Actress Brooke Shields revealed she was sexualized as a child star in Hollywood, being at the center of an industry that “is predicated on eating its young.”
Fox News has reported that the 58-year-old gained fame at 11 years old by portraying a child prostitute in the controversial 1978 movie Pretty Baby. Shields was obligated to participate in several nude scenes.
At the age of 10, Shields posed nude for the Playboy magazine Sugar’n’Spice.
The star of The Blue Lagoon shared her thoughts on those roles and other responsibilities on Friday during her appearance with Meghan Markle and Katie Couric at the SXSW panel, “Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen.”
At the panel discussion commemorating International Women’s Day, she shared her thoughts on the “sexualization” of young women.
“I was at the center of it,” Shields said. “And I was promoting it and I was doing it.” She continued:
“And I was lucky because I was surrounded by a very strong mom. I never did move to Hollywood. I always went to regular school.”
“So I had this sort of community around me that was protecting me, buoying me. And so I did not become the type of statistic that Hollywood created.”
“Hollywood is predicated on eating its young.”
While participating in the SXSW panel, Shields also discussed ageism in Hollywood.
“At 58 you’re too old to be the ingénue but not quite the granny yet,” Shields said.
“I find my reaction is to instead of get angry, find and ferret out the filmmakers who appreciate a woman over 40 and appreciate the life experience, the ‘we’ve raised the children, we’ve had the families, we’ve had businesses, we’ve had professional lives, we’ve left them, we’ve gone back to them,” she continued.
Shields has previously addressed the dangers of Hollywood’s sexualization.
In a 2023 documentary, Shields revealed she was raped by a “major Hollywood player” as a young, rising star.
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