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Brooke Christa Shields was born May 31st, 1965, in New York, NY. The daughter of now divorced Frank and Teri -- a former Revlon executive and model -- it seems that Brooke had modeling written all over her.
As her manager, Brooke's mother wasted no time getting her started in the industry, and at 11 months young, Brooke posed in commercials for Ivory Snow. Although it didn't take much convincing to see that Brooke had the natural beauty necessary to model, her mother's aggressiveness and persuasive attitude helped launch Brooke's career. She was a popular model by the age of 12, and she would soon have acting on her portfolio. After her film debut in Alice, Sweet Alice, Brooke was cast as child prostitute Violet in Louis Malle's 1978 film, Pretty Baby. Her questionable nude scene at the age of 13 caused an uproar, and what turned out to be a lot of free publicity for the film, thanks to fundamentalist and anti-pornography organizations. Brooke's trademark eyebrows were becoming recognized on TV, what with appearances on shows such as The Doctors and The Muppet Show, as well as on the big screen with roles in Tilt and King of the Gypsies. But it was in 1980 that she would star as Emmeline, in her claim to fame film, The Blue Lagoon. Although her hair was allegedly taped to her breasts so that they wouldn't be fully exposed on film, the role involving her in a sexual romp with another castaway on a deserted island propelled her to fame. Brooke may have been one of the 12 "Most Promising New Actors of 1978" according to John Willis' Screen World, but the rest of her acting career didn't do much to prove that she was more than a pretty face. Not only is Brooke considered a pretty face, but she was even hailed as Time magazine's "Face of the '80s", thanks to the memorable The Blue Lagoon and her provocative ads for Calvin Klein jeans, proving that nothing could come between her and her Calvins. But something did come between her and her acting career, when she took a hiatus in the '80s to attend Princeton University and receive her B.A. in French literature, after roles in Endless Love and Sahara. Brooke did random television stints in features such as Change of Heart and The Diamond Trap; the title role in 1989's Brenda Starr; and a cameo in Speed Zone!. She was on the Hollywood scene but was never a memorable presence, until her role as Joey Tribbiani's stalker in a 1996 Friends star-studded episode. |
