American actress and comedian June Diane Raphael is probably best known for playing the strong-willed Brianna in Grace and Frankie. Now, she’s taking on a new role as Eva Woods in Elle, the Legally Blonde (2001) prequel series, playing the mother of the hyper-pink Elle Woods.
We caught up with the actor to talk about her longtime affinity for Legally Blonde, working alongside rising star Lexi Minetree, and why the hyper-feminine, hyper-blonde and hyper-pink Elle is just as important now as she was more than 20 years ago.
Stream Elle from 1 July 2026 on Prime Video with a 7 day FREE trial. Subscribe here.
Were you a fan of the original Legally Blonde movies?
I was a huge fan of Legally Blonde – the movie came out during such a formative time of my life. I know I’m not the only woman in my age group who’s going to be watching this and that’s one of the cool things about my character. I feel like I’m there for the women who saw it when we were Elle Woods’ age in the prequel as it was really important to us.
Elle and her mum Eva, have a really close relationship. How was it working with Lexi Minetree?
Lexi is a find! There is something so deeply, internally Elle Woods about Lexi. I loved working with her. It was very special, the honour of my professional career, to be a voice for her that could help her advocate for what she needed. Much like our mother-daughter relationship on the show, I also learned from her – it was a really special experience.
Elle’s parents feature much more prominently in Elle than they did in the movies – did this give you creative freedom when approaching the role?
The Eva Woods in Elle has a fuller life, she’s more polished and more passionate about motherhood. She’s really going through her own coming-of-age story. As a mum who has devoted your life to your kids, to see them grow up and maybe not need you as much as they did is a huge turning point. So Eva’s also trying to figure out what she wants to be now that she’s “grown up”.
How do you think audiences who were teenagers in 1995 might feel about Eva?
It’s such a weird experience talking to Lexi about what it was to be 15 in 1995, which I was. What the character Elle Woods meant, what that time was, and why it was so important. Seeing a character who was hyper-feminine, hyper-blonde, hyper-pink and having her succeed without denying any of that was so important for my generation of women. It is still so important to remind our girls that they do not have to sacrifice who they are to do what they want. I’m really excited because I get to stand in for so many of the women who saw it at that age. And Eva gets to stand in and say, ‘Hey, I’m a mum that’s figuring it out, and I care deeply, I love deeply and sometimes I’m really wrong, but ultimately, my heart is always right.’
Stream Elle from 1 July 2026 on Prime Video with a 7 day FREE trial. Subscribe here.
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- Your first look at Elle, the Legally Blonde prequel
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