BEAUTY ICON OF THE WEEK: BROOKE SHIELDS
Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965)
Early life
Shields was born in New York City to
Teri and
Frank Shields, who divorced several months after she was born. Through her father's side, she has Italian and French roots, along with high social position and relations to nobility Her paternal grandmother was the Italian princess
Donna Marina Torlonia. Shields was raised in the
Catholic faith.
She has two stepbrothers and three half-sisters.
When Shields was five days old, her mother openly stated she wanted her to be active in show business, "She's the most beautiful child and I'm going to help her with her career."
Education
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| PRETTY BABY |
Career
Early work
Shields began her career as a model in 1966, at the age of 11 months. Her first job was for Ivory Soap, shot by
Francesco Scavullo.
She continued as a successful
child model with model agent
Eileen Ford, who, in her Lifetime Network biography, stated that she started her children's division just for Shields.
In early 1980, the 14-year-old Shields was the youngest fashion model ever to appear on the cover of the top fashion publication
Voguemagazine. Later that same year, Shields appeared in controversial print and TV ads for
Calvin Klein jeans. The TV ad included her saying the famous tagline, "You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing."
Brooke Shields ads would help catapult Klein's career to super-designer status.
From 1981 to 1983, Brooke Shields, her mother, photographer
Gary Gross,
Playboy Press and the
New York City Courts were involved in litigation over the rights to some photographs her mother had signed away to the photographer (when dealing with models who are also minors, a parent or legal guardian must sign such a release form while other agreements are subject to negotiation) which were originally intended to appear in a book titled
Sugar and Spice to be published by Playboy Press. The courts ruled in favor of the photographer but due to a strange twist in New York law, it would have been otherwise had Brooke Shields been considered a child "performer" rather than a model.
By the age of 16, Shields had become one of the most recognizable faces in the world, because of her dual career as a provocative fashion model and controversial child actress.
TIME magazine reported, in its February 9, 1981 cover story, that her day rate as a model was $10,000. In 1983, Shields appeared on the cover of the September issue of Paris
Vogue, the October and November issues of American
Vogue and the December edition of Italian
Vogue. During that period Shields became a regular at New York City's nightclub
Studio 54.
In 2009, a naked picture of Brooke Shields, taken when she was 10, and included in a work by
Richard Prince,
Spiritual America, created a row. It was removed from an exhibition at the
Tate Modern after a warning from the police.
Film
Shields' first major film role was her 1978 appearance in
Louis Malle's
Pretty Baby, a movie in which she played a child who lived in a
brothel (and in which there were numerous
nudescenes).
[1] Because she was only 12 when the film was released, and possibly 11 when it was filmed, questions were raised about
child pornography.
[20][21][22] This was followed by a slightly less controversial and less notable film,
Wanda Nevada (1979).
In 2001,
Lifetime aired the film
What Makes a Family, starring Brooke Shields and
Cherry Jones in a true-to-life story of two married lesbian mothers and a baby versus the adoption laws of
Florida.
After two decades of movies, her best known films are still arguably
The Blue Lagoon (1980), which included a number of nude scenes between teenage lovers on a tropical island (Shields later testified before a U.S. Congressional inquiry that older
body doubles were used in some of them), and
Endless Love (1981). The
MPAA initially rated
Endless Love with a
X rating. However, the film was re-edited to earn a
. She won the
People's Choice Award in the category of Favorite Young Performer in four consecutive years from 1981 to 1984. In 1998, she played
lesbian Lily in
The Misadventures of Margaret.
Television appearances
Shields has appeared in a number of television shows. In 1980, she was the youngest guest star to ever appear on
The Muppet Show, in which she and the Muppets put on their own version of
Alice In Wonderland. She was also the youngest person to host
ABC's
Fridays, a
Saturday Night Live-like sketch comedy show, in 1981. In one episode of the popular comedy sitcom
Friends, Shields played
Joey's stalker. This role led directly to her being cast in the
NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan, in which she starred from 1996 until 2000, and which earned a
People's Choice Award in the category of Favorite Female Performer in a New Television Series for her, in 1997, and two
Golden Globe nominations.
In the early 1980s, she starred in the
USPHS PSA sponsored by the
American Lung Association as an initiative that
VIPs should become examples and advocates of non-smoking.
In the mid-1980s, Brooke began her support of the
USO by touring with
Bob Hope.
In the late 2000s, Shields guest-starred on shows like
FX's
Nip/Tuck and
CBS'
Two and a Half Men. In 2005, Shields appeared in a season two episode of HBO's Entourage, entitled "Blue Balls Lagoon." In 2007, she made a guest appearance on Disney's
Hannah Montana playing Susan Stewart, Miley and Jackson's mother, who died in 2004. In 2008, she returned in the primetime drama
Lipstick Jungle. The series ended a year later.
Theatre
Shields has appeared in several
Broadway theatre productions, including the musicals
Grease (1994 revival) as Betty Rizzo, the 1998 revival of
Cabaret (in 2001), the 2003 revival of
Wonderful Town (in 2004-2005) and
Chicago.
She also performed in
Chicago in London's West End. She is scheduled to take over the role of "Morticia" in the new Broadway musical
The Addams Family on June 28, 2011.
Personal life
In the June 2009 issue of
Health magazine, Shields related that she lost her virginity at age 22. She said the incident would have occurred earlier if she had a better self-image.
In the mid 1980s while at Princeton, Shields dated classmate
Dean Cain. Shields has also been linked to
John F. Kennedy Jr, actor
Liam Neeson and singer
George Michael.
She was also a favorite date of
Prince Naruhito of Japan.
After a romantic interlude with
John Travolta, the 16 year-old Brooke Shields dated 18 year-old Mohammed, son of the arms-dealer billionaire
Adnan Khashoggi, in
Cannes where they first met. At 18, Brooke Shields met
Dodi Fayed and they became friends. Brooke was 24 years old when she spent the evening with Dodi Fayed in Paris to celebrate his 33rd birthday.
By the 1990s, Brooke Shields would be exhibiting her physique as an extension of her womanhood, promoting physical fitness as an extension of femininity, demonstrating that femininity and
athletics are consistent rather than incongruous. Although she was not the only one, Shields had what was required to promote woman athletics.
Shields has been married twice. From April 19, 1997 to April 9, 1999, Shields was married to professional
tennis player
Andre Agassi; the couple had been together since 1993.
On April 4, 2001, she married
television writer
Chris Henchy after they met in 1999 through mutual friends. The couple have two daughters: Rowan Frances (born May 15, 2003) and Grier Hammond (born April 18, 2006).
Postpartum depression
In the spring of 2005, Shields spoke to magazines (such as
Guideposts) and appeared on
The Oprah Winfrey Show to publicize her battle with
postpartum depression, an experience that included
depression, thoughts of
suicide, an inability to respond to her baby's needs and delayed
maternal bonding. The illness may have been triggered by a
traumatic childbirth, the death of her father three weeks earlier, stress from
in vitro fertilization, a
miscarriage and a family history of depression, as well as the
hormones and life changes which were brought on by childbirth. Her book,
Down Came the Rain, discusses her experience, contributing to a greater public awareness of postpartum depression.
In May 2005,
Tom Cruise, a
Scientologist whose beliefs frown upon
psychiatry, condemned Shields, both personally and professionally, particularly for both using and speaking in favor of the
antidepressant drug
Paxil. 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 statements about anti-depressants were "irresponsible" and "dangerous." She said that he should "stick to fighting aliens" (a reference to Cruise's starring role in
War of the Worlds as well as some of the more exotic aspects of
Scientology doctrine and teachings), "and let mothers decide the best way to treat postpartum depression." The actress responded to a further attack by Cruise in an essay
"War of Words" published in
The New York Times on July 1, 2005, in which she made an individual case for the medication and said, "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."
On August 31, 2006, according to USAToday.com,
Cruise privately apologized to Shields for the incident and Shields accepted and said that it was "heartfelt." Three months later, she and her husband attended the wedding of Cruise and
Katie Holmes, in November, 2006.
Shields is a spokeswoman for
Tupperware's Chain of Confidence SMART Girls campaign, a program that teaches girls to nurture their mental and physical well-being.
Relationship with Michael Jackson
Shields spoke at the memorial service for
Michael Jackson on July 7, 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, before a television audience of more than one billion people. Shields stated in that speech that she first met Michael when she was 13 years old, and the two instantly became friends. 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.
In her eulogy speech, she also shared a number of anecdotes, including an occasion in which she was his date for one of
Elizabeth 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 times she and Michael Jackson shared and briefly joked about his famous sequin glove. She also mentioned Jackson’s favorite song "
Smile" by
Charlie Chaplin which was later sung in the memorial service by
Jermaine Jackson.
New York Times columnist
Gail Collins noted that "it was a little peculiar hearing Brooke Shields’s weepy testimony about her deep friendship with Jackson given the fact that she told reporters that the last time she saw him was at Elizabeth Taylor’s eighth wedding in 1991. This however does not agree with Michael's statements during his 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey that he was dating Shields at the time,
as well as with the fact that Shields was Michael Jackson's date to the 1993 Grammys. Shields has stated that Jackson asked her to marry him numerous times and to adopt a child together.
Jackson said of Shields in a conversation with Rabbi
Shmuley Boteach in 2001:
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 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.
Trivia
Had her marriage to
Andre Agassi annulled so she can remarry in the Catholic Church.
She was stalked by 41-year-old Mark Ronald Bailey (a New Jersey accountant from Los Angeles), while he was armed with a handgun, over a period of three months (October 1999 to January 2000). He was arrested on 1/10/2000 but pleaded not guilty. The criminal complaint alleged Bailey "did maliciously and repeatedly follow and harass
Brooke Shields, and made a credible threat...with the intent that she be placed in reasonable fear for her safety, and for the safety of her immediate family." On 9/5/2000, Bailey pleaded no contest to stalking and terrorizing her; he was ordered to undergo counseling and psychological evaluations, after prosecutors claimed he sent more than 100 cards and letters to her over the past 15 years...causing her "extreme fear and shock." The terms of his probation include staying away from her for 10+ years and keeping his distance from "her family, her household members, her employees, her employers or any of her agents." Ironically, seven years prior to this entire ordeal, Shields had won critical acclaim for her portrayal of another real-life stalking-victim (whose case inspired America's first anti-stalking law): California computer-engineer Laura Black, whose story was told in and by the TV docudrama
I Can Make You Love Me(1993) (TV).
College sweetheart was
Dean Cain (Princeton, '88). They both belonged to the same Princeton 'eating club' called 'Cap and Gown'
Nude photos of Brooke, taken by photographer
Garry Gross, when Shields was 10, were displayed in Manhattan's American Fine Arts Gallery, September 10th, 1998. The actress had sued Gross in 1981, tearfully testifying that the pictures embarrassed her, but a court decision in 1983 gave Gross the okay to display the photos.
Started her career in a TV commercial for Ivory soap.
Chosen as Time magazine's Face of the '80s.
Princeton graduate in June 1987 with a bachelor's degree in French Literature, with a minor in Italian, but says she spent most of her time making pottery, to relax.
Her grandfather was
Frank Shields, a professional tennis player who acted in a few films in the 30s
While filming
The Blue Lagoon (1980), she had to have her hair glued to her breasts so nothing would show."
The music group
Blondie's 1978 album "Parallel Lines" contains the song "Pretty Baby", written about
Brooke Shields.
Between the years of 1980 and 1985, she appeared on more than 300 magazine covers internationally.
Her great-grandmother, Mary Elsie Moore, was the sister of
Glenn Close's grandfather.
For her role in
The Blue Lagoon (1980), Shields became the first ever "Winner" of a Worst Actress RAZZIE Award. She went on to "win" several more RAZZIES, and in 2000 was nominated as Worst Actress of the Century.
Was paid $1 million in 1981 to endorse Wella Balsam shampoo.
Appeared on the cover of American Vogue thirteen times between 1980 and 1987. She made her first cover appearance at the age of fourteen.
At the age of fifteen, Shields became the youngest model ever to grace the cover of Cosmopolitan.
At the ripe old age of 16, she had already appeared on the cover of every major fashion magazine including; Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper's Bazaar, Mademoiselle, Seventeen, and Vogue.
Attended her prom with
Ted McGinley, who was seven years her senior.
Ethnic background includes English, Italian and German In the show Who Do You Think You Are she discovered that her Italian roots go back to France and she is directly related to Henry IV.
Was a cheerleader in high school and college.
Having taken jazz dance classes for years, she showed off her skills in the opening credits and a few episodes of
"Suddenly Susan" (1996)
Her book "Down Came the Rain" debuted at number six on The New York Times Best Sellers list.
Her paternal grandmother was Marina Torlonia (1916-1960), daughter of the Italian 4th Prince of Civitella-Cesi, an Italian aristocrat, and through him Brooke can claim descent from Henri IV, King of France, Lucrezia Borgia, and Honore I, Prince of Monaco, among others. Marina's brother, 5th Prince Alessandro (1911-1986) married the Infanta Beatriz of Spain (1909-2002), an aunt of King of Spain
Juan Carlos de Borbón. Their granddaughter Sibilla Sandra Weiller (b. 12 Jun 1968), Brooke's second cousin, married in 1994 Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg (b. 1963), a younger brother of the reigning Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
Was the youngest guest star to appear on
"The Muppet Show" (1976). Brooke appeared in the show's final season when she was 15 years old.
Turned down the roles of "Emily" in
Wild Orchid (1990) and "Roxy", Catherine's girlfriend, in
Basic Instinct (1992) because producers couldn't assure her the parts didn't require nudity.
Said she suffered from depressions after the birth of her first child.
Following a much publicized dispute with
Tom Cruise over her use of psychiatric medicine to overcome depression, Cruise came to her home in 2006 and personally apologized to her for his criticism. Touched by the gesture, she accepted his apology.
She measured 5 feet 10 inches at only 14 years old.
Since May of 1977, the longest consecutive period of time that has passed without her appearing on the cover of a US or international magazine is seven months.
The episode in which she appeared in of TV sitcom
"Friends" (1994) was the highest rated episode drawing 52.9 million viewers. NBC executives were so impressed with her, that they gave Shields her own sitcom:
"Suddenly Susan" (1996) which lasted four successful seasons.
Youngest guest star of
"Fridays" (1980) on May 15, 1981. This broadcast occurred two weeks and two days before she turned 16 years old.
Was offered the role of Allison Reynolds in
The Breakfast Club (1985), but turned down the offer. The role went to
Ally Sheedy.
Did an audition for the role of Vivian in
Pretty Woman (1990), but the role went to
Julia Roberts (and Roberts became a major star with this movie).
Was considered for the role of Andie Walsh in
Pretty in Pink (1986), but turned down to the part since she was attending at Princeton.
Revealed in an interview that she lost her virginity when she was 22 years old, and that she regretted waiting so long, blaming her inability to lose her virginity sooner on not having a better understanding of herself.
Her favorite contemporary actor is
Tom Hanks.
According to her autobiographical book "On Your Own" (1985), she beat
Marilu Henner,
Debra Winger,
Jamie Lee Curtis,
Jennifer Jason Leigh,
Kelly Preston,
Helen Hunt,
Bridget Fonda,
Lori Loughlin,
Diane Lane,
Rita Wilson,
Sean Young,
Daryl Hannah,
Carrie Fisher,
Ally Sheedy,
Rosanna Arquette,
Jodie Foster,
Mariel Hemingway,
Anjelica Huston and
Melanie Griffith for her role in
The Blue Lagoon (1980).
Screen tested for the title role in
Audrey Rose (1977).
Personal Quotes
While promoting the film
Pretty Baby (1978), 12-year old Brooke was asked, "What does good in bed mean?" Brooke cheekily replied; "When I'm sick and stay home from school watching TV and my mom brings me soup - that's good in bed."
Brooke's joking comment on her
TV commercials for jeans: "If my jeans could talk, I'd be ruined." (1980)
"I'm so naive about finances. Once when my mother mentioned an amount and I realized I didn't understand, she had to explain: 'That's like three Mercedes.' Then I understood." (1981)
"I'm always amazed when people assume things about me - that foul language must upset me, or someone's being gay must upset me. They think, 'O-o-oh, she's the most celebrated virgin.' And really, I was surrounded by such an eclectic group of people my whole life." (2000)
"People think of me as a mannequin, all show and no substance."
After 9/11, I am proud to live downtown. There's something slightly defiant about living down here. (2004)
Being nice to everybody, saying hello to everyone in the room, signing every autograph; it was instilled in me at a very young age that this was what I was suppose to do. But I don't think it helps at all. I see more people who are rude or arrogant being rewarded - but, this way, I can put my head on the pillow at night. I can look at my child and know that, to my daughter, I'm the best example I can possibly be. (2005)
On the May 26th, 2005 edition of
"Access Hollywood" (1996),
Tom Cruise criticized her career and her "misguided" use of the "dangerous" anti-depressant, Paxil, to treat her postpartum depression. He also said that the best treatment option for women experiencing postpartum depression is vitamins. She responded by saying, "
Tom Cruise's comments are irresponsible and dangerous. Tom should stick to saving the world from aliens and let women who are experiencing postpartum depression decide what treatment options are best for them".
"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life." (1982)
"I've never been naturally fashion conscious. I'm the kind of person who sees a whole outfit in a magazine, runs out and buys it but looks like a clown. I'm not like Gwyneth and all those fashion-savvy girls, although someone told me they all have stylists." (2005)
"Honesty is the quality I value most in a friend. Not bluntness, but honesty with compassion." (2005)
"I've never found therapy to be a sign of weakness; I've found the opposite to be true. The willingness to have a mirror held up to you definitely requires strength." (2005)
"Princeton gave me something that can never be taken away from me. It taught me how to think."
"Don't waste a minute not being happy. If one window closes, run to the next window - or break down a door." Woman's World (3-14-06)
I'm not enamored by fame. I don't covet it, the way someone who's anonymous wants it, and then their life changes. This has always been my life. You don't romanticize it when you've seen the underbelly of it, when you've seen rejection, the games, the way self-esteem is challenged and threatened. It's an industry that's predicated on knocking people down. Only the strong survive. (2007)
what can i say about this amazing beautiful actress, i have had a love affair with Brooke Shields since I was a very little boy, which is funny cause I think we are around the same age. The Blue Lagoon, I loved that film, i remember having the Poster up on my bedroom wall. I think I saw it in the theaters about 3 times. awe, to frolic on the sandy shores with the likes of them both, Christopher Adkins and Brooke. I know that she gets a lot of slack for not being a great actress, in her early work such as ENDLESS LOVE, rumored to have had pins stuck into the bottom of her feet so that she could emote emotions, hello! One Of my dreams is to work with her. I have loved her fro so long it would just be amazing! She has the type of face that welcomes you. I just wanted to write a wee bit, but as usual i will post my selected all time favorite films! Enjoy!
Brooke Shields Selected Films
1978- Pretty baby
1979- Tilt
1980- The Blue Lagoon
1981 - Endless Love
1983- Sahara
1984- Wet Gold
1993-- Freaked
1998- The Misadventures Of Margret
2001- What Makes A Family
Today
