I Totally See Why Ryan Phillippe Thinks Daughter Ava Looks Like Him And Not His Ex Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon with her daughter Ava and son Deacon on the red carpet.
(Image credit: (Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for The Hollywood Reporter))

A lot of celebrities have kids that practically look like their doppelgängers, but when it comes to the offspring of Ryan Phillippe and his ex Reese Witherspoon, there’s actually quite a lot to debate. The Internet is fond of calling out Reese and her now-adult daughter Ava for twinning, but if you were to ask the brief Big Sky star, she’s a daddy’s girl – at least when it comes to how she looks. 

I’d have to agree. 

This past week, Reese posted a photo of herself and Ava, which obviously went viral because at a quick glance the two do look awfully alike. Both have the exact same blonde tone to their hair, not to mention similar eyes and both wore semi-matching strapless dresses to a recent Oceana Sea Change event. Reese even called herself and her daughter “the perfect duo” in a recent Instagram Post. Then, she also shared this look to her Stories:  

Screenshot of Ava and Reese from Instagram Stories

(Image credit: Reese Witherspoon)

What Ryan Phillippe Has Said About His Kids Looking Like Him

It’s no wonder people described the two as twinning, but if you were to ask Witherspoon and Philippe, they actually have a different take. In fact, Ryan Phillippe has shared in the past that the couple feels Ava actually looks way more like him while Deacon, 19, looks more like the Wild star. 

Quite often, the interpretation in the media is that she looks exactly like her mom and he looks exactly like me, but I think we both feel differently about it.

In fact, while you might see a “father-son resemblance,”  he feels Ava in general resembles his side of the family while Deacon looks like his Mama. 

What Do Fans Of The A-Listers Think?

A lot of fans seem to agree... with both sides. On the one hand, a slew of them commented on Reese’s post to explain that while Ava, 23, is beautiful, she doesn't resemble her Mama very much. 

  • Why do ya’ll always say TWINS? They’re both very beautiful women, but Ava is the twin of her father. Deacon looks just like Reese.
  • Ava looks like her dad but Deacon is mama’s twin ❤️❤️❤️!! Beauties for sure 🙌🙌
  • Naaa she is the female version of her father 🙌 😍🔥

One would think this would be enough evidence to indicate people were here for Ryan Phillippe's opinion about his kids and the parent they most look like. However, the Internet can be a fickle beast and a lot of other people feel Ava and Reese do clearly resemble one another.

  • Actual twins!
  • Literally twins
  • is [it] legal to clone women? 😂

So, Ryan Phillippe’s own comments certainly haven’t stopped people from thinking the mother-daughter duo resembles one another. In fact, some have even called for Ava to appear in a Legally Blonde sequel to further pay homage to her famous mother. Mindy Kaling also spoke out about her possibly joining Legally Blonde 3, noting it would need to be something Witherspoon “wanted.”  

In another post Ava recently shared, she threw on a glossy smile that makes it easy to see how people compare her to her famous mom, muddling the matter further.

Honestly, maybe it just depends on the angle. 

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.