Reese Witherspoon Gives Update on Dad John's Hospitalization - American Focus

Reese Witherspoon has provided an update regarding her father, John Witherspoon, who was hospitalized.

Reese, who is 50, shared on her Instagram Stories on Friday, August 7, “Earlier today, several outlets reported that my dad was taken to the hospital. I want to let everyone know that he is fine now. He is being taken care of by wonderful doctors and nurses.”

She added, “Thank you to everyone who reached out. It means the world to our family.”

Reese, the daughter of John, 84, and Betty Witherspoon, also has a brother, John D. Witherspoon. Both Reese and her brother have started their own families. Reese is the mother of Ava, 26, and Deacon, 22, with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, and Tennessee, 13, with her ex-husband Jim Toth.

Reflecting on her early days as a parent during The New York Times’ “The Interview” podcast in September 2025, Reese said, “There was so much I didn’t know. Maybe that naïveté was good because it’s like, ‘Oh, I’ll just do that and have a career.’ And I did have a few people say to me, ‘This is going to be really hard on your career.’”

reesewitherspoon_ — Courtesy of Reese Witherspoon/Instagram

She elaborated, “There were roles I couldn’t take. I had to have this immediate balance of family and career, being a mom and being a working actress. That’s why it was also scary when Legally Blonde became such a big hit. I wasn’t going to beg for parts; parts were coming to me. And that almost made it scarier because I wasn’t picking and choosing what I would reach and strive for. It was more like, what will I not do?”

Reese, who became a mother to Ava at 23, reflects on how her parenting journey has evolved as her children have grown.

“It is about honesty. First of all, you know, you’re managing them a lot when they’re little. It is very physical,” Witherspoon shared during an October 2022 appearance on the Today show. “And then, it is more emotional support and suggestions — not telling them what to do when they get a little bit older. But you have to really nurture your adult relationships with your children, too, and give them respect and space to become who they are and not who you want them to be.”

Reese was married to Phillippe, 51, from 1999 to 2007, later agreeing to amicably coparent Ava and Deacon. The Legally Blonde star moved on with Toth, 56, and they were married from 2011 to 2023.