Brooke Shields facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brooke Shields
Shields in 2022
Born	Brooke Christa Shields (1965-05-31) May 31, 1965 (age 60) New York City, New York, U.S.
Education	Princeton University (BA)
Occupation	Actress model
Years active	1966–present
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Spouse(s)	Andre Agassi ​ ​ (m. 1997; div. 1999)​ Chris Henchy ​ (m. 2001)​
Children	2
Parents	Francis Alexander Shields (father) Teri Shields (mother)
Relatives	Frank Shields (grandfather) Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi (grandmother) Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince of Civitella-Cesi (grand-uncle)

Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She began her career as a child model when she was very young. At age 12, she became widely known for her main role in the film ... Baby (1978). She continued modeling and starred in several movies in the 1980s, including The Blue Lagoon (1980) and Endless Love (1981).

In 1983, Shields paused her modeling career to attend Princeton University. She earned a bachelor's degree in Romance languages. In the 1990s, Shields returned to acting. She appeared in the NBC sitcoms Suddenly Susan (1996–2000) and Lipstick Jungle (2008–2009). She received two Golden Globe nominations for Suddenly Susan.

In 2017, Shields had a big role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit during its 19th season. She also lent her voice to Beverly Goodman in the animated series Mr. Pickles (2014–2019) and its spin-off Momma Named Me Sheriff.

Early Life and Family History

Shields was born in Manhattan, New York City, on May 31, 1965. Her mother was actress and model Teri Shields. Her father was businessman Francis Alexander Shields. Her family background includes English, German, Scotch-Irish, Welsh, French, Irish, and Italian roots.

Research shows that Brooke Shields has family connections to several noble families from Italy. These include the Gattilusi, Grimaldi, Imperiali, Carafa, Doria, Doria-Pamphili-Landi, Chigi-Albani, and Torlonia families. Her grandmother on her father's side was an Italian noblewoman named Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi. Marina was the daughter of an Italian prince and an American socialite. Brooke's great-uncle, Alessandro Torlonia, was married to Infanta Beatriz of Spain.

In a 2010 episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, Shields learned more about her family tree. She found out she is a descendant of Victor Amadeus I of Savoy. He was a duke whose wife, Christine of France, was a daughter of King Henry IV of France.

Brooke's parents divorced when she was only five months old. She has two stepbrothers and three half-sisters. When Brooke was just five days old, her mother said she wanted her to be in show business. She said, "She's the most beautiful child and I'm going to help her with her career." As she grew up, Shields took piano, ballet, and horse-riding lessons.

Shields was raised in the Roman Catholic faith. For her confirmation at age 10, she chose the name Camille. She lived in Haworth, New Jersey, while attending high school. Shields remembers her first time seeing paparazzi at age 12. She was at the Waldorf Astoria New York and wondered why they were all taking her picture.

Shields went to the New Lincoln School in New York City until eighth grade. She graduated from the Dwight-Englewood School in Englewood, New Jersey, in 1983.

Career Highlights

Early Modeling and Acting

Shields in 1977

Brooke Shields started her career as a model at just 11 months old in 1966. Her first job was for Ivory Soap. She was photographed by Francesco Scavullo. She continued to be a successful child model with agent Eileen Ford. Ford even started a special children's division just for Shields. Ford described her as "a professional child and unique."

After appearing in a 1974 TV show based on Arthur Miller's play After the Fall, Shields made her first movie. It was a horror film called Alice, Sweet Alice (1976). She was chosen for the role after the director saw her in a Vogue magazine ad. The movie was re-released in 1981 when Shields became more famous. She also worked with director Woody Allen in his 1977 film Annie Hall, but her part was not included in the final movie.

Shields and her mother, Teri, were on the cover of New York Magazine in September 1977. The story was about her modeling career.

Breakthrough Film Roles

At 11 years old, Shields was cast in the main role of French director Louis Malle's film ... Baby (1978). She played a child named Violet who lived in a special house, and her mother was played by Susan Sarandon. The film caused a lot of discussion when it came out.

Shields was on the cover of People magazine in May 1978. The headline talked about the attention surrounding her role in the film.

She also appeared in the 1979 film Just You and Me, Kid, which co-starred George Burns. For her work in this movie, she was paid a large amount of money.

Just You and Me, Kid did not get good reviews. Critic Roger Ebert called it "a charming disappointment." Another critic, Gene Siskel, said that Brooke Shields was "not very interesting" on screen and "just can't act."

Other movies Shields appeared in around this time were Wanda Nevada and Tilt, both released in 1979.

Modeling and More Movies

In 1980, at 14, Shields was the youngest fashion model to appear on the cover of Vogue. Later that year, Shields was featured in advertisements for Calvin Klein jeans. These ads helped make Calvin Klein very famous.

Shields in 1986

Her next big role was in The Blue Lagoon (1980). This movie showed two teenagers stranded on a tropical island. The same year, she was the youngest guest star on The Muppet Show. She and the Muppets performed their own version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. In 1981, she was also the youngest person to host ABC's Fridays, a sketch comedy show.

Her next major film was Franco Zeffirelli's drama Endless Love (1981). For her acting in this film, she received a nomination for a Razzie Award for worst actress.

Shields won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Young Performer for four years in a row, from 1981 to 1984. During this time, she also appeared in public service announcements for the American Lung Association. These ads encouraged famous people to be examples of non-smoking.

By age 16, Shields was one of the most recognized faces in the United States. This was due to her career as a model and young actress. Time magazine reported in 1981 that she earned $10,000 a day as a model. In 1983, Shields appeared on the covers of several Vogue magazines. During this time, Shields often visited New York City's nightclub Studio 54.

In the mid-1980s, Shields began supporting the USO by touring with Bob Hope.

Legal Battle Over Photos

From 1981 to 1983, Shields, her mother, and photographer Garry Gross were involved in a legal case. This case was about the rights to photographs her mother had agreed to let Gross use. Gross had taken a set of photos in 1975 of a ten-year-old Brooke Shields. Her mother, Teri Shields, had given permission for these photos to be used in a publication called Sugar 'n' Spice. The photos showed Shields in a bathtub, wearing makeup and covered in oil. The courts decided in favor of the photographer because of a specific New York law.

Richard Prince's Art

In 1983, after the legal case, artist Richard Prince took a photograph of one of Gross's photos of the 10-year-old Shields. He framed it and displayed it in a shopfront in New York City.

In 2005, Prince created a new work called Spiritual America IV. He worked with Shields, who was 40 years old at the time. This new artwork shows Shields in a very similar pose to the original. However, in this version, she is wearing jewelry and a bronze bikini.

Sahara and Awards

Shields played a main role in the film Sahara (1983). She was paid a large fee for this movie. Her mother, Teri Shields, was also involved as an executive producer. The movie did not do well with critics or financially.

For Sahara, Shields received a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor. This award is given for the worst performances in film.

Break for College and Studies

After a small appearance in The Muppets Take Manhattan, Shields took a break from her career. She wanted to focus on her college studies. She started at Princeton University in the fall of 1983. She graduated in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French literature. She was part of the Princeton Triangle Club and the Cap and Gown Club. Her autobiography, On Your Own, was published in 1985. Her final paper for college was about the journey from childhood to teenage years in films by Louis Malle.

Film, Stage, and TV Roles

Shields aboard USS Midway during a USO tour on January 1, 1991

Shields played the main character in the 1989 movie Brenda Starr. This movie was filmed in 1986 but was delayed for years due to legal issues. When the film was finally released in 1993, critics did not like it, and it did not do well at the box office.

Kevin Thomas from the Los Angeles Times said the movie should have stayed "on the shelf." Peter Travers from Rolling Stone also gave it a negative review. Entertainment Weekly later listed it as one of the "21 Worst Comic-Book Movies Ever."

In 1993, Shields made a guest appearance on The Simpsons in an episode called "The Front". The next year, she played Rizzo in the 1994 Broadway revival of Grease.

In a 1996 episode of the popular sitcom Friends, Shields played a character who was a big fan of Joey Tribbiani. This role led to her being cast in the main role of the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan. She starred in this show from 1996 to 2000. For her work, she won a People's Choice Award in 1997 and received two Golden Globe nominations.

Shields at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival

Later Television and Film Work

In 2001, Lifetime aired the film What Makes a Family. Shields and Cherry Jones starred in this true story about a couple fighting adoption laws. For four months starting in July 2001, Shields played Sally Bowles in the Broadway revival of Cabaret.

In 2004, Shields made several guest appearances on That '70s Show. She played Pam Burkhart, the mother of Jackie (Mila Kunis). Shields left the show when her character's story ended.

In September 2004, she took over the role of Ruth Sherwood in the 2003 revival of Wonderful Town. Her performance was highly praised. Ben Brantley of The New York Times liked the "goofy sweetness" she brought to the role. In April 2005, Shields played Roxie Hart in a long-running production of Chicago in London. Later that year, she played the role again on Broadway. This made her the first person to star in Chicago, Cabaret, and Grease on Broadway.

Shields narrated a musical piece called The Runaway Bunny. It was performed by the Royal Philharmonic.

Shields in 2008

In the late 2000s, Shields made guest appearances on shows like FX's Nip/Tuck and CBS's Two and a Half Men. In 2005, Shields appeared in an episode of HBO's Entourage. In 2007, she was a guest on Disney's Hannah Montana, playing Susan Stewart, the mother of Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus). In 2008, she returned to prime time in the drama Lipstick Jungle, which ended a year later.

Starting in 2010, she made guest appearances on The Middle. She played the mother of a group of wild children and a rival to Frankie Heck (Patricia Heaton). She also appeared on NBC's family history show, Who Do You Think You Are?. On the show, it was revealed that she is a distant cousin of King Louis XIV of France.

Recent Work

Shields took on the role of Morticia Addams in the Broadway musical The Addams Family starting in June 2011.

Since 2013, Shields has been an occasional guest co-host on the Today show on NBC. She also had a recurring role in Season Nineteen of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She played Sheila Porter, the grandmother of Olivia Benson's (Mariska Hargitay) adopted son.

Shields is the subject of the 2023 documentary, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields. This two-part series, which aired on Hulu in April 2023, explores her journey from a young girl to a woman finding her strength.

In 2024, Shields was chosen as the president of the Actors' Equity Association. She also starred in the Netflix film Mother of the Bride alongside Miranda Cosgrove.

Other Projects

Shields has written three books. In 2006, she wrote Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression. In 2015, she published There Was a Little Girl, which is about her relationship with her mother. In 2025, she published Brooke Shields is not Allowed to Get Old, a book about aging as a woman.

In 2022, she started a podcast called Now What?. It focuses on how people deal with challenges.

Personal Life

Shields with husband Chris Henchy in 2010

As a child, Shields lived with her mother in Manhattan. In 1990, she bought a ranch near Big Timber, Montana. She also had a home in Los Angeles, which she sold in 2022.

In the 1990s, Shields promoted physical fitness as part of being feminine. She believed that being active and feminine could go together.

Shields has been married twice. In 1993, she started a relationship with tennis player Andre Agassi. They married in 1997 and divorced in 1999.

In 1999, she met television writer Chris Henchy. They married in 2001. They have two daughters: Rowan Francis Henchy, born in 2003, and Grier Hammond Henchy, born in 2006. As of 2012, they were living in Greenwich Village, New York City.

Postpartum Depression

Between April and May 2005, Shields spoke to magazines and appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She shared her experience with postpartum depression. This condition caused her to feel extreme sadness and have difficulty connecting with her baby. Her book, Down Came the Rain, talks about her experience. This helped more people learn about postpartum depression.

In May 2005, actor Tom Cruise criticized Shields for using and supporting antidepressant medication. Shields responded that Cruise's comments were "irresponsible" and "dangerous." She said he should "stick to fighting aliens" and "let mothers decide the best way to treat postpartum depression." Shields wrote an article in The New York Times in July 2005. She explained that her feelings were linked to a chemical change in her body. She said that with a doctor's help, she was able to stop the medication. She also stated that without it, she would not have become the loving parent she is today. In August 2006, Cruise apologized to Shields in person, and she accepted his apology. That November, she and her husband attended Cruise's wedding.

Friendship with Michael Jackson

On July 7, 2009, Shields spoke at the memorial service for Michael Jackson. She said she first met Jackson when she was 13 years old, and they became friends right away. Shields shared that their friendship felt "most natural and easiest." She said, "Both of us needed to be adults very early, but when we were together, we were two little kids having fun."

In her speech, she shared stories, including a time they snuck into Elizabeth Taylor's room at her wedding. Shields gave a tearful speech, remembering their many shared moments. She also mentioned Jackson's favorite song, "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin.

Jackson stated in a 1993 interview that he was dating Shields at the time. Shields has said that Jackson asked her to marry him many times and to adopt a child together.

In a conversation in 2001, Jackson said of Shields: "That was one of the loves of my life. I think she loved me as much as I loved her... We dated a lot. We, we went out a lot."

Relationship with Media

After Shields graduated from Princeton University, her college grades were published in Life magazine in July 1987. Based on this, The New York Times published an article. It suggested that Princeton's education might not be as broad as claimed. The article noted that Shields "got all As and Bs" and "paid attention to her school work." However, it pointed out she wasn't required to take certain subjects like history, math, or science with labs.

This article showed the intense media attention Shields faced. This attention began after the 1978 film ... Baby. In a March 2023 Vogue profile, Chloe Malle, the director's daughter, discussed the film and the 2023 documentary Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields. She said the media was often harsh towards Shields. Reporters asked a young Shields to explain how she was portrayed in the film. Shields recalled an interview where a journalist asked her to compare her measurements. Shields said she felt more uncomfortable and mistreated by that than by a scene in ... Baby.

Filmography

Awards and Nominations

Published Works

• On Your Own (1985)
• Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression (2006)
• There Was a Little Girl (2015)
• Brooke Shields is not Allowed to Get Old (2025)

Images for kids

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  Shields in 1977

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  Shields in 1986

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  Shields aboard USS Midway during a USO tour on January 1, 1991

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  Shields at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival

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  Shields in 2008

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  Shields with husband Chris Henchy in 2010

See also

In Spanish: Brooke Shields para niños