Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe have two children; Ava (8) and Deacon (4). Their family also includes three little dogs.

Daughter Ava Elizabeth Phillippe
Birthdate: September 9, 1999
• Born one day before Ryan turned 25-years old
• Named Ryan’s grandmother and Reese’s favorite actress, Ava Gardner

Son Deacon Reese Phillippe
Birthdate: October 23, 2003
• 4 years junior to big sister Ava
• Named after former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Deacon Phillippe, a distant relative of Ryan
• Nicknames include “D” and “Mr. Dude”

Dog Frank Sinatra
Breed: Bulldog
• Named after Ryan’s hero, Frank Sinatra
• Has a cameo in Legally Blonde 2
• Reese showed a home video starring Frank on Jay Leno in 2000
• Photos of Reese & Frank

Dog Coco Chanel
Breed: French bulldog
• Named after designer Coco Chanel

Chi Chi Rodriguez
Breed: Chihuahua
• Named after famous golfer Chi Chi Rodriguez
• Chi Chi has met Bruiser Woods but apparently did not like him very much. “I think she was probably just a little bit jealous. Bruiser is an international film star. It’s hard to deal with his ego,” Reese says.

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Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe have decided to part ways in October 2006 after seven years of marriage. We have come to the decision to keep this page as it once was to celebrate and honor their happy times together as a family. For updates on Ryan and his career, please visit Ryan is Saucy and Silver Screen Quotations.

Husband Matthew Ryan Phillippe
Birthdate September 10, 1974
Ryan Phillippe was born 10th September, 1974 in New Castle, Delaware to Richard and Susan Phillippe. His father works as a chemical technician and his mother manages a daycare center. Ryan has 3 sisters named Katelyn, Kirsten and Lindsay.

Ryan started his career in his teens after moving to New York at 17 where he played Billy Douglas, the first openly gay male teenager on daytime TV on One Life to Live. This was followed with various other primetime TV credits until he landed his first screen debut as a crewman in Crimson Tide. His mark was made however with films like White Squall, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Playing by Heart and the fan classic, in which he starred with his wife, Reese Witherspoon, Cruel Intentions.

Ryan is a huge fan of Frank Sinatra, for both his music and as an interesting character in history. As a tribute he and Reese named their bulldog after the singer. Along with being an actor, Ryan is also a business man. With his long-time friends Breckin Meyer, Seth Green, and David E. Siegal, together they run a production company called Lucid Films. Ryan is becoming more actively involved in his films as a producer. His current film is the Oscar winning Crash and he is currently working on several exciting films.

Their Story
In 1997 while filming Pleasantville, Reese was celebrating her 21st birthday party where she met a special someone called Ryan Phillippe. Unbeknown to Ryan, though, Reese had invited him hoping they would have a chance to meet. By the end of the night Reese was cooing to Ryan “I think you’re my birthday present.” The next morning at 6am, Ryan had to fly out to shoot a movie in North Carolina. Whilst apart Reese says, “We had this very Edith Wharton courtship where we were writing letters and sending novels. I went to visit him two months later, and I knew.”

Reese proudly announced to the world that she and Ryan were expecting their first child and six months later while 7 months pregnant, married her sweetheart in a private ceremony on a plantation in Charleston on June 5, 1999. On September 9, Reese and Ryan welcomed a baby girl, Ava Elizabeth, into the world. When asked today if she believes 22 is a responsible age to start a family, Reese says, “I don’t think my life decisions are the perfect decision’s for anyone else, but I wasn’t 22 when I was 22. I’d been so many places and had really grown up so much, and Ryan was sort of the same way – very beyond his years.”

Reese and Ryan have always kept a low profile on the Hollywood circuit choosing only to venture out to their own media appearances and avoid the paparazzi where possible, which often proves impossible given their status. Keeping with their relatively low-key family driven life style, Reese and Ryan often express their desire to raise their children in a non-Hollywood manner, instead giving them well respected values from the South, where Reese and Ryan were both born and are proud of to this day.

On 23rd October 2003 another Phillippe was added to the brood, a baby boy named Deacon, or Mister Dude or Baby D as his parents often call him. Deacon was welcomed with wide arms from his big sister Ava. To keep the family together at all times, Reese and Ryan take it in turns making movies. The children and non-working parent are on set at all times.

When asked what she likes about Ryan, Reese says “I love a lot of stuff about him. He’s intensely creative, well read and intellectually challenging. That’s what I always imagined for myself in a partner: somebody you could have a dinner conversation with. I’m always picking his brain, and he always has a great answer. Beyond that, he’s fun. He’s also great with my daughter. We both love children so much. That’s a huge thing for me, too. I wouldn’t want this life without children. It’s a big part of who I am.”

Like with any marriage, Reese and Ryan’s is ordinary. It is a marriage that requires long term commitment. Both Reese and Ryan have previously admitted that the pair had been in marriage counseling to keep their marriage strong. This saw tabloid gossip magazines go wild with dollar signs in their eyes and for months afterwards, various gossip magazines the world over reported on so called ‘exclusive’ stories of a marriage crisis, infidelity and every other crazy story imaginable to a gossip magazine. Celebrating her five year wedding anniversary with Ryan last year, Reese said, “I feel like that whole thing got misconstrued. People were not nice about it. They thought it connoted big dark clouds on our lives. Since when it self-improvement a negative? Why wouldn’t I be interested in psychology?”

Obviously, as we can see today, Reese and Ryan’s marriage is going strong due to their love, hard work and commitment. And while these love birds did marry young in today’s standards and are one of Hollywood’s hottest couples, one cannot help but admire them for their integrity, for keeping it real. You will not find any Hollywood drama here, rather a loving family who work hard for what they have, are grounded by admirable southern values and are united by love.

October 30, 2006 – TMZ breaks the news of Reese and Ryan’s break up. The couple’s representative released a statement to TMZ Monday morning that said:

“We are saddened to announce that Reese & Ryan have decided to formally separate. They remain committed to their family and we ask that you please respect their privacy and the safety of their children at this time.”

November 9, 2006 – Reese officially filed for divorce from Ryan nine days after the couple announced their separation. She cited irreconcilable differences as the reason. In her petition to Los Angeles Superior Court, Witherspoon sought custody of the couple’s two children, sole use of the family home and asked that Ryan be denied spousal support. Reese did request that he be granted visitation rights for the children.

September 11, 2007 – Reese speaks out for the first time about her divorce from Ryan to Elle magazine. (view scans).

“Right around Christmas-time I was sitting in a parking lot and I felt like I just couldn’t get out of the car. It was like, I can’t get out of the car. Any I though, okay, half of the parking lot has dealt with this. More than half of the parking lot has dealt with this. Okay, let’s make it a little bigger. Half of this city has dealt with this. Okay, let’s make it a little bigger-half of this country, until I finally got out of the car. It was like, it’s okay. It’s okay. There’s this moment in Walk the Line where June Carter says, ‘I was never aware of how much I was seen.’ I was very aware of how much I was seen. It was this moment of self-discovery and loss of identity and who was stepping out of the car-you know? Who is that person? Should I not be this honest?”

October 10, 2007 – The former couple’s union was officially terminated, with the Los Angeles Superior Court reinstating the Reese and Ryan are cleared to remarry. (read full article).