‘I don’t know why she thought it was all right’: Brooke Shields opens up about mom letting her pose naked for Playboy at 10
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Brooke Shields said she would never have allowed her children to engage in the "pornography" she was exposed to by her mother as a child star. The actress, who portrayed a prostitute in the 1978 film 'Pretty Baby', was only 11 years old when she was made to kiss the 27-year-old actor seductively. Shields, 57, revealed that she found it difficult to comprehend why her mother Teri Shields did not step in when she learned that her own girls, Rowan, 19, and Grier, 16, do not want to watch it.
Rowan says, "It's child pornography!" in a clip from the upcoming documentary 'Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields'. "Would you have let us [do that] at the age of 11?" Shields struck with feeling, responds, "No". The Sunday Times Magazine quoted her as saying, "That was hard for me, to not justify my mom to them, but when they asked, I thought, ''Oh God, I have to admit this'. But I don't know why she thought it was all right."
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Who was Teri Shields?
Theresia Anna Lilian Maria Shields was an American actress, film producer, socialite, and model, as per Wikipedia. Teri was born and brought up in Newark, New Jersey. She was the daughter of John Schmon, a chemist, and Theresa, a house cleaner. Her lineage included Welsh, Scotch-Irish, English, and German. She tied the knot with Francis Alexander Shields in 1964 and made a divorce application several months later. Brooke, the couple's only child, was born in 1965 and rose to fame as a model and actor. They previously resided in an Upper East Side home when Brooke was a young girl. She co-starred with her daughter in 'Backstreet Dreams', 'Endless Love', and 'Wanda Nevada'.
What was Brooke Shields' experience?
Teri was an alcoholic and died in 2012. Shields, an only child, claimed that she was unable to be furious with her mother because of her mother's insecurity. Shields, who posed naked for a Playboy magazine at the age of 10, has long disavowed responsibility for her mother's actions, but she has now said, "I don't know why she thought it was all right. I don't know."
In the spotlight, Shields is seen sobbing as she remembers her early years, coping with issues like being sexualized as a prepubescent girl and the shame she experienced after losing her virginity as a teenager. The actress told both of her daughters that she would never let them see the movie in which she kissed a 27-year-old Carradine while appearing nude. According to reports, Shields' mother observed what was happening while her co-star Carradine told her that it was all "make-believe."
'I don't know why she thought it was all right'
The two-part documentary, also called 'Pretty Baby,' debuts on Hulu on April 3. The documentary, which was directed by Lana Wilson, draws its title from Louis Malle's drama from 1978 titled 'Pretty Baby,' which stars Brooke Shields as a young sex worker in 1917 New Orleans. She kisses Carradine and appears to be nude in the Polly Platt-written movie. Shields reportedly made a repulsed face at one moment, at which point the director yelled at her. But her mother didn't intervene. "That was … that was hard for me, to not justify my mom to them, but when they asked me, I thought, 'Oh God, I have to admit this,'" Shields told the Times. "I mean, I could say, 'Oh, it was the time back then,' or 'Oh, it was art.' But I don't know why she thought it was all right. I don't know."
'Exquisite-looking young lady'
In the documentary, Shields experiences intense outbursts as she considers her own upbringing. The trailer, which was released earlier this year, started with Shields being asked as a teenager what she thought of all the 'fuss being made over' her as she sat next to her mother Teri. In an old interview clip, she smiles and says, "I think it's kind of fun." The older male journalist then compliments her on being an "exquisite-looking young lady" and a "pretty girl."
'Who decides that?'
Shields recalls that for the "entirety" of her life, she was bombarded with people labeling her a 'pretty' face "over and over." "And, that always seared me," she confessed. The mother-of-two went on to recall being chosen for the cover of Time Magazine in 1981, at the age of 16, to symbolize the "80s look." "I was on the cover of Time magazine as the face of that whole era. Who decides that?' she questioned.
'I can have my own opinion'
Shields, who played a child prostitute in the contentious film Pretty Baby when she was 11 years old, confessed she is "amazed that she survived any of it." After spending years trying to "find" her "own voice" throughout her adolescence and early years, she recalled, "I found my confidence and thought, 'I can have my own opinion.'"
The internet has quickly reacted with many slamming her mother Teri. A user tweeted, "WTAF were her parents thinking!"Another user penned, "Pedophile swamp!" Another person mentioned, "Her mother had everything to do with this, this wasn’t a Hollywood decision." "The mother exploiting her daughter for a fist full of dollars," wrote another user. "And her mother agreed to it," said another.
Her mother had everything to do with this, this wasn’t a Hollywood decision
— GTKL (@SuburbanKL) March 26, 2023
The mother exploiting her daughter for a fist full of dollars.
— Robert Sacco (@RobertSacco18) March 26, 2023
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