Reese Witherspoon has wished her "bright light" son a happy 17th birthday

She wrote on Instagram: "Happy Birthday to my wonderful son @deaconphillippe! ... My bright light/ hardworking / fun-loving / music making / deeply kind son, who always finds the good in everyone and everything. What a pleasure to watch you grow into an amazing young man who is always curious and endlessly creative. Can’t wait to celebrate! I love you so much ...#17 (sic)"

Meanwhile, Reese previously revealed she credits her children with “inspiring” her to speak out on social issues.

The actress - who has Ava, 21, and Deacon, 17, whom she has with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, and seven-year-old Tennessee, with her spouse Jim Toth - explained: “Well, I have a lot of inspiration from having two teenagers in my house. Somewhere I read, ‘If you’re not talking about race and class and wealth and equality and social issue with your children they are talking about it with someone else.’ That hit me very profoundly because this is the world they are inheriting. If we don’t take our positions of influence, whatever your influence is … you have the power to influence thoughts and ideas.”

The 44-year-old actress also credits books with helping her form her own view of the world, because she has been able to learn about people who have “lived a completely different experience” to her simply by reading.

She added: “That’s why I love books as well. Books have changed my life by going absolutely nowhere. I grew up in Nashville and I just lost myself in a book. I felt like I could see the world, I could see other people’s opinions, I could see where people lived a completely different experience than me. I always say books are the antidote to bigotry and small thinking, it’s about being expansive. I feel really blessed to have these kids in my life and to have all the children of the world out there, the Greta Thunbergs and Parkland kids, just really inspiring us to do more and create a better world."