All About Ava Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe’s Daughter
Reese Witherspoon’s oldest daughter Ava Phillippe has been famous since her teens for looking so much like her famous mother. The now 25-year-old has done quite a lot to establish her own identity, even though she clearly admires her mom and has followed in some of her entertainment footsteps. That’s only natural, since her dad is also in the industry.
Witherspoon and actor Ryan Phillippe even starred in a film together, the cult hit Cruel Intentions. The former couple was married for seven years before finally splitting in 2006. They continued to have a co-parenting relationship with Ava and her brother Deacon.
Here’s everything we know about the eldest Phillippe child.
When was Ava Phillippe born?Ryan and Witherspoon welcomed Ava two months after they got married, in September 1999. In a 2008 interview with Jay Leno, Ryan said they named her after the actress Ava Gardner.
“My daughter’s name is Ava,” he explained. “Ava Gardner, because to me she was the only woman who could break Sinatra. So the idea of that name to me is very classy and strong.”
Her middle name is Elizabeth in honor of Witherspoon’s mom. In a 2021 appearance on The View, Witherspoon shared how being away from her family when Ava was born was very challenging.
“I lived away from my mother. My mom had a full-time job as a nurse and I had a baby really young—I was 23 years old—and so I was raising her by myself,” she said. “I don’t have any sisters, I don’t have any aunts. I was alone in a new city, in Los Angeles, and I literally had no friends. I would cry.”
In 2003, Witherspoon and Ryan welcomed their second child, Deacon. Witherspoon went on to have another child with her second husband, Jim Toth, in 2012 whom they named Tennessee.
Ava has said she is very close to her siblings, even though there’s a big age gap between her and her half-brother.
“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 wrote in a tribute on Instagram.
She and Deacon are also close and often attend events together.
Ava attended college at UC Berkeley before investigating different career paths. She has already had some success as a model.
“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.”
Her modeling debut was in 2018, for Rodarte’s fall lookbook. She also posed that same year for her mom’s clothing company, Draper James. She has modeled for Ivy Park in their 2021 holiday collection Hall of Ivy, partnered with Aerie, and was the face of Pat McGrath Labs’ limited-edition Bridgerton collection that same year.
“I was like...Pat McGrath is DMing me? Huh?” Ava told People at the time. “I have such admiration for her. And for her to even reach out to me or think of me was flattering.”
Is Phillippe pursuing acting?It appears so! The 25-year-old is set to make her acting debut as Veronica in Doctor Odyssey, which premieres on April 3, 2025. She channeled her mom’s iconic Legally Blonde character Elle Woods by wearing a pink string bikini when making the announcement.
Ava frequently posts pictures of her original paintings, photos, and poetry on her Instagram. She’s also a committed dog mom to her rescue, Benji, whom she adopted in 2020.
In a June 2021 Interview magazine interview, Witherspoon talked about how close she is with her kids.
“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.”
In May 2023, Ava gushed about her mom for Mother’s Day.
“Gosh I love sharing life with you,” she said.
Does she have a partner?It appears so. On Dec. 3, 2024, Ava made her relationship with Dakota Brubaker Instagram official. The 25-year-old shared an Instagram of holiday photos and included a shot of Brubaker kissing her cheek. Brubaker is a musician who performs under the name Vindigo.
She captioned the post, “happy y’all-idays.”
Brubaker shared the same photo on his own Instagram. He also included another shot of them at The Hollywood Reporter’s Next Gen 2024 event, which took place on November 20.
In his caption, Brubaker wrote, “Happy Honda Days [some highlights from my life as of late].” Ava continued the Honda holidays commercial joke in the comments section, writing, “gonna be a real December-to-remember (sales event).”
Prior to their big December reveal, Ava hinted she was dating Brubaker in September. Ava celebrated her birthday with an Instagram that included a photo of her resting her head on Brubaker’s chest.
This is not Ava’s first time sharing a relationship publicly. Before Brubaker, Ava dated Owen Mahoney in 2019 while they were both students at UC Berkeley. She did not share when their relationship ended, but they were over before summer 2024. In June 2024, E! pointed out that Ava had quietly taken down all her posts with Mahoney.
At that point, Ava wrote about her sexuality on Instagram. “Once upon a time, some gal on the internet said ‘gender is whatever’ in reference to her own sexuality,” she shared. “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. 🌈✨🪩🫶🏻”
On Christmas day, Witherspoon shared a carousel of pics from her holiday, which included Ava, Deacon, and Tennessee.
“Wishing all you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 🎄💫❤️,” she captioned the images. In the pictures, Ava is wearing all black, including a long black trench coat, a black turtleneck, and black leather pants. In a close-up of the three kids, Ava has her hair up and is wearing red lipstick.
In June 2025, Phillippe responded to a comment on TikTok saying “Welcome back Reese & Ryan!” insinuating that her boyfriend resembles her dad, Ryan Phillippe.
Looking at the camera in horror and disgust, Ava ways her hands and Brubaker dips in to stare at the camera. They set the clip to “Bitter Sweet Symphony” by The Verve, which played at the end of Cruel Intentions.
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