Celebrity Parents Reese Witherspoon Says She's 'Lucky' to Be a Mother as She Shares Sweet Shot with Lookalike Kids Reese Witherspoon shares daughter Ava, 21, and son Deacon, 17, with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe By Nicholas Rice Nicholas Rice Instagram Twitter Nicholas Rice is an Associate Editor for PEOPLE Magazine. He began working with the brand as an Editorial Intern in early 2020, before later transitioning to a freelance role, and then staff positions soon after. Nicholas writes and edits anywhere between 7 to 9 stories per day on average for PEOPLE, spanning across each vertical the brand covers. Nicholas has previous work experience with Billboard, POPSUGAR, Bustle and Elite Daily. When not working, Nicholas can be found playing with his 5 dogs, listening to pop music or eating mozzarella sticks. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 28, 2021 04:51 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Reese Witherspoon/Instagram Reese Witherspoon is one proud mama! On Saturday, the 45-year-old actress shared a sweet snapshot to Instagram of herself posing beside her two eldest children — daughter Ava, 21, and son Deacon, 17, whom she shares with ex-husband, Ryan Phillippe. Posing together for the sweet family photograph, Witherspoon sat between her two kids as the trio each flashed soft smiles for the camera before them (She is also mom to son Tennessee James, 8, whom she shares with husband Jim Toth). For the picture, the Legally Blonde star went makeup-free and wore a black top, while Ava sported a gray sweatshirt and a pair of sunglasses placed atop her head. Deacon, meanwhile, wore a white henley shirt and a tan-colored hat on his head. Reese Witherspoon Shares Sweet and Silly Selfie with Her Oldest Children: 'Goofy Is Genetic' "Gosh, I'm lucky to be their mom 😊️," the proud mother captioned the adorable family snapshot. Reese Witherspoon. ABC via Getty Images The sweet post shared by Witherspoon came a day after she appeared on the latest episode of Dax Shepard's podcast Armchair Expert. There, the mother of three spoke to Kristen Bell and Monica Padman about the obstacles she faced when she and her then-husband welcomed their daughter. Witherspoon gave birth to Ava in September 1999, about two months after she and Phillippe, 46, wed. The pair would then go on to welcome Deacon in October 2003, before separating three years later in 2006. Reese Witherspoon Dances Around Her Kitchen to Celebrate Kids Returning to School "I did not have a lot of support with my first baby and I learned really early, like this is not going to work," she said. "I tried to muscle through for five months with Ava, just not sleeping and I became delirious." Noting that she "couldn't have worked" through the first few months she was a new mom to Ava, Witherspoon explained, "I was lucky enough to have money saved and I didn't have to work, but it's just not a one-person job." "I would even say it's not a two-person job," the Big Little Lies star added.