Comment on Reese Witherspoon: how she became Hollywood’s most powerful woman

As Big Little Lies opens on Sky Atlantic, its star and producer explains why she’s ‘changing the dynamic’ for women on screenFew TV dramas have been as highly anticipated as Big Little Lies, which arrives on Sky Atlantic this week. This glossy, addictive melodrama about motherhood and murder has a starry cast including Nicole Kidman, Zoe Kravitz and Laura Dern, and has been called “deeply satisfying” and “corrosively funny” by US critics.It also marks the evolution of Reese Witherspoon, its leading lady and executive producer, from America’s sweetheart to Hollywood’s most powerful female star, with an estimated net worth of $80m and a reach that goes far beyond her perky screen presence.