Reese Witherspoon's Heel Appeal

Who says blondes have more fun? Reese Witherspoon suffers for her art in Legally Blonde (opening tomorrow), in which a California sorority girl goes Harvard Law — but doesn't forego her flashy designer dresses and oh-so-high heels as she struts across the school's staid campus. Too bad the actress's fetching footwear cramped her style big-time.

"Seriously, I had a huge podiatrist's bill after making this movie," Witherspoon laughs. "I'm only 25 and I'm at the podiatrist having things shaved off my feet and [getting them] cracked. It was challenging!"

While her film aims to debunk the myth that all fair-haired females are brainless bimbos, Witherspoon admits she's contended with other types of prejudice as well. "I've had to deal with stereotypes just being Southern," the Nashville native says. "People automatically think that I must have seven children and be married to my cousin."

Au contraire, Witherspoon's been wed to her comely Cruel Intentions co-star, Ryan Phillippe, for two years. And much of her time is occupied by the couple's two-year-old daughter, Ava Elizabeth. "It's like I have a whole second childhood with her, going to the playground and stuff like that," she smiles. "Sometimes I'm having more fun hanging off the monkey bars than she is!"

Raising a child under the media's glare is particularly worrisome for Witherspoon, especially because neither she nor Phillippe grew up in Tinseltown. "We really don't know what to expect," she says, "since we don't have any personal experience with it. When I do meet children of famous people, I always ask them about their experiences growing up."

At a time when plenty of Hollywood couples are hiring divorce lawyers, Witherspoon avoids drawing any comparisons to her own relationship. "I really don't feel like I have a 'Hollywood marriage,'" she muses. "I just have a marriage. There are ups and downs, and good days and bad days. I just try to live my life and not concentrate too much on what other people are doing."