SHE played a child sex worker at the age of 11 and romped naked on a tropical island at 14. A year later she posed provocatively in a jeans ad and uttered the line that helped cement her status as one of the hottest young things in Hollywood: “Do you know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.”
Back then the world was a different place and sexualising kids had few taboos – and Brooke Shields was probably the most exploited of all.
Now, at the age of 57, her early years in the spotlight is the subject of the hard-hitting documentary Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, named after the 1978 movie co-starring Susan Sarandon and Keith Carradine in which Brooke plays a sex worker.
The film examines how Tinseltown and the fashion world cashed in on her sultry looks and talent and how it affected her life. Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields premiered at the recent Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim – and Brooke was there, looking striking in a black cashmere dress, bomber jacket and cowboy boots.
The film, set to air on streaming service Hulu later this year, delves into her role in Pretty Baby; her teensploitation movies such as 1980’s Blue Lagoon and 1981’s Endless Love; her nude-photo scandals; and her complicated relationship with her late mother and former manager, Teri.
Friends of Brooke’s such as fellow former child star Drew Barrymore, actor Judd Nelson and singer Lionel Richie along with experts also discuss the toxic nature of the entertainment business, which allowed young girls such as Brooke to be hypersexualised.
Brooke, who starred in a soap advert when she was just 11 months old, was pushed to be a breadwinner to take care of herself and her mom, who suffered from alcoholism.
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