Brooke Shields is undeniably an icon. If you're like me and didn't grow up in the ‘80s, she’s long been one of those names you still know without trying to know. For a long time, all I knew was that she was the pretty face in Hollywood and the modeling industry during that time along with musings of “controversy” that surrounded her career as a child actor. When I attended the 2023 Sundance Film Festival (virtually), Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields was a standout title, as it makes the actress, model and author truly known.
With the powerful documentary now streaming as a two-part documentary for those with a Hulu subscription, it’s time to break down the content of the new release. Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields not only has the famed woman explaining a number of major topics about her nearly 60 years of star power, it also contextualizes Shields’ mark on the industry, accounting for the wounds and all.
Whether you share my type of awareness or watched Shields grow up over the years, if you’ve ever wanted to see all the pieces put together regarding the actress’ life, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields does a darn good job, especially in terms of allowing Shields herself to speak to her own life throughout the documentary. After watching it, here are the major topics covered in Pretty Baby.
Brooke Shields And A Lifetime Living With Her Mother’s Alcoholism
Brooke Shields’ story is likely to remind one of stories of other young icons such as Britney Spears and Jeanette McCurdy, who had contentious relationships with their parents as they were skyrocketing to fame. But Pretty Baby takes a really human approach to diving into the details of Brooke Shields’ relationship with her mother, which is explored through a complicated lens that allows for empathy and understanding around the subject.
Shields discusses her mother’s lifetime of alcoholism throughout, being candid about how it directly led to how things were dealt with and shaped Shields as a person deeply. Pretty Baby brings to light that there’s a lot more to Shields’ mother than being the woman who allowed her 10-year-old child to pose nude for Playboy and play a prostitute at 11. In a recent interview following the doc’s Sundance premiere, Shields commented that she still doesn’t know “why” her mom thought these things were okay for her to be part of so young to this day.
How She Was Treated On Sets Like Endless Love And The MyCalvins Ad
The Pretty Baby documentary takes viewers through Shields' career in acting and modeling from the very beginning, and very much discusses what led her to fame and controversial projects, like the Pretty Baby movie, Blue Lagoon and Endless Love, along with her sexualized Calvin Klein ads, which all happened when she was a minor. Looking at Shields’ career at face value, it’s easy to simply cringe at the idea of her being in nude scenes at the age of 11 and so forth, but the documentary does a great job of explaining how everything took place, along with discussing how what was going on in the world impacted the phenomenon of Shields’ (often inappropriate) young fame.
Shields shares her side of the story when it comes to how she was treated on sets and her own frame of mind at the time in specific instances. Oh, and there are so many eye-opening and uncomfortable network interviews woven throughout, too.
Brooke Shields’ Relationship And ‘Shame’ Around Virginity And Sex
As Pretty Baby continues to unfold, one particular quote from Shields in the documentary resonates. While speaking to the content of Blue Lagoon, the actress recalls “they wanted to sell my actual sexual awakening” in that film and Endless Love. All the while, Shields recalls “the irony” of not being in touch with her sexuality herself at that time, having been raised Catholic and holding a lot of shame regarding the topic.
She speaks of being excited for the Calvin Klein's ad as an “acting” gig where “nothing in me” thought it was sexual. It goes to show that Shields was involved in selling something she did not have the understanding about as it was unfolding, and therefore didn’t consent to so many narratives she was caught in the middle of. The doc also speaks to the media frenzy toward Shields regarding her revealing her virginity in her book On Your Own and how it was blown out of proportion by the media.
Her Relationships With People Like Michael Jackson And Dean Cain
Brooke Shields also opens up about her various high-profile relationships throughout her career, including with Michael Jackson, whom she called simply a “friend” with the two icons having had a “very childlike” relationship when they were young. Shields additionally delves into her romances with former Superman actor Dean Cain, ex-husband Andre Agassi and current husband of over 20 years, Chris Henchy.
The Actress Speaks Out For The First Time About Being Raped
In the documentary, Brooke Shields reveals she was raped early in her Hollywood career following her college education at Princeton. The actress speaks to the details of how it occurred, sharing that she “didn’t fight” it much because her main concern was to “stay alive and get out.” The documentary doesn’t sit too deeply in the event or get very detailed, though it certainly allows Shields to give voice to what happened and her thoughts on it on her own terms many years after it took place. Her longtime friend Gave de Becker has since spoken out about the event, calling Shields “inspiring” for speaking out about it decades later.
Why Guest Starring On Friends Was Important To Her
Throughout Pretty Baby, viewers really learn about the difference between how Shields was seen and who she is. One of the examples of this was through Brooke Shields’ love of comedy, and her guest appearance on Friends was a key event for her embracing her passion for it. Shields shares a great story about one of the improvisations she thought of for the episode during the “licking” date scene with Matt LeBlanc’s Joey and how her big moment actually led to an over-the-top reaction from her husband at the time Andre Agassi, who stormed out of the set for believing she made a “fool” out of him with her comedic bit.
As Shields shared, she learned later on that he was “addicted to crystal meth” and the couple’s marriage only lasted two years. On the topic of embracing comedy, she also speaks to how getting into comedy subsequently with Suddenly Susan was cathartic for her and the “first time” she was fully aware her profession was “meant to be” for her.
Her Experience With Postpartum And Deciding To Speak Up About It
A couple years after Brooke Shields divorce Andre Agassi, she met her now-husband Chris Henchy of over 20 years, who she has two children with. In the doc, she also talks about her experiences with pregnancy and postpartum depression, of which she famously has been an advocate of normalizing. Shields shares her longtime love for children and how she felt after giving birth, along with the documentary touching on a time when Tom Cruise publicly disagreed with her speaking out on the subject.
What Her Kids Think About Her Early Roles
Finally, the Pretty Baby doc briefly shares a conversation with Brooke Shields and her family, who talk about many of the subjects touched on throughout the documentary. I found this element of Pretty Baby to be really interesting and speak to how things have changed within the upbringing of her children that Shields herself didn’t get the chance to have insight in.
Overall, there are plenty of important topics that Brooke Shields and the others involved in the doc discuss, including fellow child star Drew Barrymore and Laura Linney. It's a powerful documentary that speaks to the exploitation and sexualization of Shields over the years with its complexities in mind and how her personal resilience led her to becoming the role model she is today.
