Brooke Shields, 58, discusses being sexualized as a child actor but says she ... trends now
Brooke Shields discussed being a sexualized as a child actor and the perils of growing up in Hollywood as she marked International Women's Day on Friday by appearing on a panel at SXSW.
Shields, 58, who joined Meghan Markle and longtime news anchor Katie Couric to discuss 'breaking barriers' and 'women's representation, said she was at the 'center' of young women being sexualized in Hollywood and that her mother and team had protected her from predators.
The actress was just 11 when she was forced to seductively kiss Keith Carradine, then 27, in 1978 film Pretty Baby in which she played a prostitute. She also appeared nude in a Playboy shoot aged 10 - with the star confronting her childhood exploitation in documentary Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields.
She said: 'There was this sexualization of young women and I was at the center of it. I was promoting it, I was surrounded by a strong mom, had a community around me, I did not become the type of statistic that Hollywood created.'
Brooke Shields discussed being a sexualized as a child actor and the perils of growing up in Hollywood as she marked International Women's Day on Friday by appearing on a panel at SXSW
The actress was just 11 when she was forced to seductively kiss Keith Carradine, then 27, in 1978 film Pretty Baby in which she played a prostitute (Shields is seen in a promotional shot for the film shared on her documentary)
She added: 'Hollywood is predicated on eating its young.'
Shields reflected on aging in Hollywood and her determination to be the voice for woman over 40, saying: 'At 58 you're too old to be the ingénue but not quite the granny yet.
'I find my reaction is to instead of get angry, find and ferret out the filmmakers who appreciate a woman over 40 and appreciate the life experience
'There are people out there who want to cater their programming to women of that age.
'My entire career has been built on beauty, as I've gotten older I want my message to be appreciative, but beauty as a wellness.... we're not just wrinkle cream
'We need to change the narrative - and say that there is beauty in this age.'
Shields has previously said she struggled to understand how her mother Teri Shields did not intervene during the filming of Pretty Baby as she revealed her own daughters, Rowan, 19, and Grier, 16, refuse to watch it.
In a clip from the documentary Pretty Baby, Rowan says: 'It's child pornography! Would you have let us [do that] at the age of 11?'
She said: 'There was this sexualization of young women and I was at the center of it. I was promoting it, I was surrounded by a strong mom, had a community around me, I did not become the type of statistic that Hollywood created'
Shields, 58, who joined Meghan Markle and longtime news anchor Katie Couric to discuss 'breaking barriers' and 'women's representation, said she was at the 'center' of young women being sexualized in Hollywood and that her mother and team had protected her from predators
Shields has previously said she struggled to understand how her mother Teri Shields did not intervene during the filming of Pretty Baby as she revealed her own daughters, Rowan, 19, and Grier, 16, refuse to watch it (pictured)
Shields reflected on aging in Hollywood and her determination to be the voice for
