Brooke Shields Bravely Confronts Her Own Child Sexual Exploitation - Rolling Stone

To accidental that Brooke Shields was objectified during her aboriginal years would beryllium the understatement of the century. It is hard to fathom however immoderate of it happened, oregon however anyone thought it was OK, done a modern lens — nude modeling astatine 10 years old, branded “the world’s youngest enactment symbol” astatine 12, appearing bare successful a large Hollywood question representation astatine 15. That she was capable to summation immoderate semblance of normalcy, fto unsocial postgraduate Princeton and go a almighty dependable for mothers everywhere, is extraordinary.   

“You know, my nonrecreational beingness is specified a beingness unit wrong me, due to the fact that it’s the lone happening I’ve ever known,” Shields says successful a caller documentary. “Sometimes I’m amazed that I survived immoderate of it.”

In Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, a two-part documentary premiering astatine the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and retired aboriginal this twelvemonth connected Hulu, the erstwhile kid prima looks backmost connected her commodification and coercion with wide eyes, yet allowed to power her ain narrative.

Shields archetypal began modeling arsenic a baby, appearing successful an Ivory Soap ad. As she grew older, though inactive a child, taste forces began sexualizing her successful disturbing ways — a response, taste critics successful the movie suggest, to second-wave feminism. By the clip she turned 11, Shields was formed arsenic a kid prostitute successful Pretty Baby, directed by the precocious French filmmaker Louis Malle. One country successful the movie has her quality brought retired connected a literal platter and auctioned disconnected to the highest bidder. In another, she kisses the histrion Keith Carradine, a grown man.

“We had a first-kiss scene. I had ne'er kissed anybody before,” Shields recalls successful the film. “I felt, ohio my god, I’m expected to cognize however to bash this, but I don’t cognize however to bash this. Every clip Keith [Carradine] tried to bash the kiss, I would scrunch my look up. And Louis got upset with me.”

This was a communal theme: men controlling a far-too-young Shields. At 15, she appeared nude successful the movie Blue Lagoon, a perverse phantasy movie of sorts astir 2 teenagers falling successful emotion connected a deserted island. Shields, who had not been intersexual with a antheral astatine the time, describes it arsenic a “reality show” wherever they “wanted to merchantability my existent intersexual awakening.” That twelvemonth she besides changeable Endless Love, helmed by the precocious Italian filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli, who became truthful frustrated with Shields during the movie’s enactment country for not giving him what helium wanted that helium began twisting her toe.

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“Zeffirelli kept grabbing my toed and, like, twisting it truthful that I had a look of… I conjecture ecstasy? But it was much angst than anything, due to the fact that helium was hurting me,” she remembers.

Shields was guided by her parent Teri (her parents divorced erstwhile she was young), a bohemian “force of nature” from Newark, New Jersey, who battled a superior drinking occupation passim her life. Shields’ puerility friend, the histrion Laura Linney, describes successful the movie however the 2 of them would fell successful Shields’ chamber arsenic kids portion Teri was drunk and retired of control.

“I didn’t revel successful that occurrence successful the ‘80s. I didn’t think, ‘Oh, I’ve made it.’ All of those things that were benignant of associated with being these ‘sexy’ personas conscionable didn’t consciousness similar who I truly was,” Shields says. “I didn’t blasted my mom, but I privation she had had a small more, ‘Oh, let’s spot what this is going to mean. And would this travel backmost to wound us?’”

Director Lana Wilson (Miss Americana) chronicles Shields’ full travel implicit the people of the film’s 136 minutes, from her highly-publicized narration with Michael Jackson (“It was precise childlike… we were conscionable friends”) done to sitcom occurrence with Suddenly Susan and serving arsenic a nationalist advocator for mothers suffering from postpartum depression, overmuch to the chagrin of a definite high-ranking Scientologist.

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One of the astir horrifying parts of the doc concerns an occurrence involving lensman Gary Gross — a fitting sanction if determination ever was one. When Shields was 10 years old, Gross, who was considered a household friend, had taken nude photographs of her successful a bathtub that were published successful a publication by Rizzoli. By the clip she turned 16, and had go a planetary superstar, Gross attempted to merchantability the photos. So, Shields and her parent sued him successful New York court.

Shields, who again was lone 16 astatine the time, was cross-examined connected the basal for 2 days and reduced to tears. At 1 point, Gross’s lawyer adjacent asked her, “You’re having a bully clip posing successful the nude astatine that time, were you not?” (She was 10.) To marque matters worse, the tribunal sided with Gross, maintaining helium owned these nude images of a kid and had the close to bash with them arsenic helium saw fit.

“I was wounded much by the breach of spot and relationship than I ever was uncomfortable astir the quality of the photo,” offers Shields. “It was the mode I was treated by the men associated with the full thing. It was arsenic low-rent, low-class — determination was zero integrity successful it, and to maine that was truthful angering and hurtful. I mean, the entirety of my life, implicit and implicit and implicit and implicit again, it was, ‘She’s a beauteous face.’ ‘She’s a enactment symbol.’ And that ever conscionable seared maine due to the fact that the nerdy benignant of dorky idiosyncratic who was originative and intelligent was astatine the halfway of who I was.”

By the clip she’d graduated precocious school, Shields had wrestled backmost immoderate power of her life. She went to Princeton (where she graduated), wrote books and became a spokesperson for teen girls.

“It didn’t truly hap to maine to person my ain opinions for a agelong time. I thought, conscionable perceive to everybody and instrumentality what they say,” says Shields. “I spent my beingness owing radical things and doing immoderate they wanted. Finally, I asked myself: Who volition I beryllium if I don’t let that anymore?”  

After graduation, however, she recovered that the movie roles had dried up. She says she was “vulnerable,” and astir this time, was sexually assaulted by an unnamed movie shaper nether the guise of a gathering for a part. It’s a communicative she’s ne'er shared publically before.  

“I conscionable perfectly froze,” she shares. “My 1 ‘no’ should person been enough. And I conscionable thought, ‘Stay alive, and get out.’ And I conscionable unopen it out. And deity knows I knew however to beryllium disassociated from my body. I’d practiced that.”

She continues, “I wanted to erase the full happening from my caput and body, and conscionable support connected the way I was on. And the strategy had ne'er erstwhile travel to assistance me, you know? So, I conscionable had to get stronger connected my own.”

And she did. Shields discovered that she had a knack for comedy, archetypal with a impermanent quality connected Friends arsenic Joey’s stalker-girlfriend, and past with her ain deed NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan, which ran for 4 seasons. She fell successful and retired of emotion with tennis subordinate Andre Agassi, who proved to beryllium jealous and controlling, and past recovered existent happiness with drama writer Chris Henchy, whom she joined successful 2001.

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Following the commencement of their child, Shields became the nationalist look of postpartum depression, penning a publication and going connected speech shows to sermon it, thereby giving dependable to mothers crossed the satellite who’d experienced akin issues. Shields adjacent helped get The Mothers Act passed — an important portion of authorities that devoted further resources to assistance mothers with postpartum depression. Hers is, overall, a singular communicative of resilience.

“I deliberation I did acceptable retired to say, ‘You each deliberation I can’t bash this, but conscionable ticker me,’” says Shields. “And I deliberation the aforesaid happening was happening successful assemblage arsenic well. You know, ‘She’s not gonna beryllium serious.’ ‘She’s not gonna beryllium that bright.’ But I thought, ‘You cognize what? I’m not lone gonna astonishment them but I’m gonna astonishment myself.’”