The following article includes details related to child abuse, sexual assault, and rape.
At just 11 months old, Shields was launched into the entertainment industry as a baby model.
In each of these roles, the young actor was sexualized and forced to take part in intimate scenes.
The media dubbed the young girl the “next Lolita” (viaVogue).
Nevertheless, her journey has been anything but easy.
“I just knew she’d be a star,” Teri once said (viaCNN).
Brooke’s first modeling gig was in an ad for Ivory soap.
“I don’t know how that’s possible.”
“I never knew anything different,” she said.
“I mean, at 11, I didn’t know what I was doing,” she toldNPR.
“I learned to compartmentalise at an early age,” she said (via theEvening Standard).
“It was a survival technique.”
Despite having to do several uncomfortable things on set, Shields retains an appreciation for the experience.
It was all internal.
I just sat there as I repeatedly got slapped in the face.
Whatever you might think of the film, these certainly were not safe working conditions for a child.
In fact, Shields had to film a sex scene for the film.
Even at the time, the actor felt uncomfortable.
“I didn’t trust the director to create a safe environment for me.”
“I thought as myself as just the sort of the workhorse.
It was transactional.”
In numerous interviews, she was probed about her own sex life.
and was pressured into answering questions that were inappropriate for a child (viaYouTube).
In hindsight, Shields can’t believe the kinds of questions she was forced to sit through.
I mean [in one interview]Barbara Walters turns around and asks me for my measurements.
It was absurd," she said.
The photo was taken by Garry Gross in 1975 for Sugar and Spice, an off-shoot of Playboy Magazine.
In 1981, Shields' mother sued Gross for selling the photographs after Shields became famous.
In 1983, Shields returned to court once again to attempt to stop the sale of the photos.
Shields once again lost the case in 1983 and the photos continued to be sold.
At the time, Shields and Cain were both students at Princeton.
The first time the pair had sex, Shields apparently panicked.
I didn’t know where I was going," she said.
Shields went on to explain that she was afraid he would see her differently after they had sex.
He got it immediately and I just cried," she recalled.
“It was seen as a huge risk and a rebellion for her.
It was just not what sex symbols did.”
Even though Shields was passionate about her education, it wasn’t exactly an easy time.
For one thing, many people were too scared to approach her.
“And people tried to be so nice, just tried to give me my space.”
She also missed her mother.
Instead, she struggled to find work and even ended up doing some Japanese commercials.
“It was a really scary, rough period of rejection,” she said.
Even though the pair were extremely close, their relationship wasn’t exactly healthy.
Teri also struggled with alcoholism, which turned Brooke into the responsible one in the relationship.
“You never know what’s going to happen with an alcoholic parent.
The primary thing is they go away.
The person you know leaves.
And you are left alone.”
“It’s something that she mentioned in our very first meeting.
She said, ‘One thing I’ve never talked about is this experience of sexual assault.
I think I am ready to share that.'”
He took her to a hotel room and left again.
She found a pair of binoculars and started watching a volleyball game that happened to be taking place outside.
“I put the binoculars down, and he’s right on me.
Just like, was wrestling.”
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available.
Visit theRape, Abuse & Incest National internet websiteor contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
The pair met when she was just 13 years old and he was 20.
Things took a turn in the friendship after Jackson allegedly used the relationship to raise his profile.
According to Shields, he told Oprah Winfrey in 1993 that they were a romantic couple.
Shields apparently felt betrayed and the friendship soon fizzled out.
Eventually, the pair managed to become friends again.
By 1999, the marriage had fallen apart.
Agassi allegedly had an addiction to crystal meth, which made the relationship difficult.
He also struggled with feelings of jealousy.
“He got in his car and drove all the way to Vegas.”
“I’ve never reconnected with him,” said Shields in the documentary (viaUSA Today).
“That was an important stage and relationship in my life and I don’t regret it.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available.
Visit theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration websiteor contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Though this marriage was happier, it still came with its share of struggles.
In 2003, the pair had their first child but this came after a struggle with infertility.
Shields had treatment for cervical dysplasia, which resulted in fertility issues.
Shield’s first pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage.
“We were crushed,” the actor told People.
As Shields later revealed in “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields,” the miscarriage changed her forever.
“In one night, I became a full-blown adult,” said the actor (viaToday).
“It was the way I looked at it.
I was like, ‘Oh, this is what real loss is.'”
After a long process of IVF attempts, the pair finally had two children, Rowan and Grier.
While her older daughter thought the film was important, her younger daughter found it harder to watch.
In fact, her younger daughterGrier Henchyapparently felt that Shields had hidden the truth from them.
“She said, ‘Nothing you say to me, Mom, is going to make it better.’
She said, ‘I hate seeing bad things happen to you.'”
Grier allegedly started crying and had to leave the screening room.
