Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965, in Manhattan, New York) is an American actress and model.
She started modeling at eleven months of age and continued doing so throughout her teens, eventually becoming one of the most popular models of the late '70s and early '80s. Shields is probably best known for her iconic 1980 Calvin Klein jeans commercials (which were considered scandalous back then and were ripe for parody on shows like Saturday Night Live, Fridays, and SCTV). During this time, she played the role of a child prostitute in the controversial Pretty Baby. She starred in several well-known films in the 1980s and 1990s such as The Blue Lagoon and Endless Love. She has also had some TV work, such as playing the eponymous character in Suddenly Susan, and guest-starring in other shows like That '70s Show, Hannah Montana, and The Middle.
Shields was married to tennis star Andre Agassi from 1997–99. Since 2001 she has been married to screenwriter Chris Henchy, with whom she has two daughters.
Filmography:
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Film roles
- Alice, Sweet Alice (1977): Karen Spages
- Pretty Baby (1978): Violet
- King of the Gypsies (1978): Tita
- Wanda Nevada (1979): Wanda Nevada
- The Blue Lagoon (1980): Emmeline Lestrange
- Endless Love (1981): Jade Butterfield
- Sahara (1983): Dale
- Brenda Starr (1989): Brenda Starr
- Speed Zone (1989): Stewardess
- Backstreet Dreams (1990): Stevie
- The Misadventures Of Margaret (1998): Lily
- Black and White (1999): Sam Donager
- Our Italian Husband (2004): Charlene Taylor
- Bob the Butler (2005): Anne Jamieson
- The Other Guys (2010): Herself
- Chalet Girl (2011): Caroline
- The Greening Of Whitney Brown (2011): Joan Brown
TV roles
- The Muppet Show (1 episode, 1980): Herself - Special Guest Star
- Quantum Leap (1 episode, 1992): Vanessa Foster
- Tales from the Crypt (1 episode, 1993): Norma
- The Simpsons (1 episode, 1993): Herself (voice)
- Friends (1 episode, 1996): Erika Ford
- Suddenly Susan (1996–2000): Susan Keane
- Just Shoot Me! (1 episode, 2001): Erlene Noodleman
- Gary the Rat (1 episode, 2003): Cassandra Harrison (voice)
- That '70s Show (7 episodes, 2004): Pamela Burkhart
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent (1 episode, 2006): Kelly Sloane-Raines
- Nip/Tuck (3 episodes, 2006): Faith Wolper
- Two and a Half Men (1 episode, 2007): Danielle Stewart
- The Batman (1 episode, 2007): Julie (voice)
- Hannah Montana (3 episodes, 2007–09): Susan Stewart
- Lipstick Jungle (2008–09): Wendy Healy
- The Middle (6 episodes, 2010–18): Rita Glossner
- Army Wives (5 episodes, 2013): Kat Young
- Super Fun Night (1 episode, 2013): Alison Lockridge
- The Michael J. Fox Show (2 episodes, 2014): Deborah
- Creative Galaxy (8 episodes, 2014–16): Seraphina (voice)
- Mr. Pickles (19 episodes, 2014–19): Mrs. Goodman (voice)
- Scream Queens (1 episode, 2016): Dr. Scarlett Lovin
- When Calls the Heart (2 episodes, 2016): Charlotte Thornton
- Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special (2017): Herself
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2017–18): Sheila Porter
- Murphy Brown (1 episode, 2018): Holly Mackin Lynne
- Jane the Virgin (14 episodes, 2018–19): River Fields
- 9-1-1 (1 episode, 2020): Dr. Kara Sandford
This actress' career contains examples of:
- Actor Allusion: An episode of Quantum Leap has her playing a character stranded on an island with one other person as a nod to her role in The Blue Lagoon (1980).
- Career Resurrection: Several flops in the late '80s and '90s, as well as her turning down several potential breakout roles to focus on her studies at Princeton, saw her star fading. However, a well-received guest appearance on Friends led to her being offered her own sitcom Suddenly Susan. This period also saw her pivoting to Broadway.
- The Cast Show Off: The opening credits of Suddenly Susan show her jazz dancing, and she dances in a few episodes. She had taken jazz dancing classes for years.
- Creator Backlash:
- She was uncomfortable with The Blue Lagoon (1980) and being considered a sex symbol at fourteen.
- She also disliked Endless Love, because she felt humiliated when filming an orgasm scene, as Franco Zeffirelli twisted her toe off camera to provoke the reaction from her.
- Deleted Role: She filmed scenes in Annie Hall that were cut from the finished film.
- Fake Shemp: A body double was used for any nudity in The Blue Lagoon (1980).
- Godiva Hair: Her hair was actually glued in place for some scenes during The Blue Lagoon (1980) to prevent any exposure.
- Leslie Nielsen Syndrome: In The '90s, she surprised everyone with her guest spot on Friends and was immediately offered the sitcom Suddenly Susan. Afterwards she then had another sitcom Lipstick Jungle.
- Stage Mom: Her mother Teri Shields is considered a quintessential example, and was lambasted in the press for allowing her daughter to do nudity in films and pose for nude photographs while she was underage. She had been pushed into modelling when she was only eleven months old.
- Star-Making Role: Although a successful model beforehand, her role in the controversial Pretty Baby saw her becoming a worldwide sensation.
- Statuesque Stunner: Brooke is listed as being 6'0" in height. Indeed, she was significantly taller than Christopher Atkins when filming The Blue Lagoon (1980), and had to walk in shallow trenches that were dug in the beach to not tower over him in their scenes. He later compared it to having the Statue of Liberty right next to him.
- Their First Time: She starred in three films with this - Endless Love, The Blue Lagoon (1980) and Pretty Baby - although in the latter, she's a child prostitute! Ironically, Brooke herself says she didn't lose hers until she was 22.
- What Could Have Been:
- Jodie Foster was the first choice for her breakout role in Pretty Baby.
- She auditioned for Julia Roberts's breakout role in Pretty Woman.
- She turned down Roxy in Basic Instinct, as the producers couldn't guarantee that the role wouldn't require nudity. She also turned down The Accused, Sex Lies And Video Tape and Working Girl.
- Several roles she turned down because she wanted to focus on her studies at Princeton - Pretty in Pink, Supergirl, The Outsiders and The Breakfast Club.
