A new Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields trailer explores the perils of a pretty face
In a new Hulu documentary, Brooke Shields (alongside contemporaries like Drew Barrymore) revisits the harsh, sexualized spotlight she faced as an 80s teen star
Film News Brooke Shields
For Brooke Shields, being one of the most famous young faces of the ‘80s often felt like more of a career hazard than a highlight. From the time she was 12 years old, Shields faced extreme objectification in the media and has been candid about the kind of lecherous behavior she faced from industry professionals, including a Hollywood executive she alleges assaulted her after a dinner meeting in her 20s.
Now, a new Hulu documentary from director Lana Wilson (who helmed Taylor Swift’s 2020 doc Miss Americana) places Shields, now 57, behind the wheel of her own narrative, revisiting her early career and the harsh, over-sexualized spotlight she faced—one she says she’s “amazed” that she survived.
In a new teaser for the two-part documentary, due out on April 3, Shields speaks candidly alongside a montage of complicated memories from her early days in the spotlight: paparazzi shots, overtly sexual photoshoots from her prepubescent years. In one clip, pulled from a visit Shields made to The Mike Douglas show as a teen, host Mike Douglas’ eyes rove over Shields as he calls her an “exquisite looking young lady.” Shields’ reaction—a soft, clenched smile—says it all.
“I was struggling to find my own voice,” Shields reflects. “I wasn’t told it was important to have agency.”
Although the documentary centers Shields’ perspective, Wilson also recruits some of Shields’ contemporaries to speak to her plight, like Laura Linney and Drew Barrymore.
“I just always remember thinking, like, I hope she’s okay,” Linney recalls. “She was a young girl in an all-adult world.”
Barrymore, for her own part, speaks to the way Brooke’s life provides inspiration to push for recognition and respect beyond a “pretty face.”
“I love Brooke’s tone about it,” Barrymore shares, ostensibly referencing Shields’ attitude towards the ills of her early career. “We’re moving forward in life.”
9 Comments
Pretty gross stuff… and does Teri Shields get any blame? I remember some criticism of her at the time, not that it justified everything else!
That was my question: Where’s the stage mom in all of this.I remember when Britney Spears first hit the scene, a friend of mine that works in the music industry said, “Wait till you get a load of her mom. She’s worse then Teri Shields, if you can imagine that.”
If anybody should say “I’m Glad My Mom Died”…
Very very gross.
A cautionary tale? Hollywood, the entertainment business, the casting couch, sexualization of girls, sexual predators, all these have been around forever. Does Shields regret any of it? Why does Shield not name names when it comes to sexual predators in the business? Did she enjoy the fame nonetheless?
Where exactly are you going here pal.
“How can I blame the woman in this situation????”
Evan Rachel Wood named her attacker, the victims of Harvey Weinstein also did. I’m pretty certain Brooke Shields won’t suffer if she names her attacker now in 2023, but she hasn’t and refuses to do so. Isn’t this why there are other victims of sexual predators?
It’s great that she’s doing this: exploring, facing the trauma and speaking up. But the sudden addition of “what would this be without beauty” doesn’t seem to work at all in the context of this presentation. It seems like it is being added to make the show more relatable for women who aren’t considered photo/telegenic or ‘ordinary’ looking? That’s another subject altogether and it makes Shields seem a bit inauthentic on the subject. Just say “yeah, I’m gorgeous and it led to my exploitation” because that’s how it happens in the world of modeling/entertainment.