for Ava because it makes her “feel so young”.

“Well, I love being mistaken for her because it makes me feel so young. I’m so proud of her. She really rolls with it. I’m sure it’s not easy looking exactly like your mother,” Witherspoon said.