She has been described as a hurricane of fun, is renowned for making jeans sexy (in that iconic Calvin Klein ad) and caused controversy in the eighties for her risqué role in the movie The Blue Lagoon while only 14. To say Brooke Shields has lived a fulfilling life in the spotlight would be a something of an understatement.
Brooke Shields was your ultimate child star – she began her career at 11 months old as a model and at 14 years old she was the youngest model to star on the cover of Vogue when she reportedly earned US$10,000 per shoot (in the 1980s). Brooke’s mother, and manager, Teri, was eager to maker her daughter a celebrity. She once said: “She’s the most beautiful child and I’m going to help her with her career.” And that she did. Brooke grew up in the limelight, even dating Michael Jackson for a short spell.
However, unlike other celebrities who found fame and fortune at a young age, Brooke didn’t fall from grace. The mother-of-two, has enjoyed a steady career. She still acts, is a successful author (she has just released a US best selling book on her relationship with her mother, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me) and she still models with her most recent job seeing her as the face of the eighth instalment of the mytheresa.com women series.
Justin O’Shea, Buying Director mytheresa.com, explains her decision to have Brooke follow in the footsteps of Diane Kruger, Alexa Chung, Clémence Poesy and Victoria Beckham in the powerful series: “What can I say about Brooke? The first time I met her it was easy to see why she’s one of fashion’s greatest icons, but if I had to pick out her number-one quality, it would be that she’s so real. She represents what the mytheresa.com Women project is all about – women inspiring other women.”
Emirates Woman spoke exclusively to the American icon about her life lessons….
It’s important to have confidence. Being confident is what feminism is about.
The mother and daughter’s bond is special. It’s primal – we only have one mum.
Embrace your uniqueness. I teach my girls to not look outside of themselves but to look inside. It’s is very important. I constantly remind them that they are unique and special and give them as much love as I can.
Learn from your experiences. Because of my own complicated childhood I always try to be the best mother.
It’s important to remain grounded. [Even during The Blue Lagoon days] I went to regular schools and surrounded myself with people that were not in ‘the industry,’ and I lived in New York City.
Equality is important. I am happy for Patricia Arquette’s success and her Oscars speech. I think award shows should be about appreciating and honouring the hard working people who make the project come to fruition, not a platform for political beliefs. But, I think inequality in pay is unjust and we are inching towards equality.
Cherish your proudest moments in life. In work that moment was a standing ovation on Broadway. In life it is being complimented on my childrens’ politeness and respect.
I have one regret – that my father never met his granddaughters.
Not following the crowd, that’s the definition of style.
Dress for yourself. Honestly, I have only just started learning how to get dressed for myself rather for what I think I should look like for other people.
Carine Roitfeld is my style icon. I love that she is classic, yet current.
It feels great to be in the mytheresa.com woman series. It’s great to follow such inspiring and talented women like Diane Kruger, Alexa Chung and Victoria Beckham and I am truly honoured to be part of this project.
Head to mytheresa.com for more on the women’s series and fashion.
Brooke’s book There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me is available now.
