There are a lot of things people already know about this early 2000’s cult-classic–like how orange is definitely NOT the new pink. Given the revived attention to the series since the rumor of another movie addition, why not check your LB-knowledge with this short list of facts about our favorite blonde’s story?:
1. The Movie Was Based On A Book
That’s right, there’s a book! The book carries the same title and was first published on June 1, 2001 (the movie was released in the US on July 13, 2001). The book itself is rather different from the movie, with many characters having received a makeover in addition to a name change for the adaptation. For example, Bruiser was formerly known as Underdog, Vivian was called Sarah, and Paulette was named Josette. Moreover, the prestigious location of Harvard was originally Stanford University–the place that the author, Amanda Brown, attended as she wrote the novel.
2. There’s a musical! (And it came after the movie!)
There was a musical adaptation of the book and movie that was released in 2007. The musical can be watched in full on YouTube. It’s filled with a bunch of goofy songs that continually entertain and give a lot more context to Elle’s story and family life than the movie.
3. Real life came into the movie and book.
The author’s real life influenced some of the experiences detailed in her book (no surprise there). The movie did too, with discussions like the toilet paper discussion at Delta Nu and the Winter ‘Ove-ster’ being real things that members of the Legally Blonde team overheard/participated in and decided to include in the popular film.
4. Elle is Smart Enough
In whatever version of the series you watch, Elle Woods has been smart enough to achieve just about any task. Which is why the scenes where she has to study hard for her admission into Harvard is rather shocking to those that watch. For example, in the movie and musical, she has to get a 174 on the LSAT for her application to Harvard. In the book, she gets a 179 (with 180 being perfect), which puts Elle in the top 0.1 percent of those that take the exam. Warner was waitlisted for admission, but not Elle, so when he says she’ll never make the grades you can go ahead a laugh at his ridiculous comment. She graduated with a business major (Fashion Merchandising) from the University of Southern California/USCS, a 4.0 GPA, and a near perfect or perfect score on her LSAT, with recommendations galore. When the musical makes a big deal out of Elle failing her classes, it’s a bit shocking. Especially since she becomes the Valedictorian of her class.
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5. Elle is a Delta Gamma – NOT a Delta Nu
Among the other changes that occurred between the setting and characters of the Legally Blonde story in its movie adaptation, one of the biggest changes comes from Elle switching sororities. In the movie, and musical, Elle is a proud Delta Nu–but in the book, she is a loyal Delta Gamma sister. In fact, at the time of it’s making, there was (and still is) no sorority of called Delta Nu. However, Delta Gamma is 100 percent real and current, so if you want to become a sister of Elle Woods you might want to check out if there is a Delta Gamma chapter at your university or college.
6. There are more books in the series.
If your hunger for Legally Blonde hasn’t been sated, you can check out the prequels to Legally Blonde, which feature Elle Woods in high school. The series includes, but is not limited to, Elle Woods: Blonde Love, Elle Woods: Vote Blonde, and Elle Woods: Blonde at Heart.
For more facts on Legally Blonde, I highly recommend checking out the books, which are currently available on Amazon.