Brooke Shields has taken part in a new documentary where she has opened up for the first time about a sexual assault she experienced in her early 20s.
The 57-year-old actress and model - who started her career in the spotlight at just 11 months old in a shampoo commercial - saw the new two-part documentary Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields by Lana Wilson premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
The title of the documentary is a nod to the 1978 film Pretty Baby which starred Shields as the daughter of a prostitute navigating her way through life in 1917 New Orleans, per IMDb.
During the documentary, the 57-year-old opens up for the first time about a sexual assault that occurred when she was seeking to get back into Hollywood in her early 20s, following some time out of the spotlight to attend Princeton University.
As cited by Entertainment Weekly, during the documentary Shields reveals the details about the incident, as someone she already knew had offered to meet her to help her get back into the industry.
Shields said: "It was the first time since college that any interest was sort of expressed [in me]. I thought it was a work meeting. I had met this person before, and he was always nice to me."
She revealed that the pair had dinner before her assaulter invited her back to his hotel so she could call a cab from there. The actress said that she felt uneasy as the mood changed, but she followed him back to his hotel room.
When in the room, she was left alone for a period of time. "I don't want to sit down, because I'm not staying," Shields said. She looked at the sea view from the room with a pair of binoculars as her assaulter came back into the room naked.
"I put the binoculars back and he was right on me," she said. "It was like wrestling. I just absolutely froze. I thought my one 'No' should have been enough. Stay alive and get out."
Shields explained that she "dissociated" herself from her body and when the assault was over, her attacker seemed unphased by the entire thing, and let her leave. The actress stated that she called a cab and cried all the way to her friend's apartment.
The 57-year-old went on to explain that she wrote to her assaulter privately, scolding him for the attack. She also revealed that: "The system had never once come to help me. So I just had to get stronger on my own."
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Shields explained that she had no idea that she would open up about the assault, but the #MeToo movement made her realize that now is the time to speak up.
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields premieres later this year on Hulu.