Reese Witherspoon was basically her daughter Ava’s twin at the 1997 Oscars

As much as we all love National Treasure Reese Witherspoon, let’s be real for a second: it is straight-up lunacy that she denies her uncanny resemblance to her daughter, Ava Phillippe.

Phillippe, who is now 17 because what even is time, looks like Witherspoon minus 20 years and maybe some of the trademark southern sass, having been raised in Los Angeles. Yet Witherspoon still insists she doesn’t see the resemblance, telling Ellen DeGeneres “she and I are always like, ‘we don’t see it!’” in December 2016.

However, even though Witherspoon seems to have taken a hard line on this particular subject, we think these photos from her very first Oscars — way, way back in 1997 — might finally sway her once and for all.

Here is Reese Witherspoon, dressed like the coolest girl at the 1997 Collingswood Middle School Annual Winter Snowball Dance at the Vanity Fair party.

Here is Ava Phillippe in 2017.

Reese, 1997.

Ava, 2017.

“Ms. Witherspoon, please sit down. When it comes to 17-year-old Ava…you are the mother!”

Now of course we’re not denying that Phillippe looks a whole lot like her dad Ryan, too. There is no denying that Ava belongs to the famous Cruel Intentions pairing, as she really does look like the perfect blend of the two of them.

However, from the eyes to the cheekbones to the smirk to even the cock of the eyebrow, we see just a little bit more Witherspoon than Ryan based on these oh-so-’90s Oscar pics alone.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKJGstvBZYY

And there are far worse fates to suffer, tbqh. Now excuse us as we stare at the below photo of Witherspoon and Ryan at the ’99 Oscars for the rest of eternity.

The ’90s sure were something, guys.