Lexi Minetree Cast as Young Elle Woods in Legally Blonde Prequel

LOS ANGELES, CA — Lexi Minetree has been cast as the young Elle Woods in the upcoming prequel series ‘Elle’ on Prime Video. The series, which explores the high school years of the iconic character before she attends Harvard Law School, marks Minetree’s first lead television role.

Reese Witherspoon, who portrayed Elle Woods in the original ‘Legally Blonde’ films, made the announcement on Instagram, stating, “Allow me to introduce you to the new Elle Woods! After watching so many incredible auditions for the new Elle prequel series on @PrimeVideo, we finally found our Elle. And today, I got to break the news myself! Meet @leximinetree.”

The official logline describes ‘Elle’ as a story that reveals the life experiences that shaped Woods into the beloved character audiences first met in the 2001 film. Witherspoon described the casting process as rewarding, stating, “It has been so fun to watch all the audition tapes.”

Minetree’s previous credits include appearances on ‘Law & Order: SVU’ and several TV movies. She is represented by Stewart Talent, Framework Entertainment, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.

The series will be created by Laura Kittrell, who serves as co-showrunner alongside Caroline Dries. Along with Witherspoon, the executive producing team includes Lauren Neustadter and Lauren Kisilevsky of Hello Sunshine and Marc Platt, who produced the original films.

The ‘Legally Blonde’ franchise has been a commercial success since its debut, with the first film grossing over $140 million worldwide. A sequel, ‘Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde,’ followed in 2003, and a stage musical premiered in 2007, receiving numerous awards. While a direct-to-video third film was released in 2009, Witherspoon was involved as a producer but did not reprise her role.

With anticipation building, fans are eager to see how Minetree will portray the character that has become a cultural icon. The series is set to highlight Elle’s formative years, providing a deeper understanding of her character development prior to the original film.