Reese Witherspoon Shares Adorable Childhood Photo: 'Always Energetic, Always Performing'

The actress said having a "big personality is a gift" while sharing the throwback snapshot

Reese Witherspoon Shares Adorable Childhood Photo: 'Always Energetic, Always Performing'
Reese Witherspoon. Photo:

Reese Witherspoon Instagram; Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images

Reese Witherspoon has always been a performer at heart.

The Oscar winner, 47, shared a throwback photo from her childhood on Instagram Friday to tease her next children's book, Busy Betty & the Circus Surprise, out Oct. 3. The snapshot showed a young Witherspoon smiling in a tutu.

"I can’t wait for y’all to join Betty on her next crazy adventure," the Morning Show star wrote in the caption.

"This little character is so close to my heart because she was inspired by my own personality as a child… always energetic, always performing, and always excited," continued Witherspoon.

"I hope she teaches kids that a BIG personality is a gift and that having a million questions and a billion ideas is never ever a bad thing!!"

The new picture book, also illustrated by Xindi Yan, is Witherspoon's followup to last year's first Busy Betty, which was inspired by her own adventures as a kid.

"This book was born out of my own upbringing. I was always singing, dancing and exploring," Witherspoon previously said in a statement announcing the first book.

The mom of three added, "I've been thinking about creating a children's book with realistic young female characters since I had my daughter. When I was a kid, I had a busy brain with a million ideas and more energy than most adults could manage so Betty is really based on adventures from my childhood."

Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon on Sept. 8, 2023.

Chance Yeh/Getty 

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Witherspoon, who grew up in Nashville, told WSJ Magazine back in 2017 that if acting didn't work out, she would've pursued a medical career.

"I was never going to be an actor who lives in their car because their dream was so big. [If acting didn’t work] I would have gone from Stanford to medical school and become a surgeon," she said at the time.

"Right now," she continued, "I’d probably be the premier surgeon and pediatric cardiologist at Vanderbilt University. What? I’m just being honest. I’m ambitious, and I’m over hiding that."

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