Elle Woods is the feminist icon we all need. Beyond her existence in the Legally Blonde movie world, her legacy continues to inspire and impact in the real one – the world with Brexit, abortion bans and women still earning less than men. Yeah, that’s the one.

Since bursting onto our screens in in 2001, Woods reportedly caused a surge in female applicants to law school, inspired a 15,000 word dissertation and even helped one woman cope with her depression.

Now, we are seeing her glorious impact through the next generation of women graduates.

Reese Witherspoon, who played the legendary law graduate (and has confirmed a script for the third Legally Blonde film!) shared photos of 2019’s female graduates who were motivated by Woods.

Witherspoon posted pictures of the women on their graduation day who all asked the same question: “What, like it’s hard?” They expressed the question on their emblazoned mortarboard caps, which were suitably pink (why didn’t we think to do that at graduation?).

“Congratulations to the class of 2019!” she wrote on her Instagram post. “In the words of #ElleWoods, you DID IT! Excited to watch your generation change the world.”

Among the graduates was Kayla Babcock who had studied nursing for five years. 

Kayla Brown, who studied a Masters in Guidance and Counselling, also channelled her inner Woods. 

And Catie Oakley, the proud owner of two degrees - biology and philosophy – wittily described herself as “hotter by two degrees”.

Even model and actor Molly Sims revealed how Legally Blonde still inspires her, commenting: “I try to live every day like Elle woods after Warner said she wasn’t smart enough for law school #inspired.”

Witherspoon is currently busy promoting the second series of Big Little Lies, which was released on Monday (10 June) and stars Nicole Kidman, Zoe Kravitz and Meryl Streep. She is also working on producing a series of Celeste Ng’s beloved book Little Fires Everywhere with Kerry Washington.

But this doesn’t mean she’s about the leave the world of Woods behind. Last year, she confirmed the news of film number three on Twitter with a video of her in a pink bikini floating on a pool lounger. “It’s true… #LegallyBlonde3,” she wrote.

Speaking about her character back in 2015, she said: “I think it’d be kind of a cool thing to have her be a Supreme Court Justice, or someone who runs for office… President, I mean.”

If anyone can raise our spirits in these dark times, it’s President Elle Woods.

Image: Getty