Reese Witherspoon, 45, has transformed her role in Hollywood from movie star to business leader—and maker of her own fortune. After rising as a child actor, she shot to household-name status for 2001’s Legally Blonde, going on to win an Oscar in 2006 for Walk the Line. But even after those triumphs, for a time she struggled to find satisfying roles in Hollywood, where women’s stories have long been sidelined. She discovered a way to change that in a lifelong love: books. Celebrating books through her book club—and adapting them for the screen—is now the foundation of Witherspoon’s business at Hello Sunshine, the media company she founded in 2016, where she’s established a track record for spotting, and making, hits.

Read more about Hello Sunshine: https://time.com/collection/time100-c...
Subscribe to TIME’s YouTube channel ►► http://ti.me/subscribe-time
Subscribe to TIME: time.com/subscribe
Get the day’s top headlines to your inbox, curated by TIME editors: http://ti.me/the-brief
Follow us:
Twitter:   / time  
Facebook:   / time  
Instagram:   / time