Reese Witherspoon: I wanted to be the first female president

Reese Witherspoon dreamed of being "the first female president" when she was a child.

The 40-year-old beauty has admitted that when she was just six years old, a career in acting was the furthest thing from her mind as she actually wanted to pursue a job in politics and become the first female to ever take up office in the White House.

Speaking to E! News, the blonde beauty said: "When I was six, I either wanted to be Dolly Parton or the first female president of the United States."

Whilst the ‘Legally Blonde’ actress might not have been able to live out either of her childhood career dreams, her daughter Ava, 17, might be able to pick up the pieces and become the next Dolly Parton, as Reese recently praised her musical skills.

Reese – who also has 13-year-old Deacon with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe and four-year-old Tennessee with current husband Jim Toth – said: "[Ava] plays a lot of different instruments and has been to lots of different music training camps. She can write a song; she can play any song on the guitar or piano or ukulele."

Meanwhile, Reese’s ‘Sing’ co-star Matthew McConaughey also dished on his own childhood ambitions, claiming he had wanted to be a sportsperson before he turned to acting.

He said: "At six, I wanted to be a Washington Redskins running back.

"I had no idea. I never even thought about [acting]. I didn’t realise this until I was 21 years old. I was a late bloomer."

The 47-year-old actor can also boast a musically talented child among his brood, as he says his youngest son Livingston, three, "has the ear" for music.

Matthew – who also has Levi, eight, and Vida, six, with wife Camila Alves – said: "[Livingston] has the ear.

"He sat down at the piano and from day one could go tell a minor note from a major. Any music you play, any chords you get going, he can find a melody that falls right in track with it."