Brooke Shields Much of his life was spent happily. As a preteen, she politely laughed when reporters asked if she felt oversexualized and exploited in films like 1978. pretty baby And two years later his instantly iconic Calvin Klein ad. She was a dutiful daughter to her mother and manager, teriwhose alcoholism has complicated their intimate relationships indescribably. She smiled for the camera when they followed her to Princeton University in 1985 and asked her about being a virgin (as if it was their business). Young Brooke Shields was a master of standing up and being sweet.

As she got older, she continued to shine but used her voice more distortedly - most memorably in 2005. New York Times Op-Ed Response Tom Cruiseof Attack on her use of antidepressants A period of postpartum depression after the birth of her first daughter, Rowan. He showed off his comedic chops in four seasons of his NBC sitcom, Suddenly Susanand multiple Broadway shows. He published two New York Times Bestselling memoir.

Then he had the nerve to do something (seemingly) unexpected: he grew old. Although her confidence and joy have grown with age — she turns 60 this spring — she writes in her new book, Brooke Shield is never allowed to get old: Thinking about aging as a woman (Sales Tuesday, January 14), “I began to notice that external perceptions did not match my own internal feelings. My industry no longer embraced me with the enthusiasm I had hoped for. Casting agents and producers, but the vibe from my fans was more: You have to stop time… and maybe reverse it.”

To borrow a phrase from his book, f— that. Frustrated by being "ignored at the exact moment I was feeling in my prime," she wrote, she added a new entry to her resume in 2024: founder of Commons, an online community and hair care brand designed for women over 40, and CEO

“As much as I hope to disappear, claim nothing or fade away so I can be frozen in time as a certain (read: younger) version of Brooke Shields,” she wrote, “I more fully want to stand tall and I am now. A woman who can take her place." The star, once known as America's sweetheart, speaks our About his accession to power

The book opens with you and your daughters, Rowan, now 21, and Greer, 18, walking down the street and your realization that people are looking at them, not you. tell me our About that

The conflicts we experience - they hit you all at once. There's this kind of protection, like pride and joy, and then it's a reflection that you're no longer there, technically. And I'm not saying that there's a jealousy or envy, but it's a restructuring: they're starting their journey when you reach a level that hopefully brings (more) happiness and calm but also a lot of fulfilling feelings.

It's the perfect setup for something you write later in the book: "When men stop noticing you, it's a pretty good indicator of how the wider world will treat you."

To me, I think anyone especially who has a daughter can identify with: Oh, my God, I'm not that anymore. What is my worth now?

You talk about learning to use invisibility to your advantage — letting people underestimate you and then capitalizing on it.

If you don't resent it and can't find a way to use it, it's a tool. It's funny, my daughters are religious about these things: "How can you say that, Mom?" I would say, “My ego has no problem playing this game. I'm weakening my opponent to the point that I'm incapacitated.” I found this to be a source of certain strength and power.

I would apologize or start with "I'm probably wrong, but ..." or, "Do you think maybe ...?" I don't have to be weak anymore. And then I don't have to end it with, "But you know better."

How did you learn to navigate this conversation?

You can delay and respect. Often I say, "This is your area of ​​expertise, and I don't pretend to know a percentage of what you do, but in my opinion..." Then I'm a little more on the same footing, and I don't feel like I'm being small for expressing something. To do, where I think I was afraid to voice an opinion.

So many women are more comfortable and confident in their 40s and 50s. Why is there this perception that middle-aged women are completely miserable?

Because they told us we were miserable. And so if you even look at the nature of advertising, well, it's always like, "Do you have dry skin? Are you this? Womp-womp." That's the narrative, and beauty companies, pharmaceutical or whatever, will come and solve all your problems for you. Because if you're happy, well, what if you don't need their dry skin cream? So we've been fed this whole conspiracy.

It is completely correct.

Yes, (aging) has its downsides, but (we're) not chasing anything else: at this age to have kids, to get married, to finish college. There are decades where we're just trying to get to the next level. And then there is a shift.

Once the pressure is off, she notes, older women are more able to be themselves: "We can push the boundaries when we're moving through the world without everyone watching."

That doesn't mean I'm less ambitious. If anything, I'm probably more ambitious because I think I deserve it more. I'm still scared. I still get nervous I'm not good enough. I still have to push myself, (but) we're getting ignorant. We're pretty strong, and I think that's a little scary for everyone.

It takes a different kind of strength to allow yourself the grace to say no — for example, you turned down an invitation to perform with Broadway powerhouses Cynthia Erivo and Susan Boyle. Britain's Got Talent. How do you decide when to say no to what seems like — to everyone else, at least — a golden opportunity?

Have a sense of healthy humility, (of) why you want to do this to yourself? It's not that I'm “less than” as a person, but my abilities are in no way comparable to theirs. I thought if I was good enough, I'd go and at least hold my own, and that would be a feat in itself. But you have to say, "I don't want that feeling in my stomach that I will undoubtedly feel."

You devoted a chapter to being an empty nester as the first, after both of your daughters moved on to Wake Forest University in North Carolina. "My daughters have many skills that I never did," you write. Have you worked to get them away from habits you don't like in yourself, like people-pleasing?

I have one that pleases people, and I have a younger one that is all about right and wrong, and doesn't care what people think. He is very strong in his opinion. Even his response - I would say, "Aren't you embarrassed?" And he's like, "No. No, I'm not." And he's 18, maybe he'll feel differently. My older one really straddles it, and I don't know if it's age, birth (order), whatever — we are most similar, in our approach to life and our actions.

I am very proud that I have made room for them to disagree with me, express their feelings and not fear that they will be judged. And it's okay if I don't agree with them. They just have different ways of expressing themselves to me.

One thing that is specific to you is how much of your life is documented. How does it feel to look back at the girl you once were, the girl who was under so much scrutiny?

I have such sympathy. My heart swells for his desperate, desperate need to protect him and his mother and take care of everything. It seemed like what I was going to do.

And today?

I see myself now (in HQ at the beginning), and I never wanted to be in such a position. I think about the zoom I had with one of our investors this morning, and how clear I was about it; And how I was an hour ago in therapy; And how I'm navigating my kids; And how I am helping my husband in some way; And you just see all these different spokes on a woman's wheel, you know? There's pride, because I don't give—if no one likes me anymore. I mean, yeah, you're hurting a little, but I sit back and think, I don't even know if I respect you, so why should I care so much that you like me?