Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of gender discrimination.

Shields believed that a successful actress was one “who won Oscars, who was considered a thespian” (189). She felt inadequate because she did not fit this model. She has also wondered about what trajectory her career might have taken if circumstances had been different, like if her mother had turned over her management to a professional. Yet she also recognizes her success and has worked to redefine its definition: “There is a commodity aspect to my celebrity that makes it possible for me probably (hopefully?) to be able to earn a living for the rest of my life” (191).

Shields discovered her love for and talent in comedy and has worked to hone her skills in this area. She realized that these skills make her “unique” and was able to “let go of this false sense of how [her] value was determined” (192). She grew confident in her skills while working on the sitcom Suddenly Susan, for which she won awards and which led to opportunities on Broadway. She is more ambitious in midlife than she was in her early career because she has found her niche. She seeks out projects and opportunities that will fulfill her ambitions: “When I focused on what I was doing, not where I was going, my work got better.