BROOKE SHIELDS Biography - Actors and Actresses

 
 

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BROOKE SHIELDS

Name: Brooke Christa Camille Shields                                                     
Born: 31 May 1965 New York City, New York, USA                                           
                                                                                         
Brooke Christa Camille Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and             
supermodel.                                                                               
                                                                                         
Shields' career as a model began in the mid 1960s as an infant. Her first job             
was for Ivory soap shot by Francesco Scavullo. She continued as a successful             
child model, with model agent Eileen Ford, in her Lifetime Network biography,stating     
that she started her childrens division just for Brooke. In early 1980 (at age           
14), Shields was the youngest fashion model to ever appear on the cover of the           
top fashion publication Vogue magazine. Later that same year, Shields appeared           
in controversial print and TV ads for Calvin Klein jeans. The TV ad included             
her saying the famous tagline, "Do you wanna know what comes between me and my           
Calvins? Nothing."                                                                       
                                                                                         
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 1983 Shields appeared           
on the cover of the September issue of Paris Vogue, the October and November             
issues of American Vogue and the December edition of Italian Vogue.                       
                                                                                         
Shields' first major film role was her 1978 appearance in Louis Malle's Pretty           
Baby, a movie in which she played a child living in a brothel (and in which               
there were numerous nude scenes). Because she was only 12 when the film was               
released, and possibly 11 when it was filmed, questions were raised about child           
pornography. This was followed by a slightly less controversial, but also less           
notable film, Wanda Nevada (1979).                                                       
                                                                                         
After two decades of movies, her best-known films are still arguably The Blue             
Lagoon (1980), which included a number of nude scenes between teenage cousins on         
a deserted island (Shields later testified before a U.S. Congressional inquiry           
that older body doubles were used in some of them), and Endless Love (1981). She         
won the People's Choice Award in the category of Favorite Young Performer in             
four consecutive years from 1981 to 1984.                                                 
                                                                                         
Shields put her film career on hold to attend Princeton University from 1983 to           
1987, graduating with a degree in French literature. Her senior thesis was               
titled "The Initiation: From Innocence to Experience: The Pre-Adolescent/Adolescent       
Journey in the Films of Louis Malle, Pretty Baby and Lacombe Lucien." It was             
here at Princeton where she spoke openly about her sexuality and virginity.               
During her tenure at Princeton, Shields was a member of the Princeton Triangle           
Club and the Cap and Gown Club.                                                           
                                                                                         
Shields' career stalled at various times, and she has told interviewers that her         
height (6'0") prevented her from getting roles opposite shorter male actors.             
                                                                                         
Shields has appeared in a number of television shows, the most successful being           
the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan, in which she starred from 1996 until 2000 and             
which earned her a People's Choice Award in the category of Favorite Female               
Performer in a New Television Series in 1997 and two Golden Globe nominations.           
                                                                                         
Shields has appeared in many on-stage productions, mostly musical revivals,               
including Grease, Cabaret, Wonderful Town and Chicago on Broadway; she also               
performed in Chicago in London's West End.                                               
                                                                                         
Shields made a couple of guest appearances on That '70s Show. She played Pam             
Burkhart, Jackie's (Mila Kunis) mother, who later was briefly involved with               
Donna's (Laura Prepon) father (played by Don Stark). Shields left That '70s Show         
when her character was written out. She also appeared in one episode of the               
popular comedy sitcom Friends playing Joey's stalker. Shields recorded the               
narration for the Sony/BMG recording of The Runaway Bunny, a Concerto for Violin,         
Orchestra, and Reader by Glen Roven. It was performed by the Royal Philharmonic           
and Ittai Shapira.