Reese Witherspoon is getting ready to celebrate her 50th birthday in a way that feels both personal and meaningful. 

The actress turns 50 on March 22 and shared that she’s planning a mother-son trip to Europe with her 13-year-old, Tennessee, whom she shares with ex-husband Jim Toth. 

She told Harper’s Bazaar she’s looking forward to visiting friends in Italy and simply “tootling around a little bit,” adding, “It’s just me and him — I’m excited about it!”

As she approaches a new decade, Witherspoon seems genuinely comfortable with where she is. 

“I like getting older,” she said, explaining that she appreciates feeling wiser and settled in her career. 

“I think it’s great to be wiser and understand your place in a business. I’ve worked really hard to get to that place… I feel like I’m living my purpose, for sure. I love my job. I love my fans. I’m the captain of my own destiny.”

She also reflected on becoming a mom young and how challenging it was after the 1999 birth of her first child, Ava Phillippe, now 26. Witherspoon recalled facing intense postpartum depression. 

“It was really bad,” she said, explaining that during Ava’s first six months, she was happy but also deeply emotional. 

“I just cried all the time, I was up all night, I was exhausted. It was a hormone drop I didn’t expect, which I experienced right after birth and again when I stopped nursing six months later.” 

She noted how overwhelming it felt to navigate parenting with so many outside opinions. “Everyone has an opinion,” she said. “It’s inundating.”

Over the years, her approach to parenting has shifted, especially while raising Tennessee. 

On The Interview podcast, she admitted she’s “exhausted” after 25 years of motherhood. “I’m completely wrung-out and tired,” she shared. Sometimes, she even leans on her older children, Ava and 22-year-old Deacon Phillippe, for support. 

“Whenever I lose my cool,” she said, “I turn to my youngest and I go, ‘You got to call your brother and sister. They wore me out. I’m so tired. Like, eat the cookie. Go to bed late. Just do it… but like, think about how it’s going to make you feel.’”

Even with the fatigue, Witherspoon seems to remain grounded and warm about parenting. She laughed about how far she’s come, adding, “I’ve been parenting for 25 years.”

Between a milestone birthday, travel plans with her youngest, and a candid look at her journey through motherhood, the Morning Show star seems ready to step into 50 with clarity, gratitude, and a healthy sense of humour.