From being the power couple of the 90s to raising standards on successful co-parenting, Hollywood darling Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe have come far as both actors and parents. The couple captured the public with their sizzling chemistry in the movie Cruel Intentions and quickly became the talk of the town. The young couple quickly got married and had two beautiful children, Ava and Deacon. However after a blissful few years, the couple fell apart and soon got divorced. Whilst their love for one another might have disappeared, the ex-couple continued to be tied together because of their children. And now both of those children have grown up to become their own person. Especially their eldest daughter Ava, who the press calls the exact clone of her mother. So, what more do we know about Ava Elizabeth Phillipe? Let’s find out.
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Ava’s Parents Married Young
Contrary to the beliefs of many, Ava’s parents Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe first met each other at Reese’s 21st birthday party in 1997. The couple hitted it off and quietly started to date. Reminiscing the moment she met her future husband in a 1998 interview with Jane Magazine, Witherspoon said,
“I don’t know what came over me, maybe the seven Midori sours, but I told him, ’I think you’re my birthday present.’ He thought it was so flattering and now that I think about it… how embarrassing!”
It didn’t take long before the couple moved to the next step of their relationship and got engaged after a year of meeting. They both starred in the Cruel Intentions alongside Sarah Michelle Geller and Selma Blair that helped catapult the couple’s career to the next level. Just a few months after the release of the movie, the couple officially tied the knot in Charleston, South Caroline at the Old Wide Awake Plantation along the Stono River. At the time of their wedding, Witherspoon was several months pregnant with the couple’s first child, Ava.
Ava was born three months after her parents got married
Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe welcomed their first child, a daughter Ava Elizabeth Phillipe on September 9, 1999, just three months after they tied the knot. Ava was named after the actress Ava Gardner who according to Witherspoon was the only woman to break Frank Sinatra. The middle name Elizabeth is an ode to Reese’s mother who is one of the closest people in her life.
Ava’s mother was just 23 years old at the time of her birth and she later talked about the hardship of being a young mother. During an appearance in the Drew Barrymore Show, she revealed that she was extremely frightened about what her future had in store after being pregnant at a young age. She said,
“To be completely candid, I was terrified too. I got pregnant when I was 22 years old, and I didn’t know how to balance work and motherhood, you just do it.”
She added,
“I was just like every other mom and dad trying to figure it out.”
Ava has Three Younger Siblings
On October 23, 2003 Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe welcomed their second child. Ava’s younger brother is named Deacon Reese Phillippe. Since both Ava and Deacon grew up under the scrutiny of the media, we all have seen them grow up right before our eyes. Maybe because of everything they have gone through adjusting with two different living situations, the siblings are very close to one another.
After her parents divorced, her mother Reese went on to marry Jim Toth with whom she shares a son Tennessee who was born in 2012. Ava also shares a very sweet bond with her half brother Ten despite having a considerably large age gap. On one of her birthday tributes for Tennessee, she mentioned that she was worried about their 13 years age gap. She captioned, “ I once worried about our 13-year age gap, getting to share some of my favorite childhood movies, shows, books, activities, and memories with him has been the greatest gift I never saw coming.” She ended her tribute thanking her brother for making her a better older sister.
Ava also shares a half sister through her father’s side who was born on July 11, 2011. Ryan had his youngest daughter Kailani Merizalde Phillippe Knapp with his ex-girlfriend Alexis Knapp. While Ava seems to be very close with her half brother, the same cannot be said about her relationship with her half sister. They have never been publicly photographed together and Ava has yet to post anything related to her sister on her socials.
Ava Debuted at 25th annual Bal des Debutantes in Paris
At the age of 18, Ava made her debut in the society by attending the prestigious Paris Debutantes ball. She wore a dazzling gold ballgown by Giambattista Valli Haute Couture and was escorted by the Maharaja Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur. She and her partner waltzed to the song of the hit movie La La Land. Her mother, Reese also accompanied her to the event.
Ava Went to College at UC Berkeley
Ava graduated from high school in 2018 and posted a picture from her yearbook in her instagram with the caption ‘I graduated high school! 🎓💗(here’s what I looked like at the beginning of it)’.
Following her graduation, she enrolled at UC Berkeley to pursue a major in Social Welfare and graduated in 2022. Talking about her choice of major, she said,
‘Loved this major and got to take so many fascinating classes on various social/political movements, systemic inequities, psychology & the practice of social work.’
She added,
‘Even though I didn’t end up becoming a social worker, I still think what I learned in this major informs a lot of how I move through the world and my perspective on some major issues.’
Ava is Working as a Model
Ava made her debut as a model in 2018 for Rodarte’s Fall Lookbook. That same year, she also helped with her mother’s clothing company, Draper James and modeled for her brand. In 2021, she modeled for Ivy Park featuring in their 2021 holiday collection Hall of Ivy. She also partnered with Aerie and was given the opportunity to be the face for Pat McGrath Lab’s limited edition Bridgerton collection.
“I was like… Pat McGrath is DMing me? Huh?”
Ava told People Magazine talking about how the brand approached Ava.
“I have such admiration for her. And for her to even reach out to me or think of me was flattering.”
In 2024, she was also the face of the new fragrances for ‘Vince Camuto’ and has partnered with ‘Away’ to promote their luggage for travel to her 1 million Instagram followers.
She has revealed that her parents are her biggest supporters for whatever career she might pick up from now onwards.
“My parents have always encouraged me to choose the path that’s right for me and, you know, guide me along the way to make better choices than I might make,”
she said on Daily Pop in 2021.
“I’m so grateful for that. That is such a privilege to have parents that support you in that way and want you to be who you truly are meant to be.”
Is Ava Phillipe Single?
Ava is known to have dated Owen Mahoney in 2019 while they were both students at UC Berkeley. The details of their relationship have been kept under wraps so we are not able to pinpoint the exact timeline about their breakup but E! pointed that Ava had quietly taken down every post including her ex-boyfriend in the early 2024.
On Dec 3, 2024, Ava made her relationship with boyfriend Dakota Brubaker Instagram official. The 25 year old posted a series of her holiday photos including a sweet picture of Brubaker kissing her cheek. However prior to this, Ava had included Brubaker in the photo collage for her 25th birthday. Brubaker is a musician and releases his music under the name Vindigo.
Ava has been open about her sexuality
When asked about her dating preferences, she became very candid about being attracted to people. During the pride month, she went on Instagram to post a beautiful photo of her waving the pride flag with a caption, ‘Once upon a time, some gal on the internet said “gender is whatever” in reference to her own sexuality. Many took her words out of context, but she knew what she meant. Anyways, this is her posting for the first day of pride month 2024. 🌈✨’.
Is Ava Phillipe Close with her Parents?
Both Reese Witherspoon and her ex-husband Ryan Phillipe are known to be one of the few celebrities who have excelled in co-parenting their children. And it is visible with how much both of them have impacted the lives of their children. Since her teenage years, Ava has been dubbed as the lookalike of her mother and is known to have a very close relationship with her. She showers her mother with love and sweet messages on her birthday and mother’s day posts. She has also been her mother’s plus one to many important social events since her teen years.
When Ava Phillipe turned 25, her mother posted a sweet tribute on her instagram wishing her a happy birthday. She wrote, ‘Happy Birthday to my amazing daughter @avaphillippe who happens to be one of the most genuinely kind-hearted and wise people I know. I love you with all heart 💓Keep shining your beautiful light my sweet girl!’
Ava’s mother Reese has talked about how incredibly lucky she is to have a prominent relationship with her adult children.
“That makes me want to cry, the idea of having a long relationship with adult children,”
she said.
“I never expected the kind of relationship that I have with them, but it’s so rewarding to be able to have kids that you can process life with a little bit, and they help me understand the complexities of what it means to be a human now.”
Ava’s relationship with her father might be a little complicated
Ava also seems to have a close relationship with her father. During his 2007 appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Ryan talked about how following his split with ex-wife Reese, their daughter Ava had been helping him cope with the toughest time of his life.
“As difficult as it is, my daughter has been the inspiration,”
he said.
“She is beyond, in terms of conscientiousness and maturity, and she has gotten me through this. I know it sounds pathetic — I’m a 32-year-old guy, but my 7-year-old daughter is getting me through the toughest time in my life, and that’s beautiful too.”
Ryan has also talked about how incredibly proud he is of his daughter’s achievements in social media.
“Well, she has an incredibly famous mother and a moderately famous father, but that’s how that works. And also social media is largely driven by the youth and the associations made within that group. She’s incredibly talented.”
There have been few rumors that Ava might have drifted apart from her father since Ava no longer follows her father on social media. They also have not posted anything about one another in a long while. Ryan has been posting photos with his son Deacon whereas Ava has been missing in his mentions on socials. However, just because there are no social interactions on the internet, we are in no place to jump to conclusions regarding the state of their relationship.