Reese Witherspoon has thanked Goldie Hawn and Jane Fonda for helping to carve her career path.

Over the weekend, Reese's media company Hello Sunshine hosted the third annual Shine Away Summit at Universal Studios. During her time on stage at the event, the actress-and-producer insisted her success was down to female stars before her taking control of their work.

When asked about the next generation of actresses following in her footsteps, Reese told The Hollywood Reporter: "I think that's amazing, the fact that it's made possible, but my career is made possible by women like Lucile Ball and Jane Fonda and women who started their companies."

She continued, "Goldie Hawn was somebody who took control of her career and produced a lot of her films. So I'm really stepping in a path that's been carved by some pretty great women."

The 49-year-old star also insisted she's happy to help out younger actresses and is often approached for advice.

She explained: "We'll talk about how to structure companies, how to hire people - anything women want to talk about, I'm here for mentorship because I had great mentors myself."

Elsewhere in the appearance, Reese recalled how landing a role in 2005's Walk the Line sparked her desire to focus on female stories. Playing June Carter, the wife of iconic musician Johnny Cash, made her realise there were so many women who "deserve the spotlight".

"When I think about Walk the Line, I think about it as a seed of Hello Sunshine," she shared as she discussed her Oscar-winning role. "That was kind of my first experience of bringing this woman who deserves attention into the light, so that was kind of the building block for my ideology that started Hello Sunshine five years later."