Reese Witherspoon Launches Hello Sunshine Sister Brand For Gen Z

Reese Witherspoon is having a busy week. The day after she announced a podcast deal with iHeartMedia for her monthly book club, she pulled back the curtain on Sunnie, a Gen Z-focused sister brand to her media juggernaut Hello Sunshine.

On stage at Cannes Lions on June 18, Witherspoon shared the vision for Sunnie, designed to inspire the next generation of young women through storytelling and experiences to reclaim their time, follow their curiosity and step into their power and guided by an advisory board of 20 teenage girls.

“It’s been a dream of mine to build a space where young women can be the truest version of themselves,” said Witherspoon. “We’ve discovered that young women are not defined by doom and gloom as they’re often portrayed in media – they’re complex, creative individuals with incredible agency. Sunnie will be a celebration of that spirit, giving them the tools and community to navigate life’s challenges while embracing their authentic selves.”

Part of Candle Media, Hello Sunshine centers women in stories across platforms from scripted and unscripted television, feature films, animated series, podcasts, audio storytelling, and digital series, and is home to Reese’s Book Club. Projects include “The Morning Show,” “Daisy Jones and the Six,” “Little Fires Everywhere” and “Big Little Lies.”

Sunnie, which aspires to “build a community rooted in joy, curiosity, and real self-expression,” is launching with partner e.l.f. Beauty as its foundational partner and features collaborations out of the gate with Gen Z creators including Lana Condor and Hello Sunshine Collective talent Molly Carlson and Raegan Revord on topics including confidence and creative outlets to culture-driving trends, like fashion, entertainment, sports, STEM, and mental health.

Sunnie also has formed strategic alliances with organizations including AnitaB.org, Child Mind Institute, Être, Lyda Hill Philanthropies’ IF/THEN Initiative, Step Up, the Women’s Sports Foundation, and Purdue University as the official University Partner. To ground the platform in real insights, Hello Sunshine also partnered with Être and YPulse to commission a national research report titled The Gen Z Rewrite, which surveys 1,000 girls ages 13–18.

“Young women – despite the many pressures they face – are intentionally creating space for joy,” said Maureen polo, head of direct to consumer at Hello Sunshine. “They’re writing their own stories, setting boundaries, finding community, and embracing both digital and real-world connections on their terms. And yet, 75 percent say advertising rarely reflects how they actually talk, dress, or act — a clear signal that the industry still isn’t truly seeing them. Sunnie will support and amplify these efforts, providing content, curriculum, and experiences that resonate with how they actually live their lives, not how adults assume they do.”