Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress. Achild model starting at the age of 11 months,[2] Shields gained widespread notoriety at age 12 for her leading role inLouis Malle's filmPretty Baby (1978), in which she appeared in nude scenes shot when she was 11 years old.[3] She continued to model into her late teenage years and starred in several dramas in the 1980s, includingThe Blue Lagoon (1980), andFranco Zeffirelli'sEndless Love (1981).
Shields was born inManhattan, New York City,[4] on May 31, 1965,[4] the daughter of actress and modelTeri Shields (née Schmon) and businessmanFrancis Alexander Shields. Her mother was of English, German,Scotch-Irish, and Welsh descent,[5][6] while her father had English, French, Irish, and Italian ancestry.[7]
When Teri announced that she was pregnant, Francis's family paid her a sum to terminate the pregnancy. Teri took the money, but violated the agreement and gave birth to Brooke.[11] Francis married Teri, but they were divorced when Shields was only five months old.[12] She has two stepbrothers and three half-sisters.[13][14] When Shields was only five days old, her mother openly stated she wanted her to be active in show business, saying: "She's the most beautiful child and I'm going to help her with her career."[15] Growing up, Shields took piano, ballet, andhorse-riding lessons.[16]
Shields was raised in theRoman Catholic faith.[17] For herconfirmation at age 10, she took the nameCamille, afterCamillus de Lellis. While attending high school, she resided inHaworth, New Jersey.[18] Shields has stated that her first encounter with the paparazzi was in the Grand Ballroom of theWaldorf Astoria New York at the age of 12, stating that she "stood like a statue wondering why they were all hired to photograph me" and that she "debuted at the Waldorf."[19]
Shields began her career as a model when she was 11 months old in 1966. Her first job was forIvory Soap, when she was photographed byFrancesco Scavullo.[22] She continued as a successful child model withmodel agentEileen Ford, who, in herLifetime biography, stated that she started her children's division just for Shields. Ford said of her: "She is a professional child and unique. She looks like an adult and thinks like one."[23]
After appearing in the1974 TV adaptation ofArthur Miller's playAfter the Fall, Shields made her feature film debut in theNew Jersey-shot horror filmAlice, Sweet Alice (1976), portraying a young girl who is murdered during her first communion.[24] She was cast in the part after directorAlfred Sole had seen her in a print advertisement forVogue magazine.[24] The film was later re-released in 1981, capitalizing on Shields's rising fame at the time.[25] Next, Shields worked with directorWoody Allen in his 1977 filmAnnie Hall, but her role was cut out of the final edit of the film.[26]
Shields and her mother Teri appeared on the cover of the September 26, 1977 issue ofNew York Magazine, in a cover story about her modeling career. The main headline on the cover read: "Meet Teri and Brooke Shields" while the subtitle read:
Brooke is twelve. She poses nude. Teri is her mother. She thinks it's swell.[27][28]
Although the September 26, 1977 issue was listed in a 2008 collection of classic covers on theNew York Magazine website for its 40th anniversary, unlike the other listed issues, there is no link to the cover story about Shields' career as a nude model.[29]
1978–1979: Breakthrough film work
The 11-year-old Shields was cast as the lead in French directorLouis Malle'sPretty Baby (1978), in which she played a child named Violet who lived in a brothel, the daughter of a prostitute played bySusan Sarandon. There were numerous nude scenes in the film, including those in which Shields appeared naked.[22] Her appearance in the film spurred significant controversy, as public worry regardingchild sexual abuse had begun to rise at the time of its release.[30][31][32] Gossip columnistRona Barrett called the film "child pornography", and director Malle was described as a "combination ofHumbert Humbert andRoman Polanski".[30] Her scenes in the nude also caused the film to be banned inArgentina,[33]South Africa,[34] and the Canadian provinces ofOntario[35][36] andSaskatchewan.[37] The film's ban in Ontario was lifted in 1995.[38]: 39
She graced the cover of the May 29, 1978 issue ofPeople, which bore the headline "Brooke Shields, 12, stirs furor over child porn in films."[39]
She or her body double also appeared in a dorsal nude scene in the 1979 releaseJust You and Me, Kid, which co-starredGeorge Burns. In the movie, Shields also appeared in a scene where she apparently is naked, covered only by a deflated car tire inner tube while lying in the trunk of Burns' vintage automobile.[40] Shields also was portrayed as nude in a third scene where she was being held hostage.[41] For her work in the movie, she was paid a fee of $250,000 (equivalent to $920,000 in 2023[42] dollars), plus six percent of the profits.[43]
Just You and Me, Kid received poor reviews. CriticRoger Ebert, in hisChicago Sun-Times newspaper review, gave the film two out of four stars, calling the film "a charming disappointment."[40] On hisSneak Previews TV show withChicago Tribune film criticGene Siskel, both Ebert and Siskel gave the film a thumbs down. Siskel said, "Brooke Shields is not very interesting when she's on the screen," and called her a model "who just can't act."[44] Siskel's newspaper review further stated that her part in the film had "no substance, and she is incapable of appearing fresh. It's a stilted, nervous performance from a teen-ager who has not had a single acting lesson and could use a dozen."[45]
Other movies Shields appeared in, in the wake ofPretty Baby, wereWanda Nevada andTilt, both of which were released in 1979.
1980–1981: Modeling and more movies
In 1980, 14-year-old Shields was the youngest fashion model ever to appear on the cover ofVogue. Later that same year, Shields appeared in controversial print and TV ads forCalvin Klein jeans. The TV ad included her saying the famous tagline: "You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing."[22][46][47] Brooke Shields ads would help catapult Klein's career to superstar status.[48]
Shields in 1986
She next appeared as a lead inThe Blue Lagoon (1980), which included nude scenes between teenage lovers stranded on a tropical island (Shields later testified before a U.S. Congressional inquiry that olderbody doubles were used in some of them). The same year, she was the youngest guest star to ever appear onThe Muppet Show, in which she and the Muppets put on their own version ofAlice's Adventures in Wonderland. She was also the youngest person to hostABC'sFridays, aSaturday Night Live-like sketch comedy show, in 1981.
She won thePeople's Choice Award in the category of Favorite Young Performer in four consecutive years from 1981 to 1984. During this same period, she starred in theUSPHSPSA sponsored by theAmerican Lung Association as an initiative thatVIPs should become examples and advocates of non-smoking.[49]
By the age of 16, Shields had become one of the most recognizable faces in the United States, because of her dual career as a provocative fashion model and child actress.[22]Time magazine reported in its February 9, 1981, cover story that her day rate as a model was $10,000 (equivalent to $28,000 in 2023[42]). In 1983, Shields appeared on the cover of the September issue of ParisVogue, the October and November issues of AmericanVogue and the December edition of ItalianVogue.[50] During that period Shields became a regular at New York City's nightclubStudio 54.[51]
In the mid-1980s, Shields began her support of theUSO by touring withBob Hope.[52]
1981–1983: Legal battle over nude photos
From 1981 to 1983, Shields, her mother, photographerGarry Gross, andPlayboy Press were involved in litigation in theNew York City Courts over the rights to photographs her mother had signed away to Gross (when dealing with models who are minors, a parent or legal guardian must sign such a release form while other agreements are subject to negotiation). Gross was the photographer of a controversial set of nude images taken in 1975 of a then ten-year-old Brooke Shields with the consent of her mother, Teri Shields, for the Playboy Press publicationSugar 'n' Spice. The images portray Shields nude, standing and sitting in a bathtub, wearing makeup and covered in oil. The courts ruled in favor of the photographer due to a strange twist in New York law. The ruling would have been decided otherwise if Shields had been considered a child "performer" rather than a model.[53]
Richard Prince "Spiritual America"
In 1983, in the wake of the legal battle over ownership of the photos, artistRichard Prince photographed one of Gross' photos of the 10-year-old Shields standing naked in a bathtub. Prince had found the picture in a copy of Gross' self-published bookLittle Women onto Ektachrome slide film, then blew it up to 8x10 inch print. Put in a gold frame, a Prince reproduction of the Gross photo was the sole work displayed in his first "Spiritual America" exhibition at store-front art gallery on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.[54]
Later, when a Prince print of Shields was included in his 2009Spiritual America exhibit at theTate Modern, it created a stir. It was removed from an exhibition after a warning from the police.[55]
Prince created a numbered series of 10 prints (and two artists proofs) measuring 20 inches by 24 inches (50.8 cm. x 60.9 cm.) of his reproduction of the Gross/Shields photo. In May 2014, copy #10 of Prince's reproduction of the Gross photo was auctioned off byChristie's, fetching a price of $3,973,000. The realized price was within Christie's pre-auction estimate of $3.4–4.5 million.[54]
In 2005, the 40-year-old Shields let Prince photograph her wearing a bikini in the same pose as the childhood nude photo, in front of a motorcycle.[56]
1983:Sahara and Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor
Shields played a romantic lead inSahara (1983) for a fee variously reported as $1 million or $1.5 million. Her motherTeri Shields was executive producer of the picture, with a fee of $25,000.[57] The movie was a critical and financial failure, released only in the Western United States after poor previews and grossing $1.2 million against a budget of $15 million (equivalent to $40 million in 2023[42]).[58][59]
Shields aboardUSS Midway during aUSO tour on January 1, 1991
Shields played the eponymous lead in the 1989 movieBrenda Starr, which had been shot in 1986 for an intended 1987 release but was held up for years over legal problems due to the rights to the comic strip and demands from Shields' mother that she receive top-billing in the picture, which co-starredTimothy Dalton. When the film was finally released in 1993, it was roasted by critics and bombed at the box office.[64][65][66]
Kevin Thomas in theLos Angeles Times wrote, "Brenda Starr (citywide) arrives after some five years of legal disputes over distribution rights. It would have been an act of kindness for all concerned, including the paying customer, to have left it on the shelf where it belongs."[67]
Peter Travers, writing forRolling Stone, gave the film a negative review, writing, "There's been so much negative insider buzz about Brooke's 'Brenda' that you might be harboring a hope that the damned thing turned out all right. Get over it.Brenda Starr is not as bad as the also-rans that Hollywood traditionally dumps on us before Labor Day... it's a heap worse."[68]
Entertainment Weekly would later place the film on its list of "21 Worst Comic-Book Movies Ever".[69]
In 1993, Shields made a guest appearance in a fourth-season episode ofThe Simpsons, called "The Front".[70] The following year, she starred as Rizzo in the 1994Broadway revival ofGrease.
In a 1996 episode of the popular comedy sitcomFriends, Shields playedJoey Tribbiani's stalker. This role led directly to her being cast in the title role of theNBC sitcomSuddenly Susan, in which she starred from 1996 until 2000, and which earned aPeople's Choice Award in the category of Favorite Female Performer in a New Television Series for her, in 1997, and twoGolden Globe nominations.[22]
In 2001, Lifetime aired the filmWhat Makes a Family, starring Shields andCherry Jones in a true story of a lesbian couple who fought the adoption laws ofFlorida.[72] For four months, beginning July 2001, Shields portrayedSally Bowles in the long-running Broadway revival ofCabaret.[73]
In 2004, Shields made several recurring guest appearances onThat '70s Show playing Pam Burkhart,Jackie's (Mila Kunis) mother, who later was briefly involved withDonna's (Laura Prepon) father (Don Stark). Shields leftThat '70s Show when her character was written out.
In September 2004, she replacedDonna Murphy in the role of Ruth Sherwood in the 2003 revival ofWonderful Town until the show closed four months later.[73] Her performance was widely praised.[74]Ben Brantley ofThe New York Times praised the "goofy sweetness" she brought to her interpretation of the role, but wrote that she fell short of Donna Murphy's "perfection."[75] In April 2005, Shields playedRoxie Hart in a long-running production ofChicago at theAdelphi Theatre in London's West End.[74] Later the same year, she reprised the role in the Broadway revival, from September 9 to October 30.[76] This made her the first performer to have starred inChicago,Cabaret, andGrease on Broadway, three long-running revivals noted for "stunt casting" of celebrities not known for musical theatre.[77]
In the late 2000s, Shields guest-starred on shows likeFX'sNip/Tuck andCBS'sTwo and a Half Men. In 2005, Shields appeared in a second-season episode ofHBO'sEntourage, entitled "Blue Balls Lagoon". In 2007, she made a guest appearance onDisney'sHannah Montana, playing Susan Stewart, protagonistMiley Stewart's (Miley Cyrus) mother, who died in 2004. In 2008, she returned in the prime time dramaLipstick Jungle. The series ended a year later.[22]
Starting in 2010, she made guest appearances onThe Middle as the mother of a brood of terror-inducing children and the nemesis of Frankie Heck (Patricia Heaton).[78][79] She also appeared as a featured celebrity inNBC's genealogy documentary reality series,Who Do You Think You Are?, where it was revealed that, through her father's ancestry, she is the distant cousin (many generations removed) of KingLouis XIV of France, and thus a descendant of bothSaint Louis andHenry IV of France.[80]
Shields is the subject of the 2023 documentary,Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, directed byLana Wilson, who also directed theTaylor Swift documentary,Miss Americana. The two-part series, which aired onHulu on 3 April 2023, is "A look at actor, model and icon Brooke Shields as she transforms from a sexualized young girl to a woman discovering her power."[83]
Shields is the author of three books. In 2006, she penned the bookDown Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression, in 2015 she publishedThere Was a Little Girl about the relationship she had with her mother, who suffered fromalcoholism throughout Shields's life, and in 2025 she publishedBrooke Shields is not Allowed to Get Old about aging as a woman.[86][87][88]
In 2022, she launched a podcast calledNow What? focusing on how people respond to adversity.[89]
As a child, Shields lived with her mother on Manhattan'sUpper East Side.[90] In 1990, she purchased a ranch nearBig Timber, Montana.[91][92] She also maintained a home in Los Angeles, which she purchased in 1998 and sold in 2022.[93]
In the 1990s, Shields promoted physical fitness as an extension of femininity, maintaining that femininity and athletics are compatible.[94]
Shields has been married twice. In 1993, she began a relationship withAndre Agassi; the couple married in 1997 and divorced in 1999.[98]
In 1999, she met television writerChris Henchy through common friends. The pair wed in 2001.[99] They have two daughters,[87]: 63 Rowan Francis Henchy, born May 15, 2003, and Grier Hammond Henchy, born April 18, 2006. As of 2012, they were living inGreenwich Village,New York City.[100]
Postpartum depression
Between April and May 2005, Shields spoke to magazines (such asGuideposts) and appeared onThe Oprah Winfrey Show to publicize her battle withpostpartum depression, an experience that included depression, thoughts of suicide, an inability to respond to her baby's needs and delayed maternal bonding.[101][102] Her book,Down Came the Rain, discusses her experience,[87] contributing to a greater public awareness of postpartum depression.[103]
In May 2005, actorTom Cruise—aScientologist whose beliefs frown uponpsychiatry—condemned Shields, both personally and professionally, for using and speaking in favor of theantidepressant drugPaxil. As Cruise said, "Here is a woman and I care about Brooke Shields, because I think she is an incredibly talented woman, you look at [and think], where has her career gone?" Shields responded that Cruise's remarks on antidepressants were "irresponsible" and "dangerous". She also argued that he should "stick to fighting aliens" (a reference to Cruise's role inWar of the Worlds as well as some of the more esoteric aspects ofScientology doctrine and teachings), "and let mothers decide the best way to treat postpartum depression." Shields responded to a further attack by Cruise with an op-ed titled "War of Words", published inThe New York Times on July 1, 2005, in which she made an individual case for the medication and stated: "In a strange way, it was comforting to me when my obstetrician told me that my feelings of extreme despair and my suicidal thoughts were directly tied to a biochemical shift in my body. Once we admit that postpartum is a serious medical condition, then the treatment becomes more available and socially acceptable. With a doctor's care, I have since tapered off the medication but, without it, I wouldn't have become the loving parent I am today."[104] On August 31, 2006, according toUSA Today,[105] Cruise apologized in person to Shields for the incident; she accepted the apology, saying it was "heartfelt". That November, she and her husband attended Cruise's wedding toKatie Holmes.
Relationship with Michael Jackson
On July 7, 2009, Shields spoke at the memorial service forMichael Jackson.[106] She stated in that speech that she first met Jackson when she was 13 years old, and the two instantly became friends.[107] Shields said:
Thinking back to when we met and the many times that we spent together and whenever we were out together, there would be a caption of some kind, and the caption usually said something like 'an odd couple' or 'an unlikely pair,' but to us it was the most natural and easiest of friendships... Michael always knew he could count on me to support him or be his date and that we would have fun no matter where we were. We had a bond... Both of us needed to be adults very early, but when we were together, we were two little kids having fun.[108]
In hereulogy, she shared anecdotes, including an occasion in which she was his date for one ofElizabeth Taylor's weddings, and the pair sneaked into Taylor's room to get the first look at her dress, only to discover Taylor asleep in the bed. Shields gave a tearful speech, referring to the many memories she and Jackson shared and briefly joked about his famous sequin glove. She also mentioned Jackson's favorite song, "Smile" byCharlie Chaplin, which was later sung in the memorial service byJermaine Jackson.[109]
Jackson stated in his 1993 interview withOprah Winfrey that he was dating Shields at the time.[110] Shields has stated that Jackson asked her to marry him numerous times and to adopt a child together.[111]
That was one of the loves of my life. I think she loved me as much as I loved her, you know? We dated a lot. We, we went out a lot. Her pictures were all over my wall, my mirror, everything. And I went to the Academy Awards with Diana Ross and this girl walks up to me and says 'Hi, I'm Brooke Shields.' Then she goes, 'Are you going to the after-party?' I go, 'Yeah.' 'Good, I'll see you at the party.' I'm going, 'Oh my God, does she know she's all over my room?' So we go to the after-party. She comes up to me she goes, 'Will you dance with me?' I went, 'Yes. I will dance with you.' Man, we exchanged numbers and I was up all night, singing, spinning around my room, just so happy. It was great.[112]
Relationship with mass media
Shortly after Shields graduated fromPrinceton University, her four-year transcript was published in the July 1987 edition ofLife magazine. Based on that transcript,The New York Times published a light-heartedop-ed piece intended to tweak the claim that Princeton produced superior, well-rounded graduates. Noting that Shields "got all As and Bs, and obviously paid attention to her school work", it claimed she "got cheated" because Princeton did not require her to take any classical studies, medieval, modern or American history, or any course in mathematics, philosophy, economics, political science, world literature, or science with laboratory experience. "[I]f that adds up to a liberal arts education from a place like Princeton, there is no longer any danger that our society will ever suffer from elitism in any form."[113]
The article was indicative of the intense media scrutiny faced by Shields after the release of the 1978 filmPretty Baby, in which she, as a child actor, was filmed nude and in sexual situations. In a March 2023Vogue profile of Shields, Chloe Malle, the daughter of the film's director, discussed the film as well as the January 2023 documentaryPretty Baby: Brooke Shields that it inspired:
The media loved her, but they also pilloried her. Like Framing Britney Spears, the documentary clarifies—with the benefit of time and perspective—the role of the media as the relentless villain in Shields's story. Reporters' lack of tenderness toward a preteen girl and demands that she answer for the way that she was sexualized onscreen are perhaps the most gasp-inducing parts of the film. "They're shocking," agrees Shields, recalling an interview withBarbara Walters in which the journalist asked Shields to stand up and compare her measurements to Walters's own. "I felt more objectified and abused by [that]," says Shields. "The irony is I didn't have that discomfort or shame in the one nude scene in Pretty Baby."[114]
^The Advocate. Here. January 31, 2001. pp. 28–30.'I really believe that if you are against gays and lesbians adopting and you watch this movie,' you will never feel that way again, promises executive producerCraig Zadan.
^Shields, Brooke (2015).There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me. New York City, New York.ISBN978-0-698-18623-1.OCLC893077877.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Rosenfield, Adrian I. (2006).New Research on Postpartum Depression. Nova Publishers. p. 64.ISBN1-60021-284-0.Several popular books have been published in recent years... These include personal accounts... by... Brooke Shields.
^Shields, Brooke (July 1, 2005)."War of Words".The New York Times. RetrievedApril 27, 2010.
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