Brooke Shields

Brooke Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress, model and former child star. Shields, initially a child model, gained critical acclaim for her leading role in Louis Malle's wildly controversial film Pretty Baby (1978), in which she played a child prostitute in New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century. The role garnered Shields widespread notoriety, and she continued to model into her late teenage years and starred in several dramas in the 1980s, including The Blue Lagoon (1980), and Franco Zeffirelli's Endless Love (1981). In 1983, Shields abandoned her career as a model to attend Princeton University, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in French literature. In the 1990s, Shields returned to acting, appearing in minor roles in films, and starred in the titular role of the sitcom Suddenly Susan, which ran for four seasons between 1996 and 2000. Most recently, Shields has made appearances in other television shows, including That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle. --- Brooke Christa Shields was born in New York City to Frank (1941-2003) and Teri (née Schmon; 1933-2012) Shields. Through her father's side, she has Italian, French, Irish, and English roots, along with high social position and relations to nobility. When her mother Teri first announced that she was pregnant, her father Frank's family paid her a sum to terminate the pregnancy. Instead, Teri took the money, but gave birth to their daughter Brooke regardless. Frank married Teri, but they were divorced when Brooke was five months old. Her paternal grandmother was the Italian princess Donna Marina Torlonia (Donna Marina was the daughter of an Italian nobleman and an American socialite). Shields' mother was of German, English, Scots-Irish, and Welsh descent. Shields was raised in the Roman Catholic faith. She has two stepbrothers and three half-sisters. When Shields was five days old, her mother openly stated she wanted her to be active in show business: "She's the most beautiful child and I'm going to help her with her career." For her confirmation in the Roman Catholic Church at age 10, she took the name "Camille". While attending high school, she resided in Haworth, New Jersey. She attended the all-female New Lincoln School until eighth grade. Shields graduated from The Dwight-Englewood School in Englewood, New Jersey, in 1983. She moved to a dorm at Princeton University to pursue her bachelor's degree in French literature, where she graduated in 1987. Shields began her career as a model in 1966, when she was 11 months old. Her first job was for Ivory Soap, shot by Francesco Scavullo. She continued as a successful child model with model agent Eileen Ford, who, in her Lifetime Network biography, stated that she started her children's division just for Shields. In 1980, the 14-year-old Shields was the youngest fashion model ever to appear on the cover of Vogue. By the age of 16, Shields had become one of the most recognizable faces in the world, because of her dual career as a provocative fashion model and controversial child actress. Time magazine reported, in its February 9, 1981, cover story, that her day rate as a model was $10,000. --- In the June 2009 issue of Health magazine, Shields related that she lost her virginity at age 22. She said it would have occurred earlier had she had a better self-image. Shields has been married twice. From April 19, 1997, to April 9, 1999, she was married to professional tennis player Andre Agassi; the couple had been together since 1993. On April 4, 2001, she married television writer Chris Henchy after they met in 1999 through mutual friends. The couple has two daughters.