Elle Woodâs perfect day at the conclusion of âLegally Blondeâ could have looked completely different â at least according to two of the filmâs actors.
And Selma Blair recently said on Evan Ross Katzâs podcast, âShut Up Evan,â she wouldâve âlovedâ this alternate ending.
Most remember the conclusion of the beloved 2001 movie with Reese Witherspoon (Elle) speaking at her Harvard Law School graduation. After she gives a speech about seeing past first impressions and believing in oneself, overlaying text explains what transpired for the movieâs major characters. One of the biggest revelations was that Elle and Blairâs character Vivian â who began the movie at odds with one another, spurred by their interest in the same man â are now best friends. It also noted that Elle was dating Luke Wilsonâs character Emmett.
But according to an oral history of âLegally Blondeâ to celebrate its 20th anniversary in the New York Times published last year, two of the filmâs actors, Jessica Cauffiel (Margot) and Alanna Ubach (Serena), said the film once had a completely different ending.
âThe first ending was Elle and Vivian in Hawaii in beach chairs, drinking margaritas and holding hands,â Cauffiel told the Times, and Ubach agreed. âThe insinuation was either they were best friends or they had gotten together romantically.â
The Times notes that the filmâs screenwriters, Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith, denied this claim, and later said they never wrote that ending during an interview with Yahoo in 2021.
When Blair was told about this alternate ending while appearing on the âShut Up Evanâ podcast this month, she was into the idea. But admitted she had never seen or heard of this ending in the past.
âNo, but I love that idea! What fun,â Blair said, adding that sheâs friends with the writers. âI wouldâve loved that so much.â
This ambiguous ending wasnât the only one Cauffiel and Ubach shared with the Times. They said there was a version in which Vivian dyed her hair blonde and another that concluded with a big musical number.
Smith did note there was an ending that was tested for audiences in which Elle was kissing Emmett as the final shot.
âWe screened the movie two or three times, and every time people didnât want to end it with a kiss,â Smith said. âThey thought it wasnât a story about [Elle] getting a boyfriend, which was really cool to have people say that.â