EXCLUSIVE: Brooke Shields Reflects on Rollercoaster Career After Hitting 59 – Including Impact of Shooting Underwear Campaign When She Was Still a Virgin
Brooke Shields has reflected on living life in the spotlight ever since she was a youth.
June 9 2025, Published 7:30 a.m. ET
Beautiful Brooke Shields was in show business before she could walk or talk – mother Teri got her a gig at 11 months old as a model for Ivory Snow.
RadarOnline.com can reveal her biggest ups and downs by looking at her views on her favorite roles – and her comments on the photoshoot that still haunts her.
Child Star
Franco Zeffirelli's toe-pinching on the 'Endless Love' set left Shields unimpressed.
1. Pretty Baby (1978)
Shields said: "After Pretty Baby, there was such a firestorm … pitchforks and protests. I always used to say, 'I wonder if I were to play a murderer, would critics be really worried that I was uncomfortable stabbing somebody?'"
2. The Blue Lagoon (1980)
Shields was just 14 years old in the controversial film with partial nudity.
"Never again will a movie be made like that – it wouldn't be allowed," she declared.
3. Calvin Klein (1980)
She thought nothing of the provocative jeans campaign.
"I was naive. It didn’t come into my sort of psyche as them being anything overtly sexual. I was a virgin."
4. Endless Love (1981)
Director Franco Zeffirelli would pinch her toes in order to get a certain reaction from her.
Shields said: "He wanted some look of ecstasy on my face. And, my first reaction was, how about directing? Here's an idea."
5. Brenda Starr (1989)
"I think a lot of the movies I made could have been better,” the actress admitted – adding: "But then again, I'd also have to say that it didn't matter. I wanted to be liked more than I was worried about delivering a master performance."
Playing Sally Bowles in 'Cabaret' marked the moment Broadway finally embraced Shields.
6.Suddenly Susan (1996)
"Suddenly Susan was a revelation," Shields says. "I used to think I would only be credible if I was a 'thespian.' As I got older, I realized I don’t enjoy it. I only enjoy comedy."
7. Cabaret (2001)
On starring as Sally Bowles in the classic production on the Great White Way, she said: "Broadway welcomed me when nobody else was welcoming me."
8. Lipstick Jungle (2008)
On playing a movie executive juggling career and family, the actress said: "I'm a lot like Wendy in my passion. It was the most like me of anyone I'd ever played. I'm a perfectionist like she is. But I never feel like I'm doing anything perfectly."
'Charlie's Angels' nostalgia shaped Shields' joy-filled turn to the screen in the 'Flower Shop Mystery.'
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9. Flower Shop Mystery: Mum’s the Word (2016)
She said about the Hallmark movie and its two sequels: "Harkens back to that exact time when I used to watch Charlie's Angels, Jimmy Rockford, or Magnum, P.I. And I wanted to do something that my kids could watch. Laughing with them is one of the purest joys I have."
10. Jane the Virgin (2018)
On her recurring TV role Shields added: "I revert to being a little kid whenever I get a job. I just get so excited that I'm getting a chance to do what I love again. I walk in with the 'Oh, my god, I'm here' feeling. I just feel so excited that I get invited to the party again."
