Brooke Shields breaks down in tears as she questions why her mom let her star in intimate scenes aged just 11

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By Nasima Khatun

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Brooke Shields opened up about what it feels like knowing her own mother, Teri Shields, let her star in intimate scenes when she was just a child.

In a clip from her documentary -Brooke Shields: Pretty Baby - the 58-year-old star questioned her mom's intentions when she allowed her to participate in inappropriate scenes during the 1978 film Pretty Baby, in which she played a child prostitute.

In the movie, Shields was forced to kiss Keith Carradine - who was 27 at the time - while also appearing naked in some of the scenes. It was reported that her mother just stood by and watched it all take place, telling her daughter that it was all just "make-believe."

She stated that her own daughters - Rowan, 20, and Grier, 17 - refuse to watch it due to its "pornographic" nature.

"It's child pornography," Rowan says in the clip. "Would you have let us [do that] at the age of 11?"

The mom replies back with "No" before breaking down in tears.

Speaking to The Sunday Times about the incident, the actress says: "That was hard for me, to not justify my mom to them, but when they asked, I thought, 'Oh God, I have to admit this.'

"But I don't know why she thought it was all right," she adds.

As per the Daily Mail, the star's mother was an alcoholic who passed away in 2012. hields, Shields admitted that despite what she went through, she could not be angry at her as her mom was so insecure.

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Brooke Shields and her daughter Grier Hammond Henchy. Credit: Randy Brooke / Getty

Not only was Shields forced to take part in nude scenes as a child, she also posed for a Playboy publication at the age of 10.

"I don't know why she thought it was all right. I don't know," she said.

The actress, who also starred in Suddenly Susan and That '70s Show, revealed that it felt strange not to justify her mom's actions while speaking of the incident, which is something she had been doing all of her life.

"That was... that was hard for me, to not justify my mom to them, but when they asked me, I thought, 'Oh God, I have to admit this," Shields told The Times when speaking about the documentary. "I mean, I could say, 'Oh, it was the time back then,' or 'Oh, it was art.' But I don't know why she thought it was all right. I don't know."

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Brooke Shields in Pretty Baby. Credit: Fotos International / Getty

Shields was later forced to take on roles in Blue Lagoon and Endless Love, both of which featured nude and sexual scenes.

The former saw her character constantly strip down and engage in sexual activities with her costar Christopher Atkins, who was 18 at the time. Shields was 14.

While a body double did stand in for her, she alleged that filmmakers encouraged her to pursue a real romance with Atkins off-screen.

In that same year, she also graced the cover of Vogue as the youngest cover star ever.

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Brooke with her mother/manager Teri Shields. Credit: Robert R. McElroy / Getty

The following year, Shields starred in the romantic drama, Endless Love, where she played a love-struck teen who was forbidden from seeing her childhood sweetheart.

But what really propelled her to superstardom was her advertisement for Calvin Klein Jeans. The campaign saw her topless for some of the shots, while the others were seemingly just as inappropriate and provocative as she was snapped in several different poses on a bed wearing a short skirt.

Elsewhere during the documentary, Shields also opens up about a sexual assault incident that saw her blaming herself for years after. Shields was in her 20s during the "lowest point of [her] career" when the horrifying ordeal occurred.

She spoke about how she had just finished having dinner with a Hollywood executive, hoping she was going to get a role in a movie at the end of it. However, he instead got her to call a cab to his hotel room where she was assaulted.

"I didn't fight," as she recounts in the documentary. "I just froze."

Things got worse as the actress started blaming herself for what had happened, focusing on all the little details from that night.

"I kept saying, 'I shouldn't have done that. Why did I go up with him? I shouldn't have had that drink at dinner.'"

"It was really easy to disassociate because by then it was old hat," she recalls. "And because it was a fight-or-flight type of choice. Fight was not an option, so you just leave your body. 'You're not there. It didn't happen.'"

In order to overcome the memory, she learned how to disassociate.

"I'd always had a sense of disassociation from my body. From my sexuality," she says. "I was mostly a cover girl, so it's all here," Shields adds, indicating from her neck up, "And it was just easier to shut myself off. I was good at it."

Now, she's sharing her experience "with the hopes of helping people not feel alone."

"Everybody processes their own trauma on a different timeline. I want to be an advocate for women to be able to speak their truth," the 57-year-old added.

"I always kept going, like a bull in a china shop... I will not be defeated."

Brooke Shields: Pretty Baby is available to stream on Hulu.

Featured Image Credit: Santiago Felipe/Getty

Brooke Shields breaks down in tears as she questions why her mom let her star in intimate scenes aged just 11

vt-author-image

By Nasima Khatun

Article saved!Article saved!

Brooke Shields opened up about what it feels like knowing her own mother, Teri Shields, let her star in intimate scenes when she was just a child.

In a clip from her documentary -Brooke Shields: Pretty Baby - the 58-year-old star questioned her mom's intentions when she allowed her to participate in inappropriate scenes during the 1978 film Pretty Baby, in which she played a child prostitute.

In the movie, Shields was forced to kiss Keith Carradine - who was 27 at the time - while also appearing naked in some of the scenes. It was reported that her mother just stood by and watched it all take place, telling her daughter that it was all just "make-believe."

She stated that her own daughters - Rowan, 20, and Grier, 17 - refuse to watch it due to its "pornographic" nature.

"It's child pornography," Rowan says in the clip. "Would you have let us [do that] at the age of 11?"

The mom replies back with "No" before breaking down in tears.

Speaking to The Sunday Times about the incident, the actress says: "That was hard for me, to not justify my mom to them, but when they asked, I thought, 'Oh God, I have to admit this.'

"But I don't know why she thought it was all right," she adds.

As per the Daily Mail, the star's mother was an alcoholic who passed away in 2012. hields, Shields admitted that despite what she went through, she could not be angry at her as her mom was so insecure.

size-full wp-image-1263244385
Brooke Shields and her daughter Grier Hammond Henchy. Credit: Randy Brooke / Getty

Not only was Shields forced to take part in nude scenes as a child, she also posed for a Playboy publication at the age of 10.

"I don't know why she thought it was all right. I don't know," she said.

The actress, who also starred in Suddenly Susan and That '70s Show, revealed that it felt strange not to justify her mom's actions while speaking of the incident, which is something she had been doing all of her life.

"That was... that was hard for me, to not justify my mom to them, but when they asked me, I thought, 'Oh God, I have to admit this," Shields told The Times when speaking about the documentary. "I mean, I could say, 'Oh, it was the time back then,' or 'Oh, it was art.' But I don't know why she thought it was all right. I don't know."

size-full wp-image-1263244386
Brooke Shields in Pretty Baby. Credit: Fotos International / Getty

Shields was later forced to take on roles in Blue Lagoon and Endless Love, both of which featured nude and sexual scenes.

The former saw her character constantly strip down and engage in sexual activities with her costar Christopher Atkins, who was 18 at the time. Shields was 14.

While a body double did stand in for her, she alleged that filmmakers encouraged her to pursue a real romance with Atkins off-screen.

In that same year, she also graced the cover of Vogue as the youngest cover star ever.

size-full wp-image-1263244387
Brooke with her mother/manager Teri Shields. Credit: Robert R. McElroy / Getty

The following year, Shields starred in the romantic drama, Endless Love, where she played a love-struck teen who was forbidden from seeing her childhood sweetheart.

But what really propelled her to superstardom was her advertisement for Calvin Klein Jeans. The campaign saw her topless for some of the shots, while the others were seemingly just as inappropriate and provocative as she was snapped in several different poses on a bed wearing a short skirt.

Elsewhere during the documentary, Shields also opens up about a sexual assault incident that saw her blaming herself for years after. Shields was in her 20s during the "lowest point of [her] career" when the horrifying ordeal occurred.

She spoke about how she had just finished having dinner with a Hollywood executive, hoping she was going to get a role in a movie at the end of it. However, he instead got her to call a cab to his hotel room where she was assaulted.

"I didn't fight," as she recounts in the documentary. "I just froze."

Things got worse as the actress started blaming herself for what had happened, focusing on all the little details from that night.

"I kept saying, 'I shouldn't have done that. Why did I go up with him? I shouldn't have had that drink at dinner.'"

"It was really easy to disassociate because by then it was old hat," she recalls. "And because it was a fight-or-flight type of choice. Fight was not an option, so you just leave your body. 'You're not there. It didn't happen.'"

In order to overcome the memory, she learned how to disassociate.

"I'd always had a sense of disassociation from my body. From my sexuality," she says. "I was mostly a cover girl, so it's all here," Shields adds, indicating from her neck up, "And it was just easier to shut myself off. I was good at it."

Now, she's sharing her experience "with the hopes of helping people not feel alone."

"Everybody processes their own trauma on a different timeline. I want to be an advocate for women to be able to speak their truth," the 57-year-old added.

"I always kept going, like a bull in a china shop... I will not be defeated."

Brooke Shields: Pretty Baby is available to stream on Hulu.

Featured Image Credit: Santiago Felipe/Getty