Reese Witherspoon became world's richest actress worth $400,000,000 and it had nothing to do with her acting

Although Reese Witherspoon has made a tidy profit from her acting prowess, it's not her film roles which have allowed her to accumulate such a staggering net worth.

It turns out that the Legally Blonde star has her fingers in a few other pies, too - and these additional ventures have paid off pretty handsomely over the years.

Witherspoon, 48, has been a regular feature on our screens since the 90s, but her career really took off the following decade after she starred as stylish legal eagle Elle Woods.

Even back then, her business brain was screwed on tight, as she snuck a clause into her contract for the 2001 hit film which allowed her to keep all of her character's designer wardrobe.

The 77 pairs of Jimmy Choo shoes she claims to have walked away with - among other lavish pieces - obviously don't come cheap.

As we all know, she has continued to bring home the bacon with big roles throughout her time in showbiz, including with her Oscar-winning performance in Walk the Line and more recently her work on Apple TV's The Morning Show.

While juggling acting gigs, she launched her fashion brand Draper James, started her own book club and also serves on the board of the Children's Defence Fund.

But her smartest move has to be co-founding media company Hello Sunshine in 2016, as it has allowed her to become the 'world's richest actress'.

Her hefty bank balance is down to her business acumen rather than acting gigs (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

According to Forbes, she is one of the richest women in the US too, as it is estimated that she is worth a whopping $400 million thanks to her woman-focused firm.

Hello Sunshine 'aims to broaden perspective and empower women by giving them authorship, inspiring agency, and creating a platform to help them shape culture and the world around them', according to its website.

Producing hits such as Big Little Lies, The Morning Show and Little Fires Everywhere, the company is quite the heavy-hitter in the entertainment world.

Which is why the company was valued at a staggering $900million when Candle Media - fronted by former Disney executives Kevin A. Mayer and Tom Staggs - purchased a majority stake in 2021.

In a statement celebrating the 'tremendous' news, Witherspoon said at the time: "I started this company to change the way all women are seen in media.

Witherspoon's media company was valued at a whopping $900million in 2021 (20th Century Fox)

"Over the past few years, we have watched our mission thrive through books, TV, film, and social platforms. Today, we’re taking a huge step forward by partnering with Blackstone, which will enable us to tell even more entertaining, impactful, and illuminating stories about women’s lives globally."

She kept a stake of at least 18 per cent and supposedly scooped $120 million from the sale after taxes, while continuing to play an integral role at Hello Sunshine, Forbes reported.

This, combined with the millions she has made from acting, bumped her worth up to $400 million as a result - as in, just a little bit shy of half a billion dollars.

She reportedly earns at least $1 million per episode for her TV work, while her wages for film roles are even higher than that.

And that's without mentioning the endorsements, commercials and other things which Witherspoon is involved in.

Essentially, this is a woman who is absolutely loaded.