A Star-Studded Music Video Featuring Reese Witherspoon’s Daughter
Reese Witherspoon’s daughter, Ava Phillippe, made a surprise appearance in a music video for Ella Langley’s track “Choosin’ Texas.” The 26-year-old media personality, who has been following in her famous mother’s acting footsteps, played one of Luke Grimes’ love interests in the seven-minute video that was released on Wednesday.
The music video features a star-studded cast, including Miranda Lambert, rodeo stars Dale Brisby and JB Mauney, and other notable celebrities. The video opens with Langley and Grimes, who play an on-screen couple, driving in a truck as they return to Texas. Later in the evening, the pair stops by a bar to grab a drink and are introduced to friends such as Brisby and Mauney. At one point, Lambert is seen performing on stage inside the bar.
As they grab drinks at the bar, Grimes becomes distracted when he makes eye contact with a woman not far away—Ava Phillippe. 
After returning to their group of friends at a table, Grimes and Phillippe keep glancing at each other from across the room, hinting at a past connection. Langley eventually excuses herself to step into the bathroom and is soon joined by fellow singer Kaitlin Butts. The track comes to a pause as the two singers have a brief conversation.
“You’re not from around here, are you?” Butts questions, with Langley replying, “No, Tennessee actually.” Butts then adds, “I can tell. You have some kind of nerve bringing him around here again.” Langley calmly asks, “Oh yeah?” which prompts Butts to add, “Well just so you know, Texas has a way of keeping what’s hers.”
Meanwhile, Grimes and Phillippe briefly reunite and have a lighthearted conversation while catching up. When Langley returns, she asks Grimes—who appears to be lost in thought—to dance, which he agrees to. 
However, Phillippe and Grimes continue to longingly look at each other, and Langley eventually catches on. The music video concludes as Langley steps out of the bar and crosses paths with Lambert, who is heading back to Tennessee after her performance. “How are you doing?” Lambert asks as they sip on Jack Daniel’s, and Langley admits, “Honestly, I think that the guy I’m in love with is in love with somebody else.”
“Hm… well, sounds like he ain’t the one for you then,” Lambert points out, and Langley adds, “I’m starting to think that’s true.” She decides to join Lambert to head back to Tennessee, and Grimes can be seen stepping outside the bar to find her, not knowing that she has already left.
Phillippe took to her main Instagram page on Thursday to express how “grateful” she was to be a part of the “fun shoot.” Alongside a clip from her cameo in the music video, she wrote: “Texas has a way of keeping what’s hers… ‘Choosin’ Texas’ official video out now! – co-directed by the one & only @ellalangleymusic. This was such a fun shoot & I couldn’t be more grateful to be included in this stellar cast.” 
Phillippe added, “Ella is a true storyteller & getting to witness her creativity up close has me even more excited to see what she does next.” “Choosin’ Texas” was released last year in October and landed the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Luke Grimes is no stranger to the screen and is known for his role as Kayce Dutton in the hit series Yellowstone. He has also starred in other projects such as American Sniper (2014) and the CBS drama series Marshals. 
Ava Phillippe has also been pursuing her passion for acting and made a recent cameo in the Netflix series Ransom Canyon. She made her official acting debut during an episode of the Ryan Murphy series Doctor Odyssey last year. However, the star admitted that she didn’t always think she would follow in her mother’s acting footsteps. Her father, Ryan Phillippe, is also an actor and known for starring in projects such as Cruel Intentions (1999) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).
“I definitely pushed it so far to the wayside,” she revealed during an interview with NewBeauty. “I think as a kid, I got that question a lot like, ‘Are you going to do what your mom and dad do? Are you going to go into the industry? What are your goals?'”
Phillippe added, “I think my only goal at the time was really to individuate and be my own person and figure out who Ava is rather than be a mini-me or a copy of somebody else.” She has also been cast in the upcoming film Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me—an adaptation of Mariko Tamaki’s graphic novel.
