Hollywood actors Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe have separated after seven years of marriage, according to a release from the couple's publicist Monday.

"We are saddened to announce that Reese and Ryan have decided to formally separate," publicist Nanci Ryder said in a statement.

Reese Witherspoon poses with her Oscar for best actress alongside her husband Ryan Phillippe at the Vanity Fair Oscar party at Morton's in West Hollywood, Calif., in this March 2006 photo.
(Chris Pizzello/Associated Press)

"They remain committed to their family and we ask that you please respect their privacy and the safety of their children at this time," the brief statement concluded.

Witherspoon, 30, and Phillippe, 32, have two children, daughter Ava, 7, and son Deacon, 3.

The two married shortly after appearing in the 1999 film Cruel Intentions and were quickly anointed one of the entertainment world's 'It' couples. A 2005 poll from tabloid magazine In Touch voted Phillippe "Hollywood's Hottest Dad."

Witherspoon is one of Hollywood's most bankable leading actresses, having found commercial success with her Legally Blonde films and critical acclaim for her portrayal as June Carter Cash in 2005's Walk the Line, for which she won a best actress Academy Award this past March.

Phillippe, starring in the Clint Eastwood Second World War drama Flags of Our Fathers, has carved out a successful career as a supporting actor in such films as Gosford Park and Igby Goes Down and last year's Oscar-winning film Crash.