More than 20 years after Legally Blonde (2001) and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003), Prime Video has released the the first official teaser trailer alongside first-look photos for Elle, the highly anticipated prequel series covering lead protagonist Elle Woods’ formative high school years.
Introduced to the big screen in the same year that ‘girl power’ was added to the Oxford English Dictionary, Legally Blonde‘s Elle Woods is one of those rare film characters who leaves a lasting mark on your worldview.
Played by Reese Witherspoon in the original films, the loveable Elle is full of unwavering optimism and a strong sense of justice. Although she’s a Delta Nu sorority president with a penchant for the colour pink, she’s proof that you should never judge a book by its cover. In a bid to win back her ex-boyfriend Warner, she aces her LSAT with an impressive score of 179 to secure a place at Harvard Law School. After all, this is the girl who was warned by her career counsellor that she wouldn’t impress the Ivy League admissions committee with a thesis on the “History of Polka Dots”.
Produced by Amazon MGM Studios in association with Reese Witherspoon-founded media company Hello Sunshine, the prequel series stars Lexi Minetree as Elle Woods, and will debut exclusively on Prime Video on 1 July 2026, with a second season already in the works.
Read on for everything you need to know about the prequel, including where to watch Elle in New Zealand, and a look back at some of the most iconic moments from Legally Blonde.
Stream Elle from 1 July 2026 on Prime Video with a 7 day FREE trial. Subscribe here.
What happens in season 1 of Elle?
Set during her high school years, Elle follows a younger Elle (played by Lexi Minetree) as she encounters complicated friendships and romances, all while staying true to her unapologetic fashion choices.
Through it all, she leans heavily on her parents, particularly her mother Eva, as her trajectory begins to shape the ambition and conviction we see in Legally Blonde.
Who is Lexi Minetree?
Stepping into Elle’s pink sparkly heels is Lexi Minetree, an up-and-coming actress hailing from Georgia and a theatre graduate of the University of Southern California.
Minetree has previously appeared in the television series Law & Order: SVU (2024) and in true-crime (and inspired) plotlines like The Murdaugh Murders, Crowdsource Murder, and The Paramedic Who Stalked Me.
Unsurprisingly, Minetree bears numerous parallels to Reese Witherspoon. Both are from the deep south, with a bright, bubbly presence that you can’t help but be drawn towards.
Who else stars in Elle?
The season one cast features Lexi Minetree as Elle Woods, June Diane Raphael as Elle’s mother, Eva, and Tom Everett Scott as her father, Wyatt.
They’re joined by Jacob Moskovitz, Gabrielle Policano, Chandler Kinney, Zac Looker, and Amy Pietz.
Other recurring cast members include Jessica Belkin, Danielle Chand, Matt Oberg, Chloe Wepper, Logan Shroyer, Sharon Taylor, David Burtka, Brad Harder, Kayla Maisonet, Lisa Yamada, and James Van Der Beek.
Does Reese Witherspoon make a cameo in Elle?
There’s currently no confirmation of an on-screen cameo. However, Witherspoon is heavily involved in shaping the series through her production company, Hello Sunshine, and will no doubt act as a creative custodian of sorts for Elle’s character.
While there was speculation that Witherspoon’s daughter and doppleganger, Ava Phillippe, who is pursuing a career in acting, would take the role of Elle, she won’t be appearing in the series this time round.
Watch the Elle teaser trailer:
Iconic moments from Legally Blonde 1 & 2
1. Elle Wood’s absurd Harvard video essay showcases a hilarious balance of satire and sincerity, which opens with her wearing a pink bikini while sitting in a hot tub. Highlights include:
- Elle introduces her dog “Bruiser Woods” and herself as both being “Gemini vegetarians”.
- She showcases her eye for style by proudly recounting how, when seeing Cameron Diaz at Fred Segal, she talked her out of buying a “truly heinous angora sweater” on the reasoning that “Whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously disturbed”.
- She references her ability to “recall hundreds of important details at the drop of a hat” by recalling the plot detail of yesterday’s Days of Our Lives episode.
- She states she feels “comfortable using legal jargon in everyday life” by retorting to a wolf whistle with “I object!”
2. When Elle’s ex-boyfriend Warner is dumfounded that she got admitted to Harvard Law School, she quips back with “What, like it’s hard?”, embodying her underdog spirit.
3. Showing the sometimes irritating side of Elle’s relentless optimism, she introduces a “Snap Cup” to her colleagues in their drab Washington, D.C. office, encouraging them to snap in praise while reading out compliments about each other from a bedazzled cup.
4. When questioning suspect Chutney Windham in court, Elle cottons on to the fact that she can’t have washed her hair at the time her father was shot because earlier that day she got a perm. Elle references the “first cardinal rule of perm maintenance that you’re forbidden to wet your hair for at least 24 hours after getting a perm at the risk of deactivating the ammonium thioglycolate”, thereby catching Chutney out as the shooter.
5. In a quest to pass “Bruiser’s Bill” to ban animal testing for cosmetics, Elle whips out a “Double Platinum VVIP VERSACE Preferred Customer identification card” that’s “available to only those that’ve shopped on five continents”, in an attempt to bypass security at a top-secret Versace think tank that is, in reality, a lab for cosmetic testing on animals
Where can I watch Legally Blonde?
In New Zealand, you can rent, buy or stream Legally Blonde (2001) and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003) on Prime Video, Apple TV and TVNZ+.
Where can I watch Elle in New Zealand?
Stream Elle from 1 July 2026 on Prime Video with a 7 day FREE trial. Subscribe here.
All the first-look photos from Elle season one:
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