# Legally Blonde (franchise)

Legally Blonde is an American media franchise created by Amanda Brown. It consists of American comedy films, a Broadway musical, a reality television series, and an upcoming television series. The films include two theatrical releases, one musical television film, one straight-to-home video release, and a third theatrical film in development. The installments follow the comical adventures of Elle Woods, portrayed by actress Reese Witherspoon in the films, a blonde California University of Los Angeles sorority president, who enrolls in law school.

## Origin

The media franchise is based on the 2001 novel, Legally Blonde, written by Amanda Brown. The novel was based on Brown's experiences while enrolled in Stanford Law School.
Elle Woods, a blonde California University of Los Angeles sorority president and homecoming queen, is deeply in love with her college sweetheart, Warner Huntington III. When Warner enrolls in Harvard Law School and aims to find a girl more serious than Elle to be his wife, Elle schemes a plan to follow him there to win him back.

## Films

| Film | U.S.release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producers |
| Legally Blonde | July 13, 2001 (2001-07-13) | Robert Luketic | Kirsten Smith & Karen McCullah Lutz | Kirsten Smith & Karen McCullah Lutz | Marc Platt & Ric Kidney |
| Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde | July 2, 2003 (2003-07-02) | Charles Herman-Wurmfeld | Kate Kondell | Eve Ahlert, Dennis Drake & Kate Kondell | Marc Platt, David Nicksay, Jennifer Simpson & Stephen Traxler |

### Legally Blonde (2001)

Former Sorority President Elle Woods is happy and in love with her boyfriend. She wants nothing more than to be married, and become Mrs. Warner Huntington III. Huntington, however will not propose stating that she is "too blonde". Determined to win him over, and prove to herself that there's more to her than her looks, Elle rallies all of her resources and applies for the law program at Harvard University.

### Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003)

Elle travels to Washington, D.C., determined to present her stance for animal rights. Ignored by every one she encounters, she learns that the Capitol can be more difficult to navigate than The Ivy League university law school from which she attained her J.D. degree. After befriending, and gaining the sympathy of a Massachusetts congresswoman named Victoria Rudd, Elle attains the chance of getting to present her arguments. To make a difference, she must convince the Legislature to take her seriously.

### Legally Blonde 3 (TBA)

In June 2018, Reese Witherspoon entered negotiations with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to produce and star in a third installment in the Legally Blonde film series. Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith were hired as co-screenwriters. MGM later confirmed in a Twitter post that Legally Blonde 3 was set to be released on May 8, 2020, though it did not meet this date. In May 2020, it was announced that Mindy Kaling and Dan Goor would write an entirely new script for the film.

## Television series
### Elle (2025)

In April 2023, it was announced that after acquiring MGM, Amazon had plans to expand the franchise with a television series in development.
On May 14, 2024, Amazon Prime Video announced a new upcoming 2025 prequel series, Elle. In a statement, Reese Witherspoon, who hosted the announcement, said that viewers "will get to know how Elle Woods navigated her world as a teenager with her distinct personality and ingenuity, in ways that only our beloved Elle could do."
Witherspoon said she was inspired to create the spinoff series after watching Netflix's Wednesday starring Jenna Ortega. "I saw that Wednesday Addams show and I was like, 'Oh, she was in high school.' I loved it. I watched every episode. I thought it was amazing," Witherspoon said. "And I was like, 'We should do Elle Woods in high school because I wanted to see who she was before college, before law school. And I started having all these ideas and these amazing writers came up with a great pitch and now Amazon is making the show and it’s called Elle."

## Television films

| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producers |
| Legally Blonde | 2003 | Charles Herman-Wurmfeld | Rachel Sweet | Rachel Sweet | Marc Platt, Rachel Sweet and John Whitman |
| Legally Blonde: The Musical | October 13, 2007 (2007-10-13) | Beth McCarthy-Miller & Jerry Mitchell | Heather Hach | Heather Hach | Marta Ravin |
| Legally Blondes | April 28, 2009 (2009-04-28) | Savage Steve Holland | Chad Gomez Creasey & Dara Resnik Creasey | Chad Gomez Creasey & Dara Resnik Creasey | Marc Platt, Reese Witherspoon, Sean McNamara, Jennifer Simpson, Sara Berrisford, David Brookwell, Hudson Hickman, David Buelow and David Grace |

### Legally Blonde (2003)

Originally filmed as the pilot episode of a cancelled television series, Legally Blonde aired through private viewing television in 2003. Jennifer Hall stars as Elle Woods, with the series intended to adapt the many misadventures she encountered as a former-sorority sister at Harvard University. The network executives ultimately passed on ordering a season for the series. In 2017, the film was widely released on YouTube as a television film, and was received with negative reviews.

### Legally Blonde: The Musical (2007)

Three performances of the Broadway musical were filmed and aired on MTV in 2007. The television adaptation was co-directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller and Jerry Mitchell, from a script by Heather Hach, with music and lyrics were co-written by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin.

### Legally Blondes (2009)

With Elle Woods away as a successful lobbyist in Washington D.C., her two younger British cousins Annabelle "Annie" Woods and Isabelle "Izzy" Woods (played by Camilla and Rebecca Rosso) move to California to live in her home. The pair learn that they will be attending the Pacific Preparatory School and they upset the dominant social set of their fashion tastes and personalities. Originally intended as the pilot film of a cancelled television series, Legally Blondes began airing on ABC Family and Disney Channel on April 28, 2009, simultaneous with a direct-to-DVD release.

## Cast and characters

   * A dark gray cell indicates that the character was not in the film or that the character's presence in the film has yet to be announced.
   * An $^A$ indicates an appearance through archival footage or stills.
   * A $^C$ indicates a cameo role.
   * A $^U$ indicates an uncredited role.
   * A $^P$ indicates a photographic role.
| Character | Films | Films | Television series | Television films | Television films | Television films |
| Character | Legally Blonde | Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde | Elle | Legally Blonde | Legally Blonde: The Musical | Legally Blondes |
| Character | 2001 | 2003 | 2025 | 2003 | 2007 | 2009 |
| Elle Woods | Reese Witherspoon | Reese Witherspoon | Lexi Minetree | Jennifer Hall | Laura Bell Bundy | Reese Witherspoon |
| Paulette Bonafonté | Jennifer Coolidge | Jennifer Coolidge | TBA | Orfeh | | |
| Emmett Richmond | Luke Wilson | Luke Wilson | TBA | | Christian Borle | |
| Bruiser Woods | Moonie | Moonie | TBA | Various dogs | Various dogs | |
| Vivian/Vivienne Kensington | Selma Blair | | TBA | Kate Shindle | |
| Margot Chapman | Jessica Cauffiel | Jessica Cauffiel | TBA | | Annaleigh Ashford | |
| Serena McGuire | Alanna Ubach | Alanna Ubach | TBA | | Tracy Jai Edwards | |
| UPS Guy | Bruce Thomas | Bruce Thomas | TBA | | Andy Karl | |
| Warner Huntington III | Matthew Davis | | | | Richard H. Blake | |
| Professor Callahan | Victor Garber | | | | Michael Rupert | |
| Brooke Taylor-Windham | Ali Larter | | | | Nikki Snelson | |
| Chutney Windham | Linda Cardellini | | | | Kate Wetherhead | |
| Dewey Newcombe | John Kapelos | | | | Andy Karl | |
| Enid Wexler | Meredith Scott Lynn | | | | Natalie Joy Johnson | |
| Enrique Salvatore / Nikos | Greg Serano | | | | Manuel Herrera | |
| Mrs. Woods (Elle's mother)Courtney & Whitney | Tane McClure | | | | Gaelen Gilliland | |
| Mr. Woods (Elle's father) | James Read | | | | Kevin Pariseau | |
| Chuck / Carlos | Jason Christopher | | | | Matthew Risch | |
| Judge Marina R. Bickford | Francesca P. Roberts | | | | Amber Efé | |
| DA Joyce Riley | Shannon O'Hurley | | | | Michelle Kittrell | |
| Arrogant Aaron | Kelly Nyks | | | | Noah Weisberg | |
| Professor Elspeth Stromwell | Holland Taylor | | | | | |
| David Kidney | Oz Perkins | | | | | |
| Harvard Admissions Counselor | Wayne Federman | | | | | |
| Mrs. Windham-Vandermark | Raquel Welch | | | | | |
| Amy | Kimberly McCullough | | | | | |
| CULA Advisor | Allyce Beasley | | | | | |
| Tiffany Donohugh | | Jennifer Tisdale | | | | Brittany Curran |
| Victoria Rudd | | Sally Field | | | | |
| Grace Rossiter | | Regina King | | | | |
| Sid Post | | Bob Newhart | | | | |
| Stan Marks | | Bruce McGill | | | | |
| Libby Hauser | | Dana Ivey | | | | |
| Bruiser's Mom | | Gidget | | | | |
| Reena Giuliani | | Mary Lynn Rajskub | | | | |
| Timothy McGinn | | J. Barton | | | | |
| Kevin | | Sam Pancake | | | | |
| Security Guard | | Octavia Spencer | | | | |
| Becky | | Sarah Shahi | | | | |
| Congressional Intern | | Masi Oka | | | | |
| Pilar | | | | | Asmeret Ghebremichael | |
| Pforzhiemer | | | | | Jason Gillman | |
| Annabelle "Annie" Woods | | | TBA | | | Camilla Rosso |
| Isabelle "Izzy" Woods | | | TBA | | | Rebecca Rosso |
| Headmistress Elsa Higgins | | | | | | Lisa Banes |
| Mr. Richard Woods | | | | | | Christopher Cousins |
| Mr. Gary Golden | | | | | | Curtis Armstrong |
| Sylvia | | | | | | Rose Abdoo |
| Christopher Lopez | | | | | | Bobby Campo |
| Justin Whitley | | | | | | Chad Broskey |
| Ashley Meadows | | | | | | Chloe Bridges |
| Ms. Chang | | | | | | Amy Hill |
| Brad Wellington | | | | | | Christoph Sanders |
| Marcie | | | | | | Tanya Chisholm |
| Vivek | | | | | | Kunal Sharma |
| Rainbow | | | | | | Teo Olivares |

### Reality series

A reality competition television series in conjunction with the musical titled Legally Blonde: The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods debuted on MTV in 2008. The show debuted on June 2, 2008 as a competition show, where the winner would be cast in the lead role. Bailey Hanks ultimately won, and in addition to being cast in the starring role, was given the opportunity to record her own single of the musical's first-act number titled, "So Much Better". The show concluded on July 21, 2008. Autumn Hurlbert was the runner up. She served as Hanks' understudy and performed in the ensemble of the show. Bundy's last performance in the musical was on July 20, 2008. Hanks began performances on July 23, 2008 and remained with the show until it closed on October 19, 2008.

## Stage

A Legally Blonde musical debuted in 2007, with music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. It premiered in pre-Broadway tryouts in San Francisco, California. In April 2007 the show moved to Broadway, opening to mixed reviews. Jerry Mitchell directed and choreographed. The original cast starred Laura Bell Bundy as Elle, Christian Borle as Emmett and Richard H. Blake as Warner. It received seven Tony nominations and ten Drama Desk nominations but did not win any.

## Novels

Following the release of the feature film, a series of teenage novels based jointly on the original book and the film series followed. Written by Natalie Standiford, the book series follows the continued adventures of Elle Woods.

## Reception
### Box office and financial performance

| Film | Box office gross | Box office gross | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Box office ranking | Budget | Worldwide Total income | Ref. |
| Film | North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All-time North America | All-time worldwide | Budget | Worldwide Total income | Ref. |
| Legally Blonde | $96,493,426 | $45,315,809 | $141,809,235 | #786 | #1,872 | $18,000,000 | $123,809,235 | |
| Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde | $90,639,088 | $34,700,000 | $125,339,088 | #843 | #2,221 | $45,000,000 | $80,339,088 | |

### Critical response

| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | Cinemascore |
| Legally Blonde | 71% (150 reviews) | 59 (32 reviews) | A− |
| Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde | 37% (156 reviews) | 47 (39 reviews) | B |