Brooke Shields Says ‘Pretty Baby’ Wasn’t the Reason She Fired Her Mom as Her Manager
Brooke Shields was one of the top actors of the 1980s when she was still in her teens and early 20s. That rapid ascent to success in wide-release films came at a cost. Her first movie, the 1978 coming-of-age film Pretty Baby, told a story that triggered widespread controversy centered on Shields.
Her mom, Teri Shields, was largely blamed for allowing 11-year-old Brooke to appear in the sexually-charged film. That narrative largely persisted in the decades since. But how does Brooke Shields herself view Teri’s approach to managing her career as a child actor?
Brooke Shields became famous for playing Violet in ‘Pretty Baby’
The idea that Shields had to struggle to get over her role in Pretty Baby has never quite gone away. It makes some intuitive sense; the movie cast her as a child sex worker, a concept that is uncomfortable to contemplate in the most basic sense. But she doesn’t blame Teri for going along with the project as her major motion picture debut.
“It was the best creative project I’ve ever been associated with, the best group of people I’ve ever been blessed enough to work with,” the 57-year-old actor reminisced in an interview with Vanity Fair. She doesn’t have any anger toward her mother for pushing the job on her, even to this day.
The cast, headlined by the incomparable Susan Sarandon, embraced her on set. They were fully aware of the difficulty of a child portraying such heavy material. The public backlash against Pretty Baby — ultimately, a very measured and serious take on the subject matter of sex work — wasn’t quite in line with Brooke’s experience on that set.
Brooke Shields had a fraught relationship with her mom
Indeed, it would be issues unrelated to Teri’s management that would sour Brooke’s feelings toward the industry. In recent years, Shields has spoken up about how poorly Barbara Walters treated her during an infamous interview. The actor was pressed in a distasteful, pushy manner by the veteran broadcast journalist, who wanted answers for why a 15-year-old modeled for Calvin Klein.
Deadline reports that the Blue Lagoon actor recently revealed that she was sexually assaulted by a Hollywood producer while she was in her early 20s. They had been friends for years, and Shields trusted this person. But, after having drinks and entering her hotel room, the unnamed entertainment industry power broker forced himself on her.
The issues between Shields and her mother didn’t resemble the popular narratives, but were more personal. Teri was an alcoholic, and the two developed a codependent relationship that Shields found overwhelming. When she fired her mother and found a new manager in 1995.
Brooke Shields revisits her mom and her past in a documentary
The mother and daughter never reunited professionally. Shields found her voice as an independent person, a confidence that carries through to the 57-year-old’s current career phase. Sadly, Teri died after suffering complications from dementia in 2012.
According to USA Today, Shields continues to be a big draw. She had a big hit on Netflix with the silly, borderline campy holiday romantic comedy, A Castle for Christmas. The now-veteran actor played a bestselling author who vacations in Scotland. She falls in love with a castle — but has a more fraught relationship with the Duke who resides in it, played by Cary Elwes.
Shields is also a regular presence as a big-name guest on shows like 9-1-1. Her latest major project is a documentary about her experiences growing up, called Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields. The empathetic and often shocking documentary premiered this year at Sundance. It is available for streaming now on Hulu.
