Brooke Shields is opening up about her two daughters’ reactions to the upcoming Hulu “Pretty Baby” documentary.
Our teenage years can be a bit traumatic. Shields would know this to be true; the actress rose to fame in her early teens after starring in two films that required her to be fully nude on screen, and also faced scrutiny following her Calvin Klein jeans campaign, which was shot before she could legally drive.
The “Endless Love” actress’ rise to fame will be examined in an upcoming documentary for Hulu, which shares a title with the 1978 film that shot Shields to superstardom.
Shields’ two teenage daughters, Grier and Rowan, believed they had been well informed about their mother’s own teenage years, but the duo were in for a surprise upon watching the documentary for the first time.
Read on to find out more about how Grier and Rowan felt about “Pretty Baby!”
George Stephanopoulos Presents ‘Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields’
Here’s an exclusive first look at the poster for “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields.” Produced by Ali’s and my production company BedBy8 along with @MatadorContent and @abcnewsstudios.
The docuseries is premiering this weekend at @sundancefilmfestival and is coming soon to @hulu! pic.twitter.com/eJf1vbp8IP
— George Stephanopoulos (@GStephanopoulos) January 17, 2023
The “Good Morning America” co-host announced “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” in January.
Stephanopoulos’ production company, BedBy8, the newsman’s production company he shares with his wife, Alexandria Wentworth, produced the intimate look at Shields’ life. The actress provided the couple access to her personal archives for the documentary, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
“Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” largely revolves around the cultural and media treatment of Shields during her rise to fame in the early 80s. According to ABC News’ report on the documentary, the documentary will chronicle Shields’ “journey in the public eye, while holding a mirror up to a society that ‘objectifies women and girls.” (via The Blast)
Shields Shares An Intimate Revelation In ‘Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields’
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One dark side of a rapid rise to fame? Many people feel entitled to celebrities, and do whatever they can to have a piece of them, many times without their consent.
Shields, now 57, detailed that she was raped in her twenties during the promotional circuit for the documentary. The tragic event will be discussed in “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields.”
According to our report on the matter, Shields had been taken advantage of by a man she had known from Princeton, and she was led to believe he would help her find employment after she had been experiencing trouble landing roles.
The “Blue Lagoon” actress revealed fear had taken over in the harrowing moment. She told Entertainment Weekly, “I was afraid I would get choked out or something” if she had tried to escape. “So I didn’t fight that much. I didn’t. I just absolutely froze. I thought one ‘no’ should have been enough, and I just thought, ‘Stay alive and get out,’ and I just shut it out. God knows I knew how to be disassociated from my body,” she continued. “I practiced that… I went down the elevator, and I got my own cab. I just cried all the way to my friend’s apartment…”
Shields’ Daughters Weren’t Thrilled By The Contents Of The Upcoming Documentary
“Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” undoubtedly takes on serious subjects regarding the “Suddenly Susan” actress’ time in the spotlight.
Shields’ daughters, whom she shares with her husband, Chris Henchy, were taken aback when they saw the documentary for the first time. She detailed to People during a recent red-carpet appearance how Grier and Rowan had been surprised by the incredibly honest nature of the film.
“…There’s a lot in the documentary they did not know about with which I got in trouble with them for because they were mad that I didn’t inform them about everything,” Shields told the outlet. It’s unclear as of this writing if Shields had been referencing the aforementioned anecdote.
“But needless to say, it did open up some other conversations,” she continued to People.
Conversations about the media’s treatment of Shields were revisited during the latter half of 2022. Specifically, the treatment in the late pioneer news anchorwoman Barbara Walters had given Shields during an interview in the early 80s. Shields was 16 at the time.
In the interview, Walters asks an invasive question to Shields about her body. When discussing the experience with Drew Barrymore during an appearance on her talk show, the two actresses recalled how Walters had asked both of their teenage selves hard-hitting and inappropriate questions.
Last week, Shields announced on Instagram that “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” will be released on Hulu on April 3rd!
