Brooke Shields biography

Synopsis

Early Career

Actress. Born May 31, 1965, in New York City, to Terri and Frank Shields. Her father was a Revlon executive and her mother a model. Shields has been in the public eye from the very beginning, as she appeared in an Ivory Snow advertisement when she was a mere 11 months old.

In 1978, Shields made her film debut in Louis Malle's Pretty Baby and followed it up with high-profile roles in The Blue Lagoon (1980) and Endless Love (1981). Meanwhile, Shields caused a sensation with her advertisements for Calvin Klein jeans, in which she claimed that nothing came between her and her Calvins. Shields also endorsed Breck shampoo, Colgate toothpaste, and Band Aids.

Critics who claimed that Shields was more celebrity than actress were delighted when she flopped in Sahara (1983) and Brenda Starr (1989). Shields cut back on her acting to attend Princeton University in New Jersey and graduated in 1988. However, she couldn't totally resist the spotlight and wrote a much-publicized autobiography, On Your Own.

Suddenly Susan

Shields starred in a string of TV-movies following college, before landing the title role in Suddenly Susan in 1996. With a great time slot between Seinfeld and ER, the show achieved moderate success and was later moved to Monday nights, where it began to struggle in the ratings. It was eventually canceled in late 1999. Shields' career remained on track, however, with starring roles in several independent films, including James Toback's Black and White (2000), co-starring Robert Downey Jr. In 2007, she appeared as Miley Cyrus's mother on the hit Disney show, Hannah Montana. The next year, she starred in the television drama Lipstick Jungle. After several promises of renewal, the show was canceled in 2009 after only two seasons.

Personal Life

Previously linked romantically to Michael Jackson, Liam Neeson, Prince Albert of Monaco, and Michael Bolton, Shields married tennis star Andre Agassi in April 1997. The two were separated less than two years later, and the marriage ended in divorce. In April 2001, Shields married ex-Suddenly Susan writer Chris Henchy. The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Rowan, in May 2003.

Feud with Tom Cruise

In the spring of 2005, Shields spoke out about her struggle with postpartum depression after Rowan's birth. She appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to publicize her book, Down Came the Rain which detailed her experiences with suicide, delayed bonding, and severe depression that came with her traumatic childbirth experiences. After speaking about her troubles, and reaching out to other victims of postpartum depression, she was openly criticized by actor and devout scientologist Tom Cruise. Cruise accused Shields of improperly medicating with the antidepressant drug, Paxil, and spoke out against her use of psychiatric treatment. The two actors became locked in a very public argument about the necessity of medication and psychiatry until Cruise privately apologized to Shields. Their friendship was quickly healed; Brooke and her husband attended Cruise's wedding to Katie Holmes in 2006.

Shields came into the public eye again on July l7, 2009, when she spoke at the memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. In her tearful eulogy she shared a number of heartfelt anecdotes about the pop star.

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