Content warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault and substance abuse.
Legendary model and actress Brooke Shields is the subject of a new two-part documentary series, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields. Directed by Lana Wilson, known for her 2020 Taylor Swift documentary Miss Americana, the new Hulu docuseries examines Shields’ rise to fame, life in the public eye, her tumultuous relationship with her alcoholic mother and the sexual objectification she experienced as a child actor. What can viewers expect from the doc? We’re breaking it down.
It begins by highlighting her relationship with her single mother, Teri Shields. The two formed a co-dependent relationship, with Brooke describing the feeling as though they only had each other. Teri began to manage her daughter’s career, signing her up for modeling gigs, which began with an Ivory Soap advertisement as a baby.
“My mother, she really believed that I was the most unique creature she had ever laid eyes on. And I was hers,” the star explained. “My mom had this creature who people were responding to and they kept responding to.”
Ozark actress and childhood friend Laura Linney recalls Shields attempting to manage her mother’s alcohol addiction from a young age, knowing which doors to lock and when to come out of her room after her mom had fallen asleep.
The new documentary draws its name from the actress’ breakout role in the 1978 film Pretty Baby, where she played a sex worker in 1917 New Orleans and is filmed nude when she was just 12 years old.
During the film, Shields shared her first kiss with Keith Carradine, who was then 29 years old. Carradine pulled her aside to tell her it “didn’t count,” reassuring the young starlet that it was “make believe.” At the time, Shields’ mother Teri received a lot of criticism for letting her daughter star in such an explicit film.
Fellow child star Drew Barrymore said in an interview, “I’ve been on those sets. People are having fun, you’re filming it, it’s art. You don’t really think about it until later. There is an aftermath that then cycles in your head of like, ‘Was that okay?’”
Shields went on to star in other roles where she was over-sexualized at a young age, including 1980’s The Blue Lagoon. That same year, when she was just 15, Shields starred in the now-infamous Calvin Klein Jeans campaign where she recites the line, “You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.”
The film also followed how she dealt with her love life being so public as she grew up. Shields recalls going off the college at Princeton University and calling her mother about five times a day. The actress wrote a guide for college freshman, revealing she was still a virgin, advising young girls to only have sex if you feel comfortable and tips on avoiding feeling pressured. The news caused a media frenzy, with people referencing the actress’ virginity at inappropriate levels. Eventually finding her groove at school, Shields began to feel more at ease without her mother by her side, causing a bit of strife within the relationship.
Reminiscing on her first serious relationship with actor Dean Cain, and subsequently losing her virginity to him, Shields recalled confusion around dating rumors with the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. “We met when I was 13 and we hung out. It was very childlike. We’d just laugh at the ridiculousness of being in the car and having people rock the car and be insane. We both were quite juvenile in some ways and quite mature and experienced in others,” she said. Despite the rumors, Shields confirmed, “We were just really friends.”
The “Thriller” singer confirmed he was in a relationship with Shields to Oprah, which caused Shields frustration because she was actually in a relationship with someone else at the time. Eventually, the two lost touch.
Ahead of the film’s release, Shields sat down with People to explain what fans can expect to see in the doc — and opened up about the sexual assault she experienced about 30 years ago. She told the outlet she was assaulted by a powerful Hollywood executive and said she felt at the time that no one would believe her if she came forward. “People weren’t believing those stories back then,” she said. “I thought I would never work again.”
It happened when she was in her 20s after she had dinner with the executive to discuss a new project. He invited her to call herself a cab from his hotel room where he assaulted her. “I didn’t fight,” she recalls in the new series. “I just froze.”
“It’s taken me a long time to process it,” Shields told the publication. “I’m angrier now than I was able to be then. If you’re afraid, you’re rightfully so. They are scary situations. They don’t have to be violent to be scary.”
In 1997, Shields married professional tennis player Andre Agassi. Despite the happy times, Shields recalls him being quite controlling in the relationship. The actress remembered a moment during her guest appearance on the hit sitcom Friends, where she portrayed Joey’s (Matt LaBlanc) crazy girlfriend. Filming in front of a live audience, Shield’s character sticks Joey’s fingers in her mouth, sending Agassi into a rage even though he had previously read the script. “Andre had stormed out,” Shields explained. “He drove home, and he destroyed every single one of his trophies. Like, smashed Wimbledon, smashed the French Open.”
Shields drew parallels between Agassi’s erratic behavior with her mother’s alcohol abuse. The pair divorced in 1999.
Now, Shields has been married to television writer Chris Henchy for over 20 years and they share two daughters, Rowan Francis, 19, and Grier Hammond, 16.
The Suddenly Susan star explained her journey through IVF, a miscarriage and postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter Rowan. After overcoming postpartum, she wrote a book, Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression. Her aim was to shine a spotlight on something that was previously dismissed and not talked about, giving women permission to acknowledge their pain and get help. She even spearheaded a campaign to change legislation on the subject, getting new research on postpartum off the ground.
As we know, no good deed goes unpunished. For some reason, Tom Cruise decided to combat Shields’ treatment and he spreading misinformation on antidepressants. Handling his words with grace, Shields clapped back with an intellectual op-ed in the New York Times, shutting down his claims. Eventually, the actor apologized.
“I spent my life owing people things and doing whatever they wanted,” says Shields in the documentary’s teaser. “I finally asked myself, ‘What will I be if I don’t allow that anymore?’” Shields explained that looking back on her life while working on the project made her realize, “It’s a miracle that I survived.”
On the Sundance red carpet during the premiere, Shields said, “I would like for people to be able to find their story within this story.”
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields is currently available to stream on Hulu.
