Reese Witherspoon posts sweet Instagram tribute to her older brother for his 49th birthday: 'My biggest supporter since Day 1'

Reese Witherspoon took to Instagram to wish her older brother John a happy 49th birthday. 

The actress, 45, posted a photo of the two of them sitting with a birthday cake in front of them. 

'Happy Birthday to the best BIG brother a girl could ask for. Always being there for me & my kids. Being my biggest supporter since Day 1. Love you, Brother John!' the star wrote in the caption.  

In the photo, the Legally Blonde actress actress wore a black sweater and her blonde hair combed over to the right. 

The star told Vanity Fair that the two have had a close bond since childhood.

'We have that inexplicable bond of childhood,' the Walk the Line star said. 'Two people forged in the same fire. It's interesting because we're very different, but we manage to love and care for each other with a ferocity that defies words. I call him Brother. He calls me Sister. Very Southern sibling stuff.'   

She periodically shares photos of her brother who she said 'always volunteers to be my chauffeur when I'm in Nashville.'

Some fans pointed out the family resemblance between her brother and her son Deacon in one photo she posted. Witherspoon has two other children, 22-year-old Ava and 9-year-old Tennessee.   

Not much is known about her brother, but he was arrested in 2002 for aggravated burglary and sexual battery. He pled guilty and received two years probation. 

The Big Little Lies actress has remained as busy as ever. She has a number of upcoming projects. 

She will play a role in the upcoming live-action Tinker Bell movie. She will also reprise her iconic role of Elle Woods in the third Legally Blonde movie. 

Most recently, she's been filming Your Place or Mine in New York City. The movie is a romantic-comedy that centers around two long-distance best friends whose lives change when one follows her dreams and another keeps an eye on her teenage son.