Brooke Shields is a well-known American actress who rose to fame at a young age by starring in movies like Pretty Baby, The Blue Lagoon, and Endless Love. Her sensual looks and scenes added to her fame and public recognition. Shield still decided to step away from her acting career and went to Princeton University to complete her studies, though she came back on the big screen. But a very crucial element in this transition was unknown to the public until recently when Shields’ life documentary premiered.
Brooke Shields On Quitting The Entertainment Industry
Shields is known to date for delivering movies like The Blue Lagoon, but the actress felt that the makers were using her sexual awakening to present a reality show to the audience. The actress had to face extreme sexualization from a very young age. It is one of the prime reasons why the talented actress was forced to leave the entertainment industry.
“I’ve always made it an important part of my journey to be as honest as I could. Not just to the outside, but to myself. I didn’t want to become shut down. The industry I’m in primes you to be shut down. I didn’t want to lose to that. They wanted to make it a reality show. They wanted to sell my sexual awakening.”
Brooke Shields Was S*xually Assaulted
The Blue Lagoon actress launched her two-part documentary titled, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields at the Sundance Film Festival. It came as a pure shock to the viewers to see that Shields was se*ually assaulted in her 20s. After graduating from Princeton, Shields was struggling to find work and was invited to a meeting by a prominent Hollywood executive. The meeting soon turned into a business dinner. After the dinner, the executive invited the Sahara actress to his hotel room where he se*ually harassed Shields. The Blue Lagoon actress never spoke about this assault as she believed that no one would trust her.
“No one is going to believe me. People weren’t believing those stories back then. I thought I would never work again. Doing the documentary, you see it all together, and it’s a miracle that I survived. It’s taken me a long time to process it. I’m more angry now than I was able to be then. If you’re afraid, you’re rightfully so. They are scary situations. They don’t have to be violent to be scary. I thought I was getting a movie, a job. I didn’t fight. I just froze.”
The Endless Love star revealed that she only blamed herself for this incident and added that she just froze in fear at that moment of the tragic time.
“I kept saying, ‘I shouldn’t have done that. Why did I go up with him? I shouldn’t have had that drink at dinner.’ It was really easy to disassociate because by then it was old hat. And because it was a fight-or-flight type of choice. Fight was not an option, so you just leave your body. ‘You’re not there. It didn’t happen.’ “
Shields once may have hidden in fear, but now the time has changed. The young timid actress has now evolved into a strong woman, who knows well how to raise her voice against the wrong. Her story will surely inspire many other women and men who have been se*ually assaulted in their lives but have failed to raise their voices in fear.
Fans can enjoy the inspiring story of Brooke Shields in her two-part documentary, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, which will release on Hulu on April 3, 2023.
