Reese's pieces

I bumped into Reese Witherspoon in a restroom in New York last year. I didn’t even know she was inside. But as soon as I saw her, I realized why a big guy in a black suit was standing at the doorway of the ladies’ room, acting as if he didn’t want to let me in. But my expression probably told him I really had to go, so he stepped aside and let me through.

And there was Reese, coming out of a toilet stall.

There was a kind of hushed let’s-give-her-some-privacy atmosphere among those inside as we said “hi” to the actress. Later, I thought, how weird that nobody rushed to her to ask for an autograph — and I don’t think it was because of the presence of her lady bodyguard inside the ladies’ room.

Maybe I should tell the story from the beginning.

It was March 2008. New York’s pre-spring chill was strong and the women wore black. Along with hundreds of mostly female journalists from all over the world, I had just heard Reese speak at the United Nations Global Summit for Women. She spoke against domestic violence and about breast cancer. In the audience were recipients and winners of Avon’s Hello Tomorrow Fund — and some victims of domestic violence who were speaking out in public to raise awareness on these issues.

So right after Reese spoke about respect, nobody was about to disrespect her by asking for an autograph right after she had just peed.

What struck fellow journalists and me at the UN about the actress was that she sounded and looked just as she does in movies. She’s petite, slim and her skin is just luminous. There is a lilt in her voice, a very faint southern accent filling the UN Hall. Reese Witherspoon seems as if she’s the sum of all her characters — the cheerfulness, though a lot more toned down, of Elle Woods (Legally Blonde), the innocence of Nicole Walker (Fear), the drive of Elizabeth Masterson (Just Like Heaven), Jennifer’s optimism that things will work out (Pleasantville), the politeness of Annette Hargrove (Cruel Intentions), the determination of Tracy Flick (Election) and the strength of Ginormica (Monsters Vs. Aliens) and her Oscar-award-winning role June Carter Cash (Walk the Line).

In 2007 Avon chose Reese as its Global Ambassador in its causes, as honorary chairman of Avon Foundation, and as brand representative. In an interview a day after the UN conference in 2008, we asked Avon CEO Andrea Jung, another powerful role model for women and for the whole of corporate America, why they chose her. 

“When we went out to select a global ambassador for the brand, we felt Reese was the perfect choice,” says Jung. “We wanted to find somebody who had a similar desire to lend her voice to the cause. She’s obviously a beautiful, talented, Oscar-winning actress. I think she’s very accessible. Everyone can relate to her, but very important to us as the honorary chairman of the foundation is that she has a great passion for women’s causes and I think it shows in the roles that she’s played and the movies she’s producing.”

So when the chance to interview Reese Witherspoon came up, I grabbed it. It was another welcome occasion to hear her speak about her advocacies — literally to just hear her, as we conducted the interview by phone patch last Tuesday at the Avon offices in Makati.

Reese has been involved in children’s causes for several years. She explains, “When I started doing some work for Save the Children and Children’s Defense Fund, I found out that what was the most important thing about taking care of children is taking care of their mothers. So when I was approached by Avon to represent their products, their sales representatives and also the foundation’s work to help women and empower them all over the world, I realized this was the best way to extend the charity work I had been doing and even reach a more international audience with the message of helping women be safer, healthier, and able to lead better lives. Avon is a company dedicated to making women’s lives better.”

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer once called Reese a “talented comedian who can perk up a scene just by marching in full of pep and drive.”

That’s what she does for these causes. Reese travels around the globe to bring her message of empowerment — and sometimes even gain inspiration from the survivors. “When we talk about one in three women dealing with violence in her life, it’s an issue that needs to be addressed.”

One of her most memorable experiences was her trip to Japan — her first ever — to talk to women about breast cancer and to launch the Women’s Empowerment Bracelet. She also spoke to three breast cancer survivors and found out there that only 12 percent of women in Japan receive regular breast cancer screening. 

“That was a very interesting experience for me because it’s a completely different culture from the one I grew up in,” she says. “The women were very brave to come forward and tell their stories and know that Avon is a company that is here to help them, and raise money and awareness about these issues.”

In Japan, Reese donned a traditional kimono and participated in the highly ritualized tea ceremony — looking every bit as beautiful as a Hollywood superstar in very Asian clothing. 

“I also was very moved by my trip to Brazil where I got to meet this woman named Maria de Peña who is a survivor of a domestic violence situation with her husband for 20 years,” she tells us. “She had been paralyzed when he shot her. To see that an entire day was devoted to celebrating this woman who had the courage to come forward and reach out to different legislators to create laws so there would be justice for those survivors. It was just a very moving day to be part of that and it’s been wonderful to travel all over the world and meet so many different people and cultures.”

On that visit she told reporters in Sao Paulo: “There isn’t a woman in the world that doesn’t have a friend or a partner who’s actually experiencing some sort of violence against them, so I think although domestic violence hasn’t happened to me personally, I certainly know women who are dealing with this struggle every day. Domestic violence affects women who are famous, who are not famous, women who have money, women who have no money. This is an issue that crosses all boundaries and it certainly affects everyone.”

Reese tells us that she also gets her children Ava and Deacon involved in her advocacies. “We talk about things that happen in our house, in our family, in our community, at school. This is a wonderful opportunity for them to see that it is so important to think about the world beyond just your doorstep. My children have been inspired by all the traveling that I’ve done; it’s important for them to reach out and help people all over the world with the issues that are facing them. Avon does incredible work in finding what those issues are, they really have the opportunity to talk to women whether they live in the country or the city, they know what their concerns are, what’s on women’s minds. It’s inspiring definitely for my children to see their mom reaching out with the message of helping women be more empowered.”

She’s certainly become a role model to a lot of little girls with her role Ginormica in the recently released film Monsters vs. Aliens. “That was fun!” she says of lending her voice to the animated film. “I’m very proud of that film because it’s the first female superhero in an animated movie and I was just really lucky to play that part. There are so many superheroes for men — Batman, Superman, Spider-Man — and when you ask little girls who their favorite is they can’t think of any female superhero. Hopefully, it will create a character that little girls can look up to, which is a great goal of mine.”

Does she like acting better than producing? “I actually enjoy both. Producing is just something I’ve started to do and acting is something I’ve done for many years. It’s fun to be an actress and be able to create characters; as a producer you worry about taking care of other people and making sure your film has the right budget and all that kind of stuff. I definitely have a passion for making films and telling stories. I always have. I’m just lucky every day that I get to do what I love to do. Certainly I’m always looking for projects talking about issues that women are dealing with; films shine a light on issues in a way that people pay attention.”

Like any other busy mother and working woman, Reese’s beauty routine has to be very basic. “I have two children, and I’m like, ‘When will I ever have time to wash my face?’” she says with a laugh. But she swears by the brand’s Solutions a.m./p.m., a protective cream that contains a light-activated delivery system that releases moisturizer as the exposure to light increases and prevents sunburn. 

“I definitely take care of my skin. I wash my face in the morning and at night, and use products that have SPF in them. It’s never too early to take care of your skin; the sun is so strong. I put it on my children, too. They fuss about it today, but one day they’ll be happy that I put sunscreen on them when they were little. When I was growing up we wore Avon’s Skin so Soft products every day because they have a sort of natural bug repellent in them and we had a lot of bugs!”

When it comes to makeup, she’s partial to “easy makeup” like eye shadows you can apply with your finger. Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey’s wife, makeup artist Jill Dempsey, creates makeup collections for Avon, which Reese loves. “I love the Glazewear lip gloss pencils by Jill Dempsey. Those are my favorites. All of Jill’s products are beautiful and easy to deal with. She makes great eyeliner pencils, lip gloss pencils and eye shadows.”

Her favorite shade of lipstick? Ruby in Gold from the 24k Gold Lipstick line. Reese describes this collection as “developed with what women have in mind — wanting to have lipstick to last for a long time but not have it dry out your lips. That’s a great thing; it makes you look soft but also puts color on your lips.”

In the past two years, Reese has been wearing a lot of Nina Ricci creations. Under the creative direction of Belgian-born designer Olivier Theyskens, the fashion house has been dressing her up in back-to-back award shows and premieres: A yellow cocktail dress at the Golden Globes, a dreamy gown at the Oscars, and for the premiere of her movie Rendition (with boyfriend Jake Gylenhaal), she wore Nina Ricci in LA and at the Rome Film Festival.

“Nina Ricci has wonderful, beautiful, feminine clothes,” Reese says of the designer that occupies the most space in her closet. 

Asked of her style icons, Reese says, “My best friend who is this beautiful woman with two children — she always looks so put-together.” After a long pause, she says, “Obviously, Audrey Hepburn, who was a wonderful, classic beauty and she had so much grace. Sophia Loren had — still has — wonderful style.” 

And this girl who taught everyone to “bend and snap” in a movie that has a perfectly beautiful blonde girl as an unlikely underdog in Harvard…why, she’s actually becoming a symbol of sisterhood and empowerment.